ABSTRACT
Not only does sport pervade our culture, but it has an important place in a multitude of other cultures. In this way, sport provides a commonality of experience on a global scale that is extremely rare in any other field of human experience, except perhaps religion. It is because of this commonality that sport has the potential to provide a common language which could be used to communicate within, and between, a variety of cultures. This shared experience has a number of operational contexts. First, there is the small-scale, sometimes sub-cultural, context. Here sport is conducted locally and in community settings. This has often been referred to as the grass roots of sport. At this level, sport represents, among other experiences, a chance to share a social occasion with one’s fellow sports participants. Sport contributes to the development of local history and tradition and many events are as a result of historical and traditional considerations. The cricket match on the village green or the darts match in the pub are examples of this level of engagement. Second, there is the national scale. This aspect of sports participation and involvement includes national leagues, such as soccer’s Premiership, and national sporting characteristics and contributes to a national sporting identity. Sport at this level is a far more serious venture, usually highly competitive and often professional. It serves a variety of purposes, not the least of which is providing a spectator spectacle. Third, there is the international, or global context. This provides an interface for the meeting of a variety of local and national sporting endeavours. This ranges from the village rugby team on tour abroad to major international sporting events such as the World Cup or the Olympic Games. These major events are sometimes the site of political actions and of vested national interest. Again, spectatorship and the public consumption of sport is important. As such, the media play a large part in the operation of international sport. The major purpose of this chapter is to look at the place and importance of sport in this variety of operational, and essentially social, contexts.
