Sport

[philosopher]

How will the revolution change sport and how will sports fans react to the changes. I have done a short piece on how I see the current situation.

Capitalism dominates all forms of human activity and converts them into private property; even sport becomes an arm of commercial exploitation. Proprietors of sports clubs are not concerned with merely organising a winning team with which a local community can support and identify; they are not in the least interested in team spirit and sportsmanlike behaviour. Capitalism treats sport like any other commercial venture, ticket money collected and retained is transformed into accumulated capital adding to the mounting wealth of privately owned clubs. The purchase of the most talented players by well established clubs with the most capital ensures not only that smaller and weaker rivals are beaten on the field but are also ruthlessly ground into the turf under the mighty boot of organised capital. Sport on the face of it a friendly competition between two opposing teams; in reality a bitter struggle between two centres of accumulated capital.

[karmaradical]

There is however, a large leftist fan base in soccer. There is also in this sport, a far right following. There have been quite a few soccer games where it is not nessecarily a game of capital vs capital, but sometimes ideology vs ideology. Of course this is all wrapped up in a big sushi roll of exploited labor.

[YKTMX]

If there's one thing I agree with in Michael Albert's thought, it's his criticism of the Left in America's snobbish attitudes to sport.

Sport, and the enjoyment of sport, is a central feature of working class life. It gives people a sense of identity, an expression of self, which they are denied in capitalist society. Of course we would like to see more class based identity, but I doubt that having a condescending attitude to things like football is the best way to achieve it.

It's slightly different here in the UK.

Perhaps American comrades would like to comment on this? Have they seen a lot of this in their time? Perhaps they were even guilty of it.

[YSR]

I've been guilty occasionally.

It's really worst amongst the liberal intellectual types, but leftists do suffer from it occasionally. My experiences have been that we're considerably better than those liberals, however.

In the context of American sports, which tend to be dominated by reactionary/conservative messages, I can see why liberals react with snobbishness. A lot of the reactionary working class is heavily involved in sports, particularly NASCAR and American football. But of course, these liberals see mostsports as being enjoyed by the part of the population they don't appreciate (ie the working class).

This is a phenomena among middle/upper-class liberals. Working class liberals are just as likely to enjoy sports as the rest of us.

Sports: Uniting the working class!

[Amusing Scrotum]

Originally posted by philosopher+--> (philosopher)How will the revolution change sport and how will sports fans react to the changes.[/b]

Post-revolution sport will likely be like the Pub football leagues already in existence....that is, people just playing on a shitty pitch for fun. There may be some kind of National League; but that would just be made up of particularly good players.

The American equivalent of this, as far as I know, would be the Bowling Leagues....you know, a load of fat guys go bowling for fun.


YKTMX
....it's his criticism of the Left in America's snobbish attitudes to sport.

There was one British group (maybe Socialist Appeal), that concluded that sport wouldn't be around post-revolution. And I've got a feeling that I learnt this piece of trivial information from Mark Steel....he's the only guy I can think of that would have brought something like this up in a piece of writing.

The funniest on, in my opinion, is all the people who wish to see boxing banned post-revolution. Boxing, after all, is about as working class as a sport can get....the rich kids fence. