The Development of Italian Sport - Case Study Example

 The Development of Italian Sport In APA Style Abstract Italy has a long tradition of sport and games, most of which, in the early times at least, was mostly spectator. As history progressed, however, sports of various types developed and became an important part of Italian life. As Chariot Racing and Gladiatorial events satisfied the masses in ancient Rome, so such sports as soccer and auto racing achieved their place in Italian culture. The importance of various sports in relationship to others is interesting. Why this is so can be safely assumed by examining both ancient and modern sports traditions. Italy has a long sporting tradition. In almost all sports, individual and team, the country has good representation and many successes. Beginning with ancient Rome, its sports were quite unlike those of ancient Greece, where the cult of the body and individualism lead to the development of a number of athletics sports we still practice today. The sports of javelin throwing, discus, boxing and so on were obviously well known in Italy. However, historical evidence indicates that although these were practiced somewhat in Italy, they were not major passions of the Roman people. It might be said that the Romans as a whole were more observers of sport than participants. Gladiatorial combat, naval battles and chariot racing were not sports in which most Romans would have cared to participate. It is said, though, that while chariot racing was reserved for nobility, gladiatorial combat, mostly practiced by slaves and freed slaves, was at times an activity of select nobility, since the rewards for winning were often high. For other Romans the extent of sport might have been swimming at the Roman baths, certainly a more pleasurable activity than competitive sport. Hunting and fishing were accepted as more pastimes. Requiring less physical exertion, board games and others were big favorites. Even the Greek time-honored practice of gymnastics in Rome had a more functional role. “The Romans used gymnastics to train their soldiers, and such modern apparatus as the pommel horse and vault resemble the wooden horses that the ancient Romans built (complete with saddle) to teach basic cavalry skills (1).” Regarding team sports, apparently the Romans had their own version of dodge ball called the "Roman Ball." Ball games were the favorite non-violent sport and hugely popular. “Ancient Romans loved to play this ball game...Romans often spent their morning exercises playing games on the field. Boys and even men played in teams. The object was to throw the ball into the middle of the circle and at someone else. If they missed, then the thrower would get a point. No one really knows how it started or what the real name is (2).” One of the most popular sports pastimes was one that although unnamed at the time, would later in the 20th Century become Italy’s favorite sport—soccer. Although there is no evidence that it was played as a team sport, there are historical references that indicate young men often kicked balls into goals in what would amount today to informal games among chaps who were friends. It might be assumed then that Romans contributed greatly to the sport favored by much of the world. When you analyze the track record of Italian sports you will realize that they have made history in various different fields of sport. Over the years the Italians have been extremely good representatives of various sports on individual as well as team levels. Sportsmen from the country have brought home many championships, awards, medals and most of all respect in the eyes of the world. Amongst the different things that have brought the Italians fame and fortune is sport and the Italians continue to rise as one of the leading sporting nations of the world (3). The site The History of Italian Sports summarizes the country’s success starting in the 20th Century. The rise of competitive sports in Italy as well as Europe, however, really began in the 19th Century. “...this period in Europe...witnessed the rise of competitive sport, in which sports and games began to be played by a uniform set of rules, with winners and loosers (4).” While the country has made quite a name for itself in the areas of auto racing and cycling particularly, The History of Italian Sports asserts that soccer is its most renowned sports achievement. The national team has won the World Cup four times, beginning its run in 1934 and followed by wins in 1934, 1982 and 2006. The national team also won the European Nations Cup in 1968 and won Olympic gold in 1936. While it