As
a global society we deeply value sport and everything that comes along with it.
We value it so much that we have allowed it to dictate wars, dominate our
supreme courts, cause riots, and divide our globe. Over the years we have seen
that some of the most important headlines put out by the media have involved
sports rather than politics. We also have seen that major events in sports can
greatly affect the political world. Events such as 1919 World Series, Jackie
Robinson and the color barrier, the ’72 Olympics in Munich, the “Miracle on
Ice”, and the 2008 summer games in Beijing give examples on how sport can truly
dictate the headlines and drastically affect the political theatre.
Until
the 1890’s the world and politics were free of major sports capturing the eyes
and hearts of the people. Around that time England saw the emergence of their
major soccer and rugby leagues, which gave the people and the media something
to pay attention to. A few years later the United States saw baseball gain
major popularity especially the World Series, which became the most popular
sporting event in the country. Baseball became so popular that it earned the name
of “America’s Pastime”. In 1919 the heart beat of the country momentarily
stopped when it was revealed that members of the Chicago White Sox, losers of
the World Series that year, took part in throwing the series in return for
money from big time gamblers. Up until this time in American sports, people
believed that it was the one thing left in the world that was still pure and
fair. Although the eight men who were tried for the crime were acquitted, the
actions and allegations still made a profound impact on the American society.
For one, people realized that athletes were humans too. it also showed that
sports were now important enough that they could be tried on a federal level. The
most important impact however was the impact made on the political stage.
During
the early 20th century workers were being severely taken advantage
of by their business owners. This was a time when the most famous “Robber
Barons” in our nation’s history ran the country, Rockefeller, Carnegie, and
Vanderbilt just to name a few. While the White Sox embarrassed themselves on
the national stage by purposely losing the World Series, they also spoke to
people who were feeling the same pain that they felt as well. These players
were drastically underpaid and had to rely on thugs, bootleggers, and gamblers
to keep them afloat finically. These “Black Sox”, as they would eventually be
called made a statement for the workingman and made a statement to the politics
of the United States at the time. a near immediate impact was seen in the work
place in favor of the worker.
Years
later, baseball was involved in another major headline this time it was
regarding ethnicity. In a time of major racial hostility in America, The
Brooklyn Dodgers of Major League Baseball took a huge chance on breaking the
color barrier by signing an African American, future Hall of Fame, second
baseman, Jackie Robinson. By Jackie Robinson joining the MLB, the most popular
of all professional sports leagues at the time, they made a statement that they
were progressing faster than the rest of the country that was still lacking
behind due to harsh segregation laws. The Dodgers weren’t signing Robinson
because they felt bad for him, they signed him because they didn’t see a color
what they saw was talent. When Robinson went out and played in front of the
country he began to change minds. Robinson changed the way second base was
played by becoming a run producer in a position that rarely saw that skill set
before. According to Baseball Reference, In Robinson's third year in the league
(1949) he won the Most Valuable Player Award by batting .342 and driving in 124
runs. People started to realize that color doesn’t determine your skill set or
intelligence and that maybe everyone is equal. Robinson and the Dodgers set an
example that hit home for many. When looking at it, it is possible to assume
that Robinson, the Dodgers, and sports began the progress of the 20th
century civil rights movement. Later in 1954, seven years after Robinson broke
the color barrier in baseball, many black activist leaders began to gain
prowess and clout throughout the country in hopes to make the entire country
equal. These leaders,
informally named the Big Six, were A. Philip Randolph, Roy Wilkins, Martin
Luther King Jr., Whitney Young, James Farmer and John Lewis. Eventually, the
traditions and laws of the United States would change towards integration and
would finally live up to the “and justice for all” they always speak so proudly
of, but without Jackie Robinson and the Dodgers daring to change the status
quo, things might be very different.
Years
later, sports would explode onto the global scene. The 1972 Olympics in Munich,
Germany would be remembered as one of the most polarizing events of the 20th
century. During these Olympics the world was exposed glory, tragedy, and
scandal something no global event had seen since World War Two. These games
were played during the height of the Cold War in the Theater of the most
important area of the war as well.
