ABSTRACT
The mythology that hails a division between sport and politics is nearly as universal as the games and governments themselves. However, in light of the notorious individualism of American society and its citizens’ embrace of “American exceptionalism,” it is felt in particularly acute ways in the United States. In particular, Americans have long embraced the idea that sport provides an “escape” from political and social troubles, even as they celebrate their
nation’s athletic accomplishments as evidence of superior character. Participation in the early iterations of the modern Olympics, for example, gave rise to triumphant narratives about the “New World” and the American “melting pot.” As S.W. Pope (1997) details, after the 1900 Games in Paris:
President Theodore Roosevelt exploited the occasion to pay homage to the virtues of the frontier, westward expansion, and America’s policy of manifest destiny. In a world alive with social Darwinism, displays of material and natural abundance became an outward sign of inner strength and a high level of culture.