is said that the modern game of soccer was invented in a tavern in England, “Undoubtedly one of the greatest soccer powers throughout time, Italy is considered by many the ‘re-inventor’ of soccer. Italian players and coaches took the game to the extreme in the 20th Century and if the game became so valuable and popular, we most likely owe it to the Italians in a great measure (5).” The year 1898 is generally considered the starting point in the history of Italian soccer. Regional teams would compete under semi-professional rules. In 1929, a larger championship was instituted comprised of the best teams and the Serie A League, ruled by the Italian Football Federation, was formed. The national Serie A championship features teams from powerful clubs including Inter, AC Milan, AS Roma, Juventus Torino, Fiorentina or Lazio. Not without its share of scandals over the years, the two most notorious were in 1927, which stripped Torino of its regional championship, and in 2006 which stripped Juventus Torino of two major titles. Yet, agreement exists that Italian soccer is the most tactical, defensive and world renowned for its perfect organisation. Five of its top players are Fabio Cannavaro, Gennaro Ivan “Rino” Gattuso, Gianluigi “Gigi” Buffon, Paolo Maldini, and Sebastian Giovinco. While soccer may be king to many, auto racing is a sport that has made both men and machines famous. The world’s best sporting cars are built in the country. Italian auto maker Ferrari has won more Formula One races than any competing car manufacturer. Drivers hold several championships including several wins of the coveted British Touring Car Championship. It is not unreasonable to assume that the Italian passion for auto racing can be directly attributed to its earlier passion for Chariot Racing. Auto racing receives much attention in Italy and the nation is host to a number of notable events, including the Italian Grand Prix, Bari Grand Prix, Grand Prix of Rome and San Marino to name a few. The Italian flair for car design is also legendary. Other famous car manufacturers include Maserati, Detomaso, Lamborghini and Osell Dallara. But it is Ferrari with which Italian racing is primarily identified. UGO Lifestyle for Gamers provides a history of Ferrari through the 20th Century as written by its owner, Enzo Ferrari, who founded the company, Scuteria Ferrari, in 1929. It began sponsoring Italy’s best amateur racers. Financed by two textile heirs he built Ferrari into a racing force of forty drivers which quickly became the dominant force in the sport. In 1933 the company fell upon financial hard times but with the help of Alfa Romeo was named its unofficial team with Enzo as its racing division head. There he built the famous 125 sport destined to win many championships. Surviving tough financial times through World War II, Ferrari designed and built his own car, a tube-frame chassis racer with a 1.5 L engine that quickly proved its mettle and won the Grand Prix of Rome two weeks after its official debut. Continuing financial struggles saw Ferrari release his unique designs to other racing clubs. They began competing in Formula One racing in 1950, pushing their cars to ever increasing speed capabilities. “In the 1970s, the 312PB model crushed all competitors, dominating the World Sportscar Championships (6).” Enzo Ferrari died in 1988. The company he founded, now owned by FIAT, will provide all cars for Italy’s 2008-2009 A1 Grand Prix. On the descending list of Italian sports in terms of interest, motorcycle racing and cycling are surely among the top four. The Italians have also been world renowned motorcycle racers, making history with there amazing bikes and riders. The all time leader in terms of victories of the motorcycle Grand Prix is Italian Giacomo Agostini. The second all-time best performer is also Italian, Valentino Rossi, who, in 2005, became the first motorcyclist to win five races in row. Both are famous in Italy and around the world where motorcycle racing is contested. Morbidelli, a famous name in the manufacture of motorcycles, was founded by Giancarlo Morbidelli early in the 20th Century. Its 125cc racing motorcycles were particularly successful from 1975 to 1980. Morbidell’s passion was motorcycles and racing, and in 1969 he entered a team in the Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships and won. The team won two such championships with racer Gilberto Parlotti, who unfortunately was killed in 1972 in a race on the Isle of Man. He won another world individual championship in 1975 with racer Paolo Pileri; the Morbidelli team finished second. Morbidelli reached