To begin, the glory of the games featured United
States swimmer Mark Spitz who won a then record seven Gold Medals. Spitz’
dominance gave the American people something to brag about because of the
disappointment and shame that was occurring in the Vietnam War. Spitz instantly
became a globally competing superstar athlete, something that would become more
common in years to come. Spitz had become so globally popular that the
International Olympic Committee accused Spitz of trying to use his shoes as
product placement during his gold medal reception. Of course it was later
revealed that Spitz was innocent, but the fact that he was even accused showed
that any of his actions were under the spotlight more than any other athlete.
The tragedy that occurred in the games was the terrorist
attack the group Black September “On 5 September, eight Palestinian
terrorists broke into the Olympic Village, killing two members of the Israeli
team and taking nine hostages. In the ensuing battle, all nine Israeli hostages
were killed, as were five of the terrorists and one policeman. In defiance of
the terrorists, the IOC ordered the competitions to resume after a pause of 34
hours.” (Munich 1972). In this instance, sport was taken to a new level. At a
time of major hostility in the Middle East between the Israelis and
Palestinians, they felt that the best place to make a statement was at the
greatest sporting spectacle the world had ever seen. Although this event was
horrific, it showed that major sports have evolved into more than just an
American obsession but now into a Global phenomenon.
The most
interesting event that occurred in these Olympics was the scandal. The 1972
basketball championship between the United States and the USSR was the most
globally dividing game in the history of sports at the time. “It was perhaps the most controversial result in Olympic history.”
(Cold War on the Courts). The game went back and fourth and back and fourth
until finally, the United States down by one point late in the game, had one of
their players fouled on his way to the basket. He was awarded two free throws
in which he made them both; this gave the US the lead by one point with three
seconds left on the clock. After a whole lot of controversy and 2 redo’s of the
inbounds play in the Soviet’s favor, the Russians finally inbounded the ball
down the court. But the controversy didn’t end there. When the ball was thrown
down the court, the Russian player caught the ball, clearly stepped out of
bounds, and the clock ran out of time. While all of this happened, the refs
refused to blow the play dead for one reason or another. When the Russian
player regained his composure, he laid the ball into the net and the Russians
won by one point. After extreme arguing from the US bench, they finally gave up
and the Russians snuck away gold medalists. This loss stung so badly that the
United States refused to show up and receive their silver medals. They and the
replay had claimed they had won. Not to mention that they felt that they had
won on the previous two inbounds plays that were deemed void. Overall, this
proves how strong the rivalry had become by the 1970’s, each side refused to
lose. The game eventually was brought up to the committee to be voted on out of
five votes, the united states lost the vote 3 to 2, their 2 votes coming from Puerto
Rico and Italy (both NATO countries), and the 3 votes that went against them
came from Hungary, Cuba and Poland (all Warsaw Pact nations). This really
showed the divide in the world, Communism V. Democracy. The world of sports had
really been divided by the Cold War. These Olympic games really were much
different than any other ever played before because they were truly political
games rather than just regular games. This was the time when the world realized
the political clout of sports.
Much like in the 72’ games, the 1980 games in Lake Placid, New York
were extremely influential on the political stage but this time it all rested
in the hands of one epic hockey game between who else but, the USA and the
USSR. With the Cold War going through a transition period, the Semi-finals
between the two nations were extremely impactful. With the United States being
the severe under dogs, they felt that a victory over the Russians would give
them a severe blow, which could help change the tide of the current stalemate.
Being that the war saw no real fighting between the two superpowers, the
battles had to be fought by other means such as the arms and space race and
through sports. This game was on the United States home front and a loss to the
hated Russians would be a giant psychological blow. The media coverage was
ridiculous and so was everything about the game.
The game began
and the Soviets came out flying, they easily out shot the Americans by a large
margin, but the Americans kept fighting after an early 2-1 Soviet lead. The end
of the period was a different story when the Americans scored at the buzzer.
