Abstract This paper tells the story of how soccer grew from very primitive beginnings to being played in front of thousands of fans at a time. It reports the very first recordings of actual games being played and how soccer was almost doomed to extinction. The paper then explains in depth how soccer migrated to the United States and how it grew so rapidly since then. It concludes with predictions on the future of soccer.
From the Paper "So many ancient cultures played a sport with skills and layout similar to modern day soccer that nobody can agree on exactly by whom or when soccer was created, but it has been traced back to cultures as far as 3000 years ago (Eskenanzi126). One of the earliest forms was from Japan c. 1004 B.C. where a ball was kicked on a rectangular field (Fulton Internet). The Munich Ethnological Museum found text from China around 50 B.C. that mentions a lot of games similar to the modern day game of soccer, and games that were played between China and Japan (Fulton Internet). We know the Chinese kicked a leather ball around, and it is certain that there was a game played in the ancient Japanese capital Kyoto."
Abstract The following paper begins by describing the link between sport and society. It then moves on to discuss competition as essential to sport. This is followed by a discussion of the link between society and competition. Perspectives on overemphasizing sport will then be given as well as a discussion on the value of sport to society. Finally, the paper concludes by summarizing the problems that result when competition in sport is overemphasized.
From the Paper "Sport can be identified as an important part of society, often reflecting the values of society. Christopher Bates Doob in Sociology: An Introduction notes how sports stars are idolized, being seen as the ultimate models of success, with Michael Jordan, Shaquille O"Neal and Charles Barkley being given as examples, with it being noted that these sports stars are famous, wealthy and widely marketed. The impact of sports on people is largely related to identity and to the process of people identifying with sports people. In the Olympics, country competes against country, with spectators of a country cheering for their own and reacting as if they have won when the athlete wins. The reality is that the spectator has no relationship with the athlete except that they share a common culture. Logically, this seems absurd that the spectator would register a win because the athlete wins. This shows the way that people associate with the sports person and the way their actions impact directly on the spectator. It also shows just how much sport means to an individual. The same can be applied to town against town sports, or university against university sports. In all cases, the spectator identifies with a certain side and this gives the sport meaning to them.?
From the Paper " The Mesoamerican Ball Game
Introduction
The Mesoamerican ball game was played for recreational, sociopolitical, and religious reasons. The ball game held a central, primary part in the lives of Mesoamerican people. It was played across a wide geographic area by many different peoples. The ball courts began emerging in the Maya lowlands, at the end of the Middle Formative period (Ashmore 496). There is much, about the ball game, which is only theorized or speculated. The archeological evidence concerning the ball game is limited to the location and design of the ball courts, a few pieces of artifacts found in refuse piles, the contents of caches (when they have been recorded), art work depicting the game in progress, and ethnographic accounts. From these sources of.."
From the Paper " MANDATORY DRUG TESTING IN PROFESSIONAL SPORTS
Introduction
Should mandatory drug testing be used in professional sports? This paper presents several arguments in favor of an affirmative answer to this question. Also discussed are factors that can deter mandatory drug testing programs from achieving those goals, purposes and objectives which provide reason for their use.
Arguments Favoring Mandatory Drug Testing In Professional
Sports
Several arguments support mandatory drug testing of professional athletes. One of these is that mandatory drug testing would help to prevent athletes from suffering the physical long-term consequences of drug-taking by bringing drug.."
From the Paper " Society rarely questions the value of youth participation in sports. Many parents force their children to play sports, believing that such activity instills positive values like teamwork, cooperation, and sportsmanship. Mandatory participation in sports is a part of the physical education curriculum in most elementary schools. Yet sports participation can contribute to lowered self-esteem and aggressive, antisocial behavior in some children.
Competitive sports reflect society's value system. Since the United States, for the greater part of its history, has not felt the menace of foreign aggression and has no universal system of military training, sports fulfill the need to develop in youth the principles of offensive and defensive ability. Competition is based on struggle, the survival of the fittest: "Youth sports.."
LA Gear competes in the athletic and casual footwear market, a market that is dominated by Nike. In the past several years, the company has encountered financial difficulties, a loss of focus in its marketing, and a shrinking market share. These factors have been exacerbated by several changes in management and the withdrawal of the company's single largest investor. This research considers the current state of the industry as a whole and LA Gear's position with the industry in particular.
