1. Sports in Society: Issues & Controversies
Chapter 3
Looking at the Past:
Does It Help Us Understand Sports Today?

2. General Historical Issues
Evidence suggests that physical activities and games have existed in nearly all cultures
There are fewer contrasts between the games that different people play today
Decreasing contrasts are due to cultural diffusion and the power and influence of nation-states and sponsoring corporations

3. Historical & Cultural Variations
Variations exist because
Sports are cultural practices that can serve a variety of social purposes
People create sports within the constraints of the social worlds in which they live

4. Characteristics of Dominant Sport Forms Today
Secularism
Equality
Specialization
Rationalization
Bureaucratization
Quantification
Records

5. Ancient Greece Sports were Grounded in mythology
Linked with religions beliefs
Characterized by
Gender exclusion
Frequent violence
Absence of administrative structures
Absence of measurements & record keeping

6. Roman Contests and Games
Emphasized spectacle, combat, and the power of political leaders
Characterized by
Diversions for the masses
Exclusion of women as athletes
Absence of quantification and record keeping

7. Medieval Europe Folk games played by peasants
Tournaments played by elite for purposes of military readiness
Gender restrictions grounded in religious dogma and beliefs
Games lacked specialization and formal organization

8. Renaissance, Reformation, & Enlightenment
Increasing control over peasants
People’s lives often restricted by labor
Calvinist and Puritan beliefs did not promote or support leisure
Sports constituted diversions for people

9. Industrial Revolution: Early Years
Organized competitive sports emerged, especially among elite
Time and space for games were limited in urban areas
Slavery among Africans, and exploitation of other workers limited widespread involvement in sports

10. History Lessons: Origins of Distorted Views
Who tells the stories about what sports were like in the past?
Whose perspectives are used to frame these stories?
How is power related to whose stories are told and how they are told?
Why are histories usually incomplete?

11. Industrial Revolution: Later Years
Growing emphasis on rationality and organization in society & sports
Most sports were segregated by social class and race
Women’s participation in sports was very limited

12. Organized, Competitive Sports in the US: 1880-1920
Sports often were used by wealthy people to reinforce status distinctions
The organization of sports favored the interests of people with power and wealth
Increased sport participation opportunities for workers, especially men (continued)

13. Organized, Competitive Sports in the US: 1880-1920 (cont)
Sport participation comes to be linked with character development
Organized sports were tied close to ideas about
masculinity and femininity
skin color and ethnicity
age and disability

14. 1920 to Today: Struggles Continue Over
Meaning, purpose, and organization of sports in communities and society
Who will participate in sports and the conditions under which they will play
How and why sports are sponsored

15. 1920 to Today: Struggles often are related to issues such as:
Entertainment, professionalization, and commercialism
Masculinity and violence
Nationalism and chauvinism
Gender inequities and homophobia
Racism and racial discrimination
Physical abilities and access to participation
Class dynamics and use of resources
Media images and narratives

16. The histories of sports are linked to ideologies in society.

17. Sports History does not just happen
Sports history has always depended on the actions of people as they construct physical activities in their lives
Historical changes in sports have often occurred in connection with people’s visions of what sports could and should be like
There have been many struggles that have influenced the meaning, purpose, and organization of sports in society
Sports history will continue to emerge in connection with struggles over people’s ideas about sports and the ideals that guide those ideas