Going into intermission, the Americans finally believed that they could do it,
defeat the mighty Russians.
The second period
was a little more lopsided because the US could only muster off 2 shots on net
while the Soviets added to their goal total making the game 3-2. The third
period was completely different simply because of age. The Soviets were
veterans whereas the Americans were young in shape college kids, many thanks to
coach Herb Brooks. Having realized what advantage they had, the Americans used
their youth and stamina to their advantage. As the Americans would come back to
tie the game in this period, the Soviet coach Viktor Tikhonov replaced the best
goalie in the world with his back up, this would become a regretful decision as
the fresh Americans would come firing down the ice after this point. About half
way through the period the unthinkable had happened, the Americans took the
lead with a final Mike Eruzione goal. With 10 minutes left in the game, the
Americans had to play great defense in order to hold off the ferocious
Russians. As the 2 teams battled, time wore down. With just seconds left on the
clock, announcer Al Michaels made one of the most famous calls in sports
history “Do you believe in miracles? Yes!” This quote not only gave birth to
the name of the game “The Miracle on Ice” but it also really epitomized what
the American people were feeling, this call really just made the people realize
that miracles can happen, we can beat the Russians in this cold struggle. “The nation was looking for a
distraction from world events, which included the impending threat of nuclear
war, the country's hostages in Iran, and the long lines at the gas pumps. With
little good in the news, Herb Brooks and his ragtag hockey team of college kids
soon became the national focus. Their victory over the Soviet Union, our Cold
War enemy, gave the United States a symbol of hope. It also inflicted upon the
Russians a scar of defeat.” (Miracle On Ice: American Hockey's Defining Moment). No sporting event in history had had such an affect on
foreign affairs and the fate of the world, as did the “Miracle on Ice”.
After the Cold War ended and the Berlin Wall fell, things
began to calm down in the world of sports because year in and year out, sports
were proving that they were equally as important on the political stage as the
president. With the steroid scandals in baseball and the Superbowl getting more
views than the presidential state of the union addresses, we have become used
to major sports headlines because they are so mainstream today in our society.
One major event that didn’t necessarily stand out but was very quietly shocking
was the 2008 summer Olympics in Beijing, China. Like the Americans felt in
1980, the Chinese knew that they had to make a statement on their turf. Quietly
these games were between two nations, the United States and China. It was well
documented that the Chinese were doing all they could to make sure that they
came out on top of these Olympic games. “Chinese sporting chiefs have spent the past few years
focusing on disciplines where Americans have traditionally excelled, including
swimming, basketball and athletics.” (Elmer, David). Eventually the Chinese would win the
total gold medal count by blowing out the Americans 51-36 accomplishing their
goal of making a statement in the sporting world. What the Chinese realized was
that by making a statement in the sporting world, they really made a statement
in the political world because ever since, they have been the only competitors
with the United States in political world. Since these 2008 Olympics the United
States have felt threatened by the Chinese just like they were by the Russians
when they used to lose during the mid 20th century. Sports are a
powerful tool and can be used to inspire the spirit of a country or destroy the
spirit of another. These Olympic games were extremely important could be the
start of a new Cold War.
Recently within the past year, sports have been making
the headlines more than ever when we are seeing colleges and universities getting
accused of issues ranging from paying their athletes to rape and molestation.
The true arrival of sports on the political stage is seeing how these coaches
are handling themselves. They are truly acting like politicians by giving only
politically correct answers and facing the same pressures of the United States
President.
Over the years, sports have come to dominate the media
headlines because it has become apparent that often, major moments in sports
can actually define politics. Beginning with the United States in the early 20th
century, sports began to define the political natures of the country. Later
with the popularity growth in the Olympics, sports began to define the politics
of the entire world. Still today we identify with sports and we attempt to look
towards them when looking for the next precedent in our global society.
Recently we saw the 2008 Olympics where the Chinese dominated the games and the
United States were a far second. Could this be a sign of things to come… only
the future can tell. We might just find out during the up coming Olympics or
maybe the World Baseball Classic.
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