Sport and The British: A Modern History By Richard Holt - Essay Example

Review of (Sport and The British, A Modern History), By Richard Holt Our world, physically speaking our globe, since its origination, has been a ‘hotbed’ of activity. Activity in the sense, the central component of globe, we humans have been showing activeness both physically and mentally, which have transformed our globe from a primitive one to an advanced one. Even though humans show activeness in their daily activities, there will be occasions, when they show activeness in a specific setting, independently or as a team, with certain guidelines and rules. And this specific activity in a specific setting with specific rules is only called the activity of sport. Sports have been imbued with the human activity from time memorial. So, the past history of sports and games dates back or correlate to the history of humankind. And, this paper will focus on the history of sport particularly British sport from 1800’s by reviewing Richard Holt’s work, Sport and The British, A Modern History. This book of Richard Holt can be considered a trendsetter of sorts because no other book or literature has brought out a comprehensive history of British sport focussing on the happening periods from 1800’s. That is, 1800’s are the period when British Empire’s imperialist ambitions were in full flow, and so, most of the history literature concentrated on the British’s imperialist adventures. So, this book is a kind of odd man out, as it concentrated on British’s sporting issues of the same period. But, the important point that should be noted is, sports and sports persons will not have a different history, but only share their country’s history. So, a country’s sports history has lot of correlation with the country’s history and this book reflects this concept very well. “Only recently has sport become the subject of serious study rather than just existing as a thing apart, in isolation from the mainstream of history... The object of this study is to place sport in the widest possible historical context.” (Holt 1989) International transmission, diffusion and transformation of sport Sports is like a free flowing river, it cannot be restricted to one place or one country, it can or it will reach maximum places or countries based on the people’s interest and how they receive a particular sport. And, when we look at the sports history of Britain, sports, which had their origin in Britain, in some point of time got into the transmission mode and spread to most countries particularly to the British ruled countries. When it got transmitted to new countries, it got diffused into the new country’s culture and social traditions and attained a new form, thus transforming itself. That is, the British sport like cricket, which got transmitted to British ruled countries like West Indies, India etc, diffused into their culture and transformed into versions, which had lot of local flavour. Contribution of theories of internationalisation and globalisation to the understanding of international sport Globalisation and Internationalisation is a modern day phenomenon and its theories contributed a lot in understanding the machination of international sport. That is, internationalization and Globalisation pushes the geographical boundaries and allows the sport to enter as many countries as possible. Sports in association with business, that is sponsors (who support them), try to reach many countries for the overall development of the sport and both Internationalisation and Globalisation will aid them in that aspect, the aspect of development. Inter-relationships between sport and international politics Sports always have a role in the international politics. They can fortify nations’ relationship and at the same time can also mar nation’s relationship. That is, a simple game or sport between two nations will be viewed as a real battle by their respective citizens and in that processes the nations’ relationship can go downhill. Also, any unfavorable incident that happens on the sports field, will lead to friction between the two countries even involving the top-level administrators. And there are many incidents that can be quoted. For example: Bodyline cricket series between England and Australia that happened in 1930’s. Role of international media and other corporations in international sports development Media will always be an omnipresent entity, and so its role in sports development is manifold. By reporting about the sports events that may happen in any part of the world, the media keeps the people in touch with it, even though lot of kilometers separate the people from the actual event. Also, through media only sport can reach new territories and so media can also help in the transmission of sports. Media is also an important tool in developing the sport to higher reaches by helping in the infusion of money into the sport through sponsors. As, sponsors will invest money in popular events only; the amount of media coverage can be taken as a good yardstick. “In return for media coverage and the 'clean' image of sport, sponsors are prepared to provide big injections of cash” (Holt 1989). Role of the international Olympic committee and international sports federations Any sport that needs to grow should have a good governing body. The governing body will be constituted with able administrators from the respective sports or from other field like business, politics etc. So, who governs the sporting body may not be a problem but the only concern should be how the governing body function and fulfill their roles. The role, the Olympic committees play has lot of significance because all the Olympic events like sprints, throws etc, etc will not have separate federations like football federation, cricket association etc and it is up to the Olympic committees to play their promoter role aptly. Role of sports mega-events in the development of international sport Sports mega events, which will make an appearance once in four years or five years, will always aid the respective sports greatly. As the maximum number of people’s attention will be on that event, it will give the sports associated with that event, maximum mileage. So, the role of mega event is always vital for the overall development of the sport. Role of sport in various international and cultural contexts Sports always have an effect on the culture of the country or the place in which it is practiced. That is, as sports involve, the activities of collage of people from different culture, on the field as well as off the field, it provides an opportunity for the exposure of various cultures. Also, sports give rise to unique cultures as well, with the supporters of a particular team forming a group and carrying out activities in a particular cultural context. Reference Holt, R. (1989). Sport and The British, A Modern History. Oxford. Read More