the height of accomplishment in 1977, winning both the 125 and 250 machine classes with racers Oier Paolo Bianchi and Mario Lega respectively. Morbidelli continue in Grand Prix competition until 1982. His son, Gianni Morbidelli, became a successful Formula One race car driver. The company’s custom cycles, both racing and sport models, have been shown in the prestigious museums including the Guggenheim Museum in New York, Bilbao and Las Vegas. Emphasizing the importance of the sport in Italy, in 1911 Teresa Benelli gambled all of the family’s wealth to finance a motorcycle manufacturing business that would become a mainstay of machines in the sport. The Italian tradition of family played a part. She made the move to ensure stable work for her six sons. The Benelli Garage, which repaired cars and motorcycles, already produced all of the spare parts needed for repairs. In 1921, Benelli built its first motorcycle using their own engine, which had by then become a 98 cc model. A year later the famous motorcyclist, Tonino “the terrible,” (one of the sons) began successfully competing. Riding a Benelli 175, he won four Italian championship titles in five years--1927, 1928 and 1930. Unfortunately, a serious crash during a race in 1932 cut his racing career short. He was killed in a road accident in 1937. While Tonino was certainly the undisputed king of motorcycle racing in the early era, other Italians would follow in his footsteps, among them Agostini, who received the Lifetime Achievement Aware at the The 2008 Legend of the Motorcycle International Concours d'Elegance held in California. Cycling is another sport that has been well represented by the Italians over the years. For the Italians, its cycling history is an important part of the country’s heritage. Coppi and Bartali are two of the most renowned cyclists of the modern era, having won many championships throughout the years. The two have represented an entire generation of cyclists and still today remain symbols of a cycling tradition that unfortunately has passed the baton to a new generation competing under the suspicion of drugging. Fourth on the list of sports, cycling, a virtual sports obsession in Italy, is affirmed in the literature of legendary author, Ernest Hemingway. Mark Cirino in his journal article writes, “Bartolomeo Aymo, an ambulance driver under Frederic Henry's command in A Farewell to Arms, is Hemingway's tribute to a 1920 Italian cyclist of the same name. The historic Aymo's hard-luck career and tenacious riding style inform his fictional counterpart and underscore the qualities Hemingway famously valued in athletes, soldiers, and men of action...(7).” Cirino provides interesting background for Aymo’s legend and allure for Italians both as an athlete and mythical character. Born in 1889 in Carignano, Aymo started racing in South America in 1916 and had major success in the 1920s in Europe, earning ten titles before retiring in 1930. Considered an elite cyclist, he took 3rd and 4th in three successive years in the prestigious Tour de France. Not considered as technically talented as many of his contemporaries, Aymo became somewhat of cult hero because of his tenacity in competition. Although Aymo is not considered as talented as his more successful contemporaries, his tenacity made him popular and would have certainly attracted Hemingway’s attention. Cirino says, “Documents from the 1926 Tour testify to Aymo's allure as an also-ran.(8)” In the events ahead Italian newspapers wrote stories about him in a tone that deliberately turned him into one of Italy’s sports myths and cycling legend. Over the years other Italian cyclists have captured the heart of the people including Alessandro Petacchi, Renato DiRocco and Ivan Basso, the latter suspended after the last Olympics for non-cooperation in a doping investigation. Despite that, it remains an Italian passion along with its cyclists. “Italians don't live exclusively for soccer. It's more of a 360 degrees love for sports in general, and even though the soccer ball remains the highest in the hit parade of our national desires, there is a good number of sports that still represent a traditional importance for all Italians.