The emotions associated with sports are often orchestrated. An athlete’s feelings, for example, reflect his or her own performance and the evaluations of others. Some feelings are anticipatory, while others come during and after a performance. The emotion-management processes involved in sports may be governed by rules and customs. Athletes may display appropriate emotions during the national anthem or during post-game victory celebrations. However, these emotions are often influenced by social influences outside the context of the game.
In modern times, sports have become globalized and transnational corporations compete to sell their products to the broadest possible market. Despite the emergence of global sports, non-Western cultures have resisted the globalization of sports, preserving their traditional recreational pursuits. Asian martial arts are an example of globalization in action. While these global processes involve shifting power balances and multidirectional movements of people, their effects may be unintended. Therefore, it is important to understand the underlying principles of global sports and the ways in which they affect the world.
In terms of organisation, the definition of sports is highly complex. While there is an aesthetic element in some sports, the modern focus is largely on quantified achievement. A notable change in semantics reflects the shift from the Renaissance to modern sports: the word measure, formerly connoting a sense of proportion and balance, has now become a mathematical concept. Therefore, a proper definition of sports will enable an informed and enlightened discussion of the topic.
