Sports are physical contests in which the results are measured and attributed to participants, either by an objective or subjective standard. The resulting scores and standings can be used to compare players or teams on the basis of performance, as in football, gymnastics, swimming, and diving.
Aspects of Sports
In addition to the physical challenges of competition, sports are often a way to define, shape, and maintain the social and cultural identity of people. As a result, they can offer a window into national history, culture, religion, and politics. In some countries, sports are an important pillar of national identity and a crucial vehicle for transmitting ideas about nationhood, ethnicity, class, and gender.
The emergence and diffusion of modern sports is bound up in complex networks and interdependency chains that are marked by unequal power relations. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, Europe and North America have been dominant in the global arena of sports.
During this period, a number of non-Western sports have been adopted by Western audiences and athletes. Judo, a traditional Japanese sport that blends aspects of Asian and Western traditions, attracted European adherents in the early 20th century.
Although there is no single “master plan” for the globalization of sports, it is shaped by a range of economic, political, social, and cultural patterns that have emerged across the globe in the 20th century. Among them are the rise of a transnational cosmopolitan culture and international social movements, as well as the global spread of technology.