Industry Analysis-Recent Performance
The domestic footwear market encountered four years of stagnation that ended in the mid-1990s. During that time, Nike adopted a strategic position of maintaining low inventory levels, with the result that the company kept low inventory costs and outperformed the rest of ..."
Examines the symbiotic relationship between the sport and the nation. Provides an overview of Brazil and soccer, soccer clubs, World Cup, socioeconomics and symbolic power.
2,025 words (approx. 8.1 pages), 5 sources, 1999, $ 71.95
Abstract To understand the sport of soccer is, in effect, to understand Brazil. In a nation that is facing economic disaster and an IMF bailout, the only emotional event that has affected the 165 million people of Brazil was losing the World Soccer Cup this year, an event tantamount to major disaster. In a wrap up story, the Associated Press quoted several South American newspapers that captured the mood:
From the Paper "THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF SOCCER IN BRAZIL
To understand the sport of soccer is, in effect, to understand Brazil. In a nation that is facing economic disaster and an IMF bailout, the only emotional event that has affected the 165 million people of Brazil was losing the World Soccer Cup this year, an event tantamount to major disaster. In a wrap up story, the Associated Press quoted several South American newspapers that captured the mood:
"Brazil left all its talent, ability and creativity in the locker room," wrote Jose Trajano of the sports daily Afinal. In Argentina, Brazil's loss was banner headline news. "Brazil Weeps" and "Rio is an ocean of tears," said the Buenos Aires daily Cronica. Former Peruvian soccer great Teofilo Cubillas, in a column in the ..."
Examines the positive and negative effects, gender issues, competition, the role of parents and coaches, moral development, physical requirements, injuries, protective equipment and diet.
3,375 words (approx. 13.5 pages), 15 sources, 1999, $ 119.95
Abstract "Controlled sports permeate the everyday life of American society. Even young children are affected through their exposure to organized athletics, which include baseball/softball, soccer, football, karate/judo, wrestling, field/ice hockey, lacrosse, boxing, and rugby.
From the Paper "Controlled sports permeate the everyday life of American society. Even young children are affected through their exposure to organized athletics, which include baseball/softball, soccer, football, karate/judo, wrestling, field/ice hockey, lacrosse, boxing, and rugby. Participation in such sports can have both a positive and negative effect on the lives of children.
Griffin (1998) offers research and personal insight on organized athletics in an attempt to help parents make decisions about their children and sports. One of the main issues the author addresses is what impact sports have on the social, physical, and moral development of children. The basis of this book is that children see sports as more than just enjoyment and the enhancement of physical skills, particularly for the child who is an enthusiastic participant: "sports is about growing up ..."
Abstract Discusses the art's special features and what makes it unique. Compares it to other forms of martial arts. The paper presents the main ideas and philosophy of Tae Kwon Do and how these are practiced by those who follow the art in their daily life.
From the Paper "Dozens of martial arts are practiced around the world but few are as popular as the Korean art of Tae Kwon Do. It is no surprise that Tae Kwon Do attracts hundreds of millions of students: it comprises the grace and flexibility training of yoga, the self defense potential of Judo, and the mental prowess of Aikido. But Tae Kwon Do surpasses all other martial arts in its attention to all facets of the human being. Tae Kwon Do affects the practitioner on the mental as well as the physical level. Tae Kwon Do is practiced by an estimated 30 million people in almost 150 nations around the world (World Taekwondo Federation, http://myhome.elim.net/taekwondo/wtf/ ). Up to 3 million Americans practice Tae Kwon Do for health and fitness (?History of Taekwondo and the United States Taeqwondo Won,? http://www.ustw.org/index.htm). Its presence in the Olympics testifies to its worldwide presence and acceptance as the best martial art form. Even Karate-do, also immensely popular, cannot match Tae Kwon Do's universal appeal. Contrary to popular belief, Tae Kwon Do can be practiced by anyone, even those in a weakened physical state. The martial art is extremely easy to learn and incorporate into daily life."
Abstract This paper discusses the sport of illegal street racing which, although seen by many as a dangerous and harmful activity is actually full of custom, tradition, and history. It shakes off the stereotype of street racing as just another juvenile crime group by showing that the majority of participants are in fact employed full-time, generally as mechanics, or in other trades such as carpentry, boiler making or shop fitting while others tend to be in full-time education, either at high school or ay local universities. It shows how although 18- to 25-year-olds make up the core the illegal street racing culture, the trend cuts across all races, as well as both genders and how it provides a drug-free and violence free society to compete in, while still earning respect from their peers.
From the Paper "The street racing sub-culture draws its main interest, however, due to two elements which also exist in the mainstream culture, those of masculinity, and the symbol of the car. Various sociological and criminological authors have discussed this link. Australian sociologist Rob White, in his book No Space of Their Own, focuses on the way in which, for many men, "the car becomes indelibly stamped into their consciousness as a key symbol of masculinity" (1990, 124-25). Criminologist Chris Cunneen (1985, 85) claims that the relationship is one of power, arguing, ?There is a necessity in seeing the way cars and motorbikes are symbolic objects of masculine power."
Abstract This study considers understanding fan behavior by understanding their values and emotional levels regarding sports spectating. The results of one survey, distributed to ten randomly selected sports fans and one interview, distributed to an extreme sports fan, have been compared based on personal profiles, behavior patterns, satisfaction levels and social values, in an effort to learn how to improve fan behavior.
From the Paper "The popularity of spectator sports in the United States has seen a huge increase over the past few decades. This enormous increase is shown in the increase of money spent on spectator sports, which increased from $3.7 billion in 1970 to $4.9 billion in 1994 (U. S. Census Bureau, 1996). With this increased popularity, spectator sports have also seen increases in the mass media, with more television and radio time, advertising and promotion being dedicated to sports."
Abstract This paper presents and discusses each side of the drug testing argument, showing that each has its good and bad points. The argument to have no drug testing and the argument to have random drug testing are discussed only briefly, since the paper argues that there can be only one 'right' answer to the drug testing question. The writer claims that in a public high school setting it is the school's right to test for drugs in its athletes if the students have been notified and the date of testing is known.
From the Paper "Recently, the debate over whether high school athletes could be tested for illegal drugs has gotten more heated. There are not two, but three sides to this tricky and complex argument. One side says that high school athletes should never be drug tested for any reason, one side says that high school athletes should be able to be drug tested at any time, based on the discretion of the teacher or coach, and one side says that scheduled drug testing of high school students should be acceptable but random testing should not be. Why the distinction between scheduled and random testing?"
Abstract The paper examines the history of steroids and their original use. It discusses the side affects from taking steroids for both women and men. The paper explores alternative methods to enhance the physical look of ones body without using steroids.
From the Paper "Steroids have been around for about 100 years but no one really knew what they were or did until about 70 years ago. It has really only been since the 30's that we have started to realize what we had. In the 30's they used to give steroids to dogs. When they did this they found a great increase in muscle mass. At first they were like wow this is great all you have to do is take this shot and you can be huge. According to steroidworld.com "the first time that steroids were found in a sport event was around the 50's when Russian lifters shattered weight lifting records" (SteroidWorld 1 p.3). After this happened people and especially doctors started to look into steroids and what they were all about. By 1964 steroids had hit the market and every athlete wanted them. In the beginning no one had any idea about how much to use or when to use them and there were a lot of side affects for that reason but, no one really cared because of the great strength gain."
Abstract The writer discusses how steroids work, the health risks to men and women and the ways in which they are considered helpful. The paper makes a case for the use of steroids as a way to enhance one's physical form and to change one's self-image.
From the Paper "When we talk of steroids, we are not talking about creatine, ephedrine, androstenedione (a.k.a. andro), cell-tech, nitro-tech, or any of the other over the counter products that you may have heard of. The term steroid, androgens, androgenic steroids, anabolic steroids, anabolic-androgenic steroids, juice, roids, sauce, as well as a ton of other slang terms, all refer to the same thing. What really defines a steroid is testosterone. "Steroids can be Testosterone or one of the naturally produced or artificially produced derivatives of this sex hormone" ("T-mag" Part 1)."
Abstract This paper looks at in turn three of the biggest sportswear companies, Fila, Adidas and Nike located in three different countries, Italy, Germany and America. For each company it examines the importance of its location, its primary advertising campaigns and its suitability for the global market.
From the Paper "The Adidas campaign focuses on elite sports stars but also has an emphasis on sport as a fun activity. The pictures of sports stars shown are not ones emphasizing the challenge of sport, but show the sports stars looking happy, including many of the photos showing the sports stars in poses and not in action. The football/soccer section shows David Beckham posing. The Anna Kournikova sections shows the sport stars in action, while also including more model-like head shots. In each of these cases, the emphasis is on the sports star looking good."
