Sociology of Sport - Essay Example

Phase 4 IP Introduction According to the Encyclopedia Britannica the Sociology of sports started in the 1920’s when Heinz Risse, a German scholar published a book called Soziologie des Sports. Then in 1966 a group of global sociologists founded a journal, which set out to study the effects of athletes and sports on society (Britannica). Jay Coakley published a book in 1978 called Sports in Society: Issues and Controversies. The book has been updated several times and goes into great detail with regard to the subject of sports and their effects on society. He says that institutionalism as a sociological term that describes the process through which patterns and behaviors of organizations are consistent from one circumstance to another, over time (Coakely, 2004). Coakely talks about understanding and conceptualizing the sociological issues in sports. He says that sports can provide and inform people with respect to racism, drugs, hooliganism, power, globalization and marginalization (Coakely, 2004). It’s recognized that Coakly’s theoretical perspective on sports is the most effective for examining sports in the contemporary cultural climate. This essay examines sports from a sociological perspective within this context of baseball and football. Baseball Baseball is a true American pastime that has roots in the early 1800’s when the kids of New York began playing the game (Bellis). By the 1860’s baseball was known as America’s National Pastime (Bellis). The game of baseball is appealing to all walks of life. Unlike other sports such as football, basketball, hockey or even weightlifting, a person of average build can play and may even be great at the sport. Short, tall, stocky or slim there have been great baseball players of all shapes and sizes over the years. Today, the players as well as fans come from all walks of life and the game is played in schoolyards, back yards, fields, states and countries around the world. This was not so true in the early days of baseball in America where up until 1947 no blacks were allowed to play the game. Jackie Robinson broke the race barrier on April 15th, 1947 and became the first African American to play the game professionally in the big leagues (Business Wire). Prior to this blacks were restricted and could only play baseball with other blacks in what was called the Negro League (Fact Monster). People of all walks of life now play baseball. There are professional teams, minor league teams and little league teams that are the baseball gateway for today’s youth. The sport of baseball has become an outlet for adults and today’s youth to come together and be part of something great. Many people have their favorite teams that they root for and the rivalry between organizations like the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Socks adds some excitement to the game. Friends and family may get together on game day to watch the game, talk about the team and enjoy some food and drink. Today’s sports bars are a good example of how mainstream not only baseball has become but other sports as well. One can walk into a local sports bar in NYC, watch the game, have a few drinks and some laughs with people that all have the same types of interests. Television and the Internet have really propelled baseball to the next level. In the early days of television families would gather in the home to see the “big game”. Today, you can watch the game on your PC while at work (not that I would ever do that), view just the highlights or converse on a baseball blog with others who share the same interests. Another big part of the baseball world today is what is called ‘Fantasy Baseball”. According to Henderson: “The shortest possible definition of Fantasy Baseball is this: You own your own team and get to choose what Major League Baseball players play on your team.” (Henderson, 2007) It is all done online and you get to pick and choose your players. You pick pitchers, infielders and outfielders who all have a chance to get you some points if they do well in the real game. This has put a good spin on the sport and it has allowed baseball to engrain itself deeper into the culture of American society. Undoubtedly, Baseball can be considered a social institution with significant social responsibilities. In 1947 baseball helped to break the race barrier and became the model of other sports to follow when it allowed Jackie Robinson to play baseball in the major leagues. Since then, Major League Baseball has become a model for the social values that Americans have grown to love over the years. Players, teams and Major League Baseball have supported countless charity and not for profit events that have helped communities across the country. They also support communities, baseball clinics and little league associations as well. I have personally been involved with a little league team and I recall having Major League players attend our yearly award ceremonies as a courtesy to the organization. Now, that’s not to say that some aspects of baseball have not been socially irresponsible over the years. Things like drug abuse, alcoholism and steroid use have been in the news and have plagued the league for years. I don’t believe this is the norm but it is worth pointing out as there are, what I believe, to be some flaws in the way the players pay structure and subsequent price of tickets and cost of merchandise can sway one’s opinion of the sport. Field Observation This past weekend my wife and I were invited down to South Jersey to become God Parents for my brother-in-law’s newborn baby girl, Emma Grace. While at the church my nephews and some family friends kept talking about the touch football game that they were going to play when we got back to the house. My nephew John is 9 years old and he has what I would call a little bit of fire in him. He is skinny and small for his age but he is very competitive when it comes to sports and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention his passion for his video games. It doesn’t matter what he eats he cant put on any weight. My other nephew Ian on the other hand is tall and carrying a few extra pounds, kind of like me. He is also competitive and loves his video games. Ian is 14 years old. While in the church I heard some commotion coming from behind me. When I turned around it was John and Ian, almost touching noses and trash talking about who was going to win the football game they were going to play that afternoon. After the ceremony we returned to my brother-in law’s house where the first thing the boys did was get changed into their street clothes. The sport of football has superseded baseball as the American pastime. While baseball had been the national pastime, the nation saw a decided shift in the late 1960s when two of the predominant leagues merged to form the National Football League (NFL), replete with a championship gamed dubbed the Super Bowl (MacCambridge 2005). Indeed, it’s been noted that five on the top ten-rated television programs have been Super Bowl broadcasts. The nation regularly watches college football games on Saturday and professional football games on Sunday, with significant network airtime being spent on analysis during the week. The game itself is played by nearly all age groups, with older individuals switching from tag to tackle forms. In large part the game’s fast-paced and violent nature has imbued it with an excitement that has endeared the sport to million of people and played by children and college students across the nation. When we got back I was sitting in the living room I heard yelling coming from outside. When I walked out of the house I was intrigued at what I saw. Apparently, there was a football game being played. Little John was a captain of the shirts and Ian was a captain of the skins. There were 12 kids playing in the street, it was a 6 on 6 game. There were a mix of races and ages of the kids playing the game. The block we were on was what I would call secluded. There are maybe 30 houses on the block and a car may pass by every 45 minutes or so. The neighborhood they live in has a good amount of kids age 6-19 and they stay together through the local schools and age ranges. The neighborhood is also very culturally mixed. There are Hispanics, blacks and whites all living together in this complex. The age range of the kids playing in the game was 8-16 and there were whites, blacks and Hispanics all playing in the street together. The interesting thing that I noticed immediately was the fact that it didn’t look like much of a fair game. It looked to me like John had all of the short, younger kids on his team and Ian had all of the older, taller kids on his team. When I asked what was going on with the teams John said “he keeps calling me squirt and he thinks he can beat me because I’m small. I told him I could win with all the kids my age.” As they played more and more people came out of their houses to watch the festivities. The yelling alone was good reason to have a peak at the action. The people or fans that came to watch the game ranged in age from my 3 year old boy to what I would guess was a 80 year old grandfather in his wheel chair on the other side of the street. In total there were about 16 people outside watching the action. Men, women and children of mixed race and nationalities all watching what we all though was a very interesting match-up. At one point a man walking two Cocker Spaniels stopped to watch the game. One was white and the other black. They proceeded to bark and jump every time the football went into the air. During the game there was a lot of smack-talk being thrown around from both sides. The older kids made it a point to pitch the ball back to one another before being tagged. This was done to basically tease the younger kids and taunt them throughout the day. They made it look easy. The ball was thrown high, every time so a jumping 9 year old would not be able to intercept or smack the ball down for an incomplete pass. At one point my nephew John used a car as leverage to lift himself up and try to get to a ball in the air. Just then I was summoned into the house to change my daughter’s diaper. Analysis The fieldwork that I performed was especially interesting for me to take part in. I am by nature an observant person and someone who analyzes much of what goes on around me. My wife may say that I am this way, to a fault. For this exercise I was particularly intrigued by the bullying and trash talking that came out of the game. It was a very passionate and determined John that looked like he would stop at nothing to win the game. Regardless of winning I think he would have been proud of himself and felt superior if even for a moment his team was able to score one point. By scoring a point there would be a theoretical shift in power. John would feel gratified and Ian would then feel inferior. In society bullying is prevalent across all social settings and is inherent in some children. We could probably find at least one bully in every playground in America. When considering baseball in comparison to football there are similar aspects of dominance that can be witnessed. Indeed, it seems that a major sociological function of baseball is the desire to win. Still, it seems apparent that the more socially prominent and violent nature of football places it in an area where these shifts in power and superiority are more pronounced. In terms of the methodology of my observational fieldwork I believe that the research itself was effective on characterizing many aspects of the American appreciation of football. I also recognize that there are some shortcomings in this research. The most prominent aspect of these considerations is that the research focused predominantly on the players instead of the observers. A large part of the football experience can be linked to the observational process. Another consideration is that my research was largely qualitative and linked to one situation. This research could be extended to a variety of such instances of football playing, as well as observational in more organized contexts. Conclusion Sports have been around for centuries. They have helped shape societal beliefs and have defined success across many cultures. Role models are made through sport, which contributes to how society views sport and this ultimately shapes our beliefs values and even traditions. Playing sports can even bridge the gap of language, gender, race or background. People of all walks of life play the game of soccer (football as it is called in Europe). When teams in Europe get together and play a game it doesn’t matter if they can speak the same language or what color skin they have. The game is standardized and is played with known rules of engagement. This applies to other sports throughout cultures and societies across the globe. Sociology of sport helps to examine the relationship between these sports and society. References Bellis, M. (Unknown). History of Baseball. Retrieved from http://inventors.about.com/od/bstartinventions/a/Baseball.htm Business Wire. (2011, October 13). Major League Baseball Donates $1M to Support Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. Retrieved from http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20111013005930/en/Major-League-Baseball-Donates-1M-Support-Martin Coakley, J. (2004). Sports in society: issues and controversies. New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc. Encyclopedia Britannica. Sociology of Sports. Retrieved From: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/561041/sports/253557/Sociology-of-sports Fact Monster. (2000–2007). Baseball in America: A History. Pearson Education, publishing as Fact Monster. Retrieved from http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0875086.html Henderson, L. A. (2007, March). What is Fantasy Baseball? Retrieved from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/183230/what_is_fantasy_baseball.html MacCambridge, M. (2005). America’s Game. New York: Anchor. Read More