(9)” The quote above and excerpt below from the article, Italian Sports: From Racing to Soccer to Basketball and Back makes an excellent point that is related. While soccer and racing certain occupy the sports hearts and minds of the Italian people, others, with no tradition in Italian culture whatsoever, are beginning to have an impact. Right next to soccer, it is not an exaggeration to place basketball as the likeliest competitor for the title of most important agonistic vice for us Italians. Obviously too fresh of a sport do be even compared to the universe of NBA, the truest Olympus of American Basketball. The 'European red ball' has recently, without any doubt, felt the presence of a strong Italian group alongside countries like Ex Yugoslavia, the ex Russian Republics such as Latvia and Lithuania and naturally nations traditionally very capable in this sport - Greece and Spain in particular. Italian Basketball has recently changed connotations with the new arrival in NBA - Italian Serie A for Americans, of Andrea Bargnani  (Andrea the giant for everyone else), roman and ex star of Benetton Treviso. Recently becoming also one in the Toronto Raptors roaster and notably changing the American point of view regarding Italian capabilities in this discipline. (10) Besides basketball, another sport not indigenous to the country is also making its mark these days: Baseball. The Italian team, though populated by several Americans of Italian decent along with native Italians, made a good showing in the 2009 World Baseball Classic played this spring. Whether the sport will catch on as an official Italian sport remains to be seen. McComb thinks there is a good chance it might, based on past history. “This is the time (19th and 20th centuries) period when modern sports evolved and achieved a global distribution... The sports that became global were those carried by the Europeans and Americans who reached into the world as a part of their historical evolution, communication, and influence. Thus, recent sports history fits roughly into the structure of modernization theory (11).” It is also fair to mention tennis in the same international context. Although thirty years have passed since Adriano Panatta's Davis Cup victory, a variety of great players, though no true champions, have played in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) tour. Many Italians blame the Federation for Italy’s lack of success and say it does not invest properly in new pupils as do other countries. Yet there is new hope with such players as Flavia Pennetta, ranked 14th in the world and on her way up on the women’s tour. Fencing, a much less populace sport, still survives with Italians fencers such as Stefano Barrera. Barrera won the bronze medal in foil in the 2006 World Fencing Championships and in 2008 won for Italy the team competition in that same event. But perhaps the most appropriate Italian sporting event to sum up any discussion of Italy and its long sports tradition would be one that exemplifies not only the country’s intense devotion to tradition, but the sense of flair Italy imposes on all of its sports. The famous Palio di Siena, an event held twice a year on July 2 and August 16 in Siena, consists of ten horses with bareback riders dressed in ancient costumes and colors of the various regions of Italy. Riders race wildly around the Piazza del Campo three times. The race takes about 90 seconds to the frenetic cheering of hundreds of observers packing the streets. Riders are often thrown off their steeds on the harsh turns, again to the wild cheering of the crowds. Shades of old Rome and Chariot Races? The historical connection seems obvious. Reference List 1. Crego, R. (2003) Sports and Games of the 18th and 19th Centuries. Gymnastics, p 146. 2. Sports and Games in Ancient Rome: Ball Games. http://www.tqnyc.org/2005/NYC051950/jaredromesportsandgames.htm. 3. History of Italian Sports. http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/articles/article/Italy/History-of-Italian- Sports/1323. 4. Crego, R. (2003). Sports and Games of the 18th and 19th Centuries. The Legacy of Sports and Games in the 18th and 19th Centuries. Greenwood Press, p 130. 5. Soccer History in Italy. http://www.soccer-fans-info.com/history-of-soccer.html. 6. UGO Takes a Look Back at Ferrari. UGO Lifestyle for Gamers http://www.ugo.com/lifestyle/history-of-ferrari/. 7. Cirino, M. (2006). “A Bicycle Is a Splendid Thing: Hemingway’s Source for Bartolomeo Aymo in A Farewell to Arms.” The Hemingway Review, Vol. 26. 8. Cirino, M. (2006). “A Bicycle Is a Splendid Thing: Hemingway’s Source for Bartolomeo Aymo in A Farewell to Arms.” The Hemingway Review, Vol. 26. 9. Life in Italy. Italian Sports: From Racing to Soccer to Basketball and Back. http://www.lifeinitaly.com/sport/default.asp. 10. Life in Italy. Italian Sports: From Racing to Soccer to Basketball and Back. http://www.lifeinitaly.com/sport/default.asp. 11. McComb, D.G. (2004). Sports in World History. Introduction: The Problem of Periodization, p 2. Routledge.   Read More