Sport as an Aspect of Culture in the British Society - Essay Example

Sport as an Aspect of Culture in the British Society Introduction The modern society is an illustration of the role and position of sport in the society. It is impossible to understand the society and its cultures without acknowledging the role of sports. Sport is now an international phenomenon, but each country has its own administration and structure that manages sporting events. Each country has its own origin of sports and how it became part of the society’s culture (Jarvie, 2013). Britain, however, is known for its invention in various sports and their development. This paper discusses sports as a cultural aspect of the British society. Culture is the way of life, and the British way of life included sports (Holt, 2007). This paper will discuss the origin of sports in Britain and how it has formed an integral part of the society’s culture. Sport has always been known to be part of the British community. A German, who visited Britain one time in the 1920s, commented that, the play spirit is was the most valuable feature in English man’s character. Sport had been built into a national code, and a rule of life. Sport was the source of Britain’s imperial dynamism. It is believed to have created solidarity among the upper and middle classes (Holt, 2007). Culture is the way of life, and sporting was part of people’s lives in Britain. People used to play football, rugby, and other sports in open fields. There were no rules then, but changes in the society led to the development of rules for the games. People used to make the popular cultures, for example, the attendance and cheering of people playing football. Industrialization brought new changes, and one of them was taking away football off the streets. It was also taken away from the working class (Perry, 2011; InterNation, 2014). The quest for a more controlled and civilized society led to the desire to develop rules and regulations in sports. It was during the industrial era, and companies feared losing employees from violent ports that left so many men injured and unable to work. This is when the disciplinary value was recognized, and more focus placed on the spirit of fair play (Perry, 2011). The public school system remade football and other games. While in schools, sometimes the children were allowed to play against their teachers, which placed them in a disadvantaged position. People used to get hurt in such games, especially rugby and football. Because of that, the rules were developed to protect those who were disadvantaged, and make the games more interesting. An example is the creation of rules for a rugby game by Thomas Arnold, who was a headmaster at Rugby school (Perry, 2011). Britain is one of the regions acknowledged for invention of various sports. These include sporting activities such as tennis, rugby, football, and cricket. Cricket, for example, was known to be an English game. Since the 19th century, more than 10 official sports have been created in this region. Football is the most popular. Football was created in England with its rules first written in 1863. The game was named football because people used their feet to kick the ball (Crawford, 2004). Another popular game in Britain is rugby. This was also created in the UK. In 1871, an association responsible for the management of this game was created in the United Kingdom; The Rugby Football Union. Several other team and individual sports were created in the Great Britain. Cricket was developed in 1598 in England, but there are stories of the game having existed 300 years. Curling is a game created in Scotland around 1540. This is almost similar to golf, but involves playing in the ice, and players hit the other’s stone out of the way. The game involves taking turns to slide a stone to a circular target. Hockey is also another game, and this was created in 1849. It is indicated that, this game was recorded by King Edward III in 1363. Other games created in Britain are; tennis, created in Birmingham, England between 1860 and 1865. Boxing created in England in the 1700s. Another is Table Tennis that has its origins from England, and was developed in the late 1800s. Squash created near London in 1830, and Badminton, which was developed in Gloucestershire in the mid 1800’s (Crawford, 2004). The formal codification and national administration of sport were the beginning of changes that have been seen in sports. This led to the commercialization that has contributed to the sporting events that happen today. Today people are trained to become professional sportsmen, and the media and businesses use the events to advertise and make money (Schirato, 2007). Currently, sport is an international phenomenon with each country having teams and athletes participating in various events. Sporting events, however, have become a source of entertainment, from local, national to international levels. Sport in Britain is still part of the society’s culture, except that the manners in which the sports are carried out are different. Today sports are organized for a variety of purposes apart from entertainment. A common way of getting people into the stadia is still in practice (Schirato, 2007). In the current society, sports contribute to the economy of the nation; some of the most spectacular events are associated with sporting events, it is important for politicians to be associated with sports personalities, and sports forms part of social and cultural fabric of different nations, regions and localities. It has been shown to have transformative potential especially in poor countries. Sporting has improved the economy of poor countries. Sport is important to film and television industry, and is associated with various social issues (Jarvie, 2013; InterNations, 2014). Conclusion Sport is an important part of the British culture. Playing was part of the British routine activities. They played in open grounds and from this they created other sports. They are responsible for creating about 10 types of sports and even the rules associated with sports. The history of Britain and sports can reveal all the details about the culture of sports in the region. References Crawford, G., 2004, Consuming Sport: Fans, Sport and Culture, London: Routledge. Holt, R., 2007, Sport and the British: A Modern History, Oxford: Oxford University Press. InterNations, 2014, Sports in the UK, Retrieved from: http://www.internations.org/great-britain-expats/guide/16134-culture-shopping-recreation/sports-in-the-uk-16135 Jarvie, G., 2013, Sport, Culture and Society: An Introduction. Retrieved from: http://www.imd.inder.cu/adjuntos/article/560/Sport%20Culture%20and%20Society%20An%20Introduction.pdf Perry, A., 2011, Victorian Sport: Playing by the Rules. Retrieved from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/sport_01.shtml Schirato, T., 2007, Understanding Sports Culture, London: SAGE. Read More