Issue in Global Sport
Summary of the Book
Professional sports have come of age in the contemporary society. Whether it is soccer, athletics, golf or racing, professional sports are a force with which to reckon. Sports has developed into an agent of globalization, commonly described as universal language through which people from different races, ethnicities and walks of life connect. The global nature of professional sports notwithstanding, they also have a local perspective. This is seen in both local and regional teams that have the following of incessantly loyal fans. In light of this, the authors delve into the antagonism of global sports where the players are agents of globalization and the same time awaken antagonistic and deep-seated local allegiances that have given rise to prejudice and cultural conflict at times (Markovits & Rensmann, 2010).
Citing sports like soccer, basketball, football, hockey and baseball, the authors show how they have influenced the formation of a collective identity amongst hordes of sports fans-many of who are predominantly male-in Europe, the United States and other places around the globe. The authors of the book account for the emergence of the global sports throughout the twentieth century from their local pastimes in Britain, America and Canada. The authors also delve into the influence of regionalism especially on the divisive aspect that is currently manifested in potentially explosive ways (Markovits & Rensmann, 2010).
Even in the midst of the divisive influence of professional sports, the authors reckon that sports, especially their interplay at the local and global scene has created new avenues through which shared interests and dialogue has taken place. This has helped to solve and reinforce old antagonisms, while at the same time preventing and creating new ones. Through their book, the authors posit that global sports have an all-encompassing influence through which we affirm we not only affirm our local and regional identities, but also our national identities in a cosmopolitan world where we are all citizens (Markovits & Rensmann, 2010).
The perspectives of the authors in this book are in congruence with those of those many other scholars. The United Nations is a global body that fosters peace among other developmental goals. Over the years, the United Nations has recognized the universal nature of sports, and its ability to transcend elements that divide communities and countries. Its Inter-Agency Task Force on Sport for Development and Peace (2005) found that sports have the power to cut across the divisive barriers that cause rifts between communities. The taskforce recommended sport as a powerful tool for resolving conflicts and promote peace-building efforts. In their conception, this is possible at the global scene, and even more practical at the local level. These sentiments have been echoed by Markovits & Rensmann (2010) who together argue that the common identities created through sports enhance social integration, foster tolerance and open up conflicting groups for dialogue.
Logan (2012), in agreement with Markovits & Rensmann (2010) reiterates the antagonism of global sports. Collegiate sports are not as popular elsewhere as they are in the United States. This amounts to glocalization, a concepts that is antagonistic to the globalization phenomenon that sports bring forth. While college sports in the United States are subject to the effects of globalization, they still revel in local traditions. This is in congruence with the phenomenon painted by Markovits & Rensmann (2010) that sports are agents of globalization, and at the same time fosters localized traditions and identities.
References
Inter-Agency Task Force on Sport for Development and Peace. (2005). Sport as a Tool for Development and Peace: Towards Achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, Retrieved from>http://www.un.org/sport2005 /resources/task_force .pdf
Logan, G. (2012). Gaming the World: How Sports are Reshaping Global Politics and Culture (review), Journal of sport history, 39(1):191-192
Markovits, A. & Rensmann, L. (2010). Gaming the world: How sports are reshaping global politics and culture. Princeton. Princeton University Press.
