Redefinition of Sport

The idea of sport has evolved within society to resemble more than just playfulness or competition, but it takes on the form of various ideologies in defining the identity of an individual or group of individuals. Socialization and normalization are vital ideologies when assessing the meaning of sport. In this sense, a sport may be viewed as a social institution allowing for social change. In particular, the self-realization and the construction of one’s identity. A social constructionist may argue that sport represents transgression and resistance, while phenomenologists or humanists may argue that sport resembles a space of belonging and attachment. Sport no longer be defined as a simple activity, but it is a concept, composed of several processes that are no longer confined to the boundaries of a physical space, but consists of patterned behaviours, social structures, and inter-institutional relationships that manifests itself within the complexities of social life. In this sense, the fallacy that sport is simply a space for leisure-time is refuted as sport has evolved from a playful, participation-oriented activity to one that embodies political, economical, and cultural transformation.

When studying the concept of sport, it is evident that it resembles the structure of an institution as aside from the physical activity that sport encompasses, it can be attributed as a foundation for attaining a specific purpose, such as nationalism. Furthermore, when studying this phenomenon, many cultural and political, economic, and geographical processes and transformations are illustrated. For instance, when speaking of politics, one can attribute that politics refers to social relations bounded by power and authority and political struggle can be a resistance to this authority, which may result in conflict. When an individual or group of individuals resists authority or power, they represent a stand for something as there is purpose in their efforts. Therefore, their identity takes the form of their cause—this is known as identity politics. When stepping outside the boundaries of politics and asserting the thought of opposition or resistance in the field of sports, it is evident that similarities are present. Competition is a natural causation within sports as many sports require that individuals participate and identify themselves with a team (group). The goal of this team is to win the game (cause) by challenging the efforts of the other team (resistance), which results in a win or loss (success/failure). From the above scenario, it is evident that sport involves the similar process of politics as both sport and politics require the elements of a group of supporters who identify with or resist a particular cause, which results in a success or failure for either of the two. When assessing and studying the fundamentals of sport, it is apparent that sport occurs in a controlled settings, maintains group dynamics, goal attainment, behavioural processes, social bonding, structured inequality, and the organization of networks. In fact, many of these fundamentals pertain to the structure and behaviour that is evident in other societal settings. Therefore, it is crucial that the spatial patterns of sport is redefined.

Adam Carniel

Source: Sport and Society, by James H. Frey; D. Stanley Eitzen
Annual Review of Sociology (1991) Annual Reviews