The concept of sports is largely subjective, and we can’t define what a sport is for everyone. We can, however, define what is not a sport for ourselves. If we can define a sport, we will be better able to understand why certain activities are viewed as a sport. If we call one activity a sport, it automatically increases its self-esteem. This is because a sport is a system of competing, compared measures.
In addition to its physical nature, sports involve emotion. These feelings reflect an athlete’s personal evaluation of his performance, as well as how others perceive him. Some emotions arise before a performance, while others may emerge during the game itself. Emotions are scripted by subcultures of sports, and a sport’s rules may govern the way in which athletes express their feelings during game play. In some cases, a team’s national anthem or post-game victory celebrations may dictate a certain manner of behavior.
In the 20th century, sports have also undergone social and spatial diffusion, with women, Aboriginal people, and African Americans winning the right to participate in some of the most traditionally masculine games. But even in countries that remain patriarchal, sports have the power to change the dynamics of a society. As a result, we can see that sports have a history of fostering national identity. And if we want to define the modern version of sports, we must consider its origins.
