Status of Commercialization in Sports - Research Paper Example

Status of Commercialization in Sports Table of Contents 1.0 Brief description of the title 1 2.0 Introduction 2 3.0 Objectives of the research 3 4.0 Literature review 3 4.1 Review one 4 4.2 Review two 4 4.3 Review three 5 4.4 Review four 5 5.0 Data collection method 6 6.0 Summary 7 6.1 Findings 7 6.2 Critical reflection 8 6.3 Conclusion 8 7.0 References 9 1.0 Brief description of the title Work without play makes Jack a dull boy. Sport activities began many centuries ago originating from the diverse socio-economic activities practiced by different communities. Every culture and society around the world can be associated with a particular sport. The sport represents the past, current, and the future history and the entertainment aspect of a particular community. The development of numerous sports activities has led to the identification, nurturing and growth of different talents around the world. Organization of competition events around the world has hit top level as weekends become days to look forward to due to the favorite sports competition. A few centuries ago, when sports like soccer and wrestling started attracting an enormous number of fans, the actual activity was being organized locally with the little preparation made concerning the participants and facilities. Classification of an activity as a sport has been a conundrum to numerous individuals around the world with the search for answers yielding no fruits. Is mountain climbing a sport? Consideration of the physicality and competitiveness in a particular activity leads to a conclusion that sport is an autotelic physical contest. Scrutiny of such an answer yields crucial information regarding the diversity of sports. Furthermore, the definition gives information regarding another aspect that acts as motivation towards participation in a particular sport. Earlier on, people participated in sports specifically for entertainment reasons and passion as the motivation. However, as specialization in sports became more advanced, prices and other rewards was introduced as a motivation. Currently, sports act as a source of living to the participants and other potential investors inform of betting and owners of sports facilities. The research in this article focuses on sports commercialization focusing on different aspects of sports commercialization. 2.0 Introduction Commercialization refers to the process by which a product or service is launched into the general market. Sports commercialization is not a new phenomenon in the face of the earth. The Greek athletes were rewarded with money after a particular event as early as 590BC. However, the issue raising eyebrows concerning sports commercialization in the world today is the rate at which the activity is taking place. The amount of money at stake in today’s sports competition has driven the majority to be vehement about the same. The enormous emotional, physical, and financial investment into the various sports around the world has increased what is at stake. Commercialization has undergone a significant change in the sports sector and the economy as a whole. The influence runs from the government, investors, fans, and the participants. Consideration of the increased rate of commercialization and the number of people who are directly or directly involved, it is necessary to carry out research looking at the subject from different angles. 3.0 Objectives of the research The research has several objectives that provide guidance throughout the research. The objectives are as follows. •To determine the reason or reasons behind increased rate of sport commercialization •To determine the advantages that accrue to the various stakeholders involved in a specific sports activity. •To determine the shortcomings of sports commercialization and how it negatively affects the stakeholders 4.0 Literature review Literature review forms a crucial part of a particular research. It aids in ensuring that one does not repeat what has been done rendering a particular research null and void. Several articles have been written by researchers and well-known bloggers about the same. The information easily accessible through the internet proves enormously useful in the research. However, not all written articles are important in the research and thus success of the same partially depends on the choice of articles with relevant and useful information. 4.1 Review one The first article of analysis is by Professor Trevor Slack. The article usefulness is seen where the author begins by stating the meaning of sports commercialization and a brief history of how it begun among the Greeks. The author goes further to create the desire for more researcher or hunger for knowledge among the readers by indicating the actual issue in the current world. Prof Slack makes it vivid that the actual issue in the current world is not commercialization but the fueled rate at which the process is taking place. The author shines some light on one of the solutions or rather answers to the question that is increased world population that increases the pressure on the economic wellbeing of the people and the nations in general (Slack, 2012). The research acts as an eye opener regarding the issue and leaves rooms for more research basing on the already done research for guidance. Furthermore, the researcher uses relevant examples of the sports that currently form the headlines of almost all sports magazines and newspapers around the world. 4.2 Review two Poorv Sagar, a known sports analysts in India, speaks about the subject. Sargar narrows down to specifically India on matters concerning the sports commercialization. India is one of the countries that have experienced sports commercialization recently in the past few decades. The well-known sport in India is cricket whereby the players of the game would have other means of earning income since the sport was not earning an individual a dime. Such a situation clearly indicates the passion and desire of the game that is at some point ruined by sports commercialization. Currently, the situation in the country has changed with the skyrocketing of sports commercialization. The cricket players can afford a lavish life with no side plans of earning an extra coin (Sagar, 2013). The situation has fueled the development of soccer and hockey especially after the development of Indian Premier League. The author draws a conclusion that commercialization is important to the society as a whole. The increased population of India necessitates the need to diversify means of earning and attraction of potential foreign investors. 4.3 Review three The other article essential in this research is by Richard Pound titled the over-commercialization of sports and the Olympics to be specific. The author analyzes the lamentations in the media over the past few years concerning the claims that Olympics is no longer competition oriented but rather a profit making plan for the concerned parties. The author presents a plain truth of the matter by stating that the private sector makes this games and events attractive. The thousands of fans who attend the events do so with varied intentions. A good portion does so for the love of the game while some of the spectators attend such events due to the serene environment and good facilities that helps the mind relax after a busy week. The attractiveness of the facilities motivates the fans to dig deep into their pockets and pay to watch the sports (Pound, 2011). 4.4 Review four Alanna Marchanrt writes about the impacts of sports commercialization as a whole. The article proves resourceful as both sides of the coin are considered reducing cases of being biased when analyzing the situation. The author makes it clear that sports commercialization has been so helpful in terms of enabling the majority have a dependable source of income. Moreover, the commercialization and the scale of operation of the research act as a good source of revenue by the government which in turn improves the economic status of a particular country. Consideration of countries such as India from the preceded discussion, not only are the players the beneficiaries, but the improvement of social amenities to the people makes it a double win situation. The author goes a step further to explain that sports commercialization has had an enormous positive impact on the improving social relations among people of different ethnic backgrounds. A good example of this is the American Football that has attracted a multitude and created a common pool of interest among all Americans. The African-Americans, the Latinos, and the whites have a meeting point where they can interact and thus reduce cases of racism and discrimination. Merchanrt does not conclude the masterpiece without touching on the negative impacts of the trending issue on sports. It is correct to say that sports commercialization has led to a significant increase in the level of competitiveness leave aside the scale of operation. The desire to win, be the best, and take home the grand prize has led to people doing the unimaginable. It is not something new where several athletes are disqualified after it was discovered that they are or were using some illegal substances. The pressure becomes too much making people irrational. Also, the author writes about unfairness brought about by the commercialization. The rich and powerful have the ability to lure great talents into their sports organizations, invest a lot of money and at the end win almost all the matches. On the other hand, the weak not-so-talented individuals are forced to settle for less paying sports club. The aspect of competitiveness is lost and thus the uncertainty on who will win which is what makes the sports interesting (Marchanr, 2014). 5.0 Data collection method The research utilizes two major data collection methods. The internet proves vital in this kind of research which is why it is a priority. A lot of articles and research reports are found on the internet which acts as a motivation towards the use of the internet as a source of information or the research. Furthermore, the internet as a source of information has several advantages. It is a cheap to get information on the internet compared to other sources for gathering information such as questionnaires and statistical analysis. Time saving is the other advantages that accrue with the use of the internet as a source of information for the research. All that is needed, in this case, is the Internet connection and the knowledge on research and the analysis. The internet is a reliable source of a variety of information as people share the varying views about different things thus one can be able to draw the conclusion about opinion on a particular matter. The other method of data collection in this research is observation. Existence in today’s world makes one a fan of one sport or the other. Observing what is happening enables an individual to gather first-hand information regarding a particular issue. Consideration of time frame and the information required the two sources prove sufficient for one to draw a useful conclusion. 6.0 Summary 6.1 Findings Critical analysis of the collected data yields crucial information about the subject at hand. First, sports commercialization is not a new phenomenon, and the only difference is the rate and scale of the commercialization. The most important question at the moment is whether the commercialization is doing more harm or good to the society. An increase in the private sector and also the full allowance of private ownership and owning of sporting facilities and personnel makes it easier for private investors to venture into the lucrative business. The need for federal and local government to earn more and improve infrastructure has led to the reduced legal procedure and documents needed for a foreign investor to venture into such a business. 6.2 Critical reflection A juxtaposition of the advantages and the shortcoming, so sports commercialization makes it crystal clear that the benefits outdo the negative effects. The increasing world population creates immense pressure on the job market with everyone trying to secure a reliable source of income. The commercialization has led to improved facilities and good livelihood among the people involved in the same. Identification of talent has expanded a great deal due to the improved facilities that are available. Furthermore, the improved technology and formulas have led to improved performance among the participants maintaining a better and attractive physique. Idleness among the youths for so long has led to the engagement in immoral behaviors such as early sex and drug abuse. The development of attractive sports facilities has led to the reduction in the number young people being affected by the negative energy in the society. 6.3 Conclusion In conclusion, the numerous benefits of the commercialization outdo the negative effects. However, the quest to make it better necessitates improvement in certain areas of the same. The relevant authorities should create a measure to ensure that the set rules and regulations are followed to the later. The negative effects of commercialization are something that can be handled and make the sector and the world a better place. Corruption and poor leadership highly contribute to the negativity of the sports which is something that can be dealt with by proper measures and plans are enacted. 7.0 References Marchanr, A. (2014, March 5). Commercialization of sports | Law Teacher. Retrieved from -essays/sports-law/commercialization-of-sports.php Pound, R. (2011, November 4). Is the commercialisation of sports good or bad? | CreateDebate. Retrieved from http://www.createdebate.com/debate/show/Is_the_commercialisation_of_sports_good_or_bad Pound, R. (2012, November 3). The Olympics and the Paradox of Commercialization - HBR. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2012/08/the-olympics-and-the-paradox-o/ Sagar, P. (2013, April 4). Commercialization of Sports: The Good, Bad and Ugly | MouthPiece India. Retrieved from https://mouthpieceindia.wordpress.com/2014/12/13/commercialization-of-sports-the-good-bad-and-ugly/ Slack, T. (2012, October 23). When did commercialization in sporting events start? - Quora. Retrieved from http://www.quora.com/When-did-commercialization-in-sporting-events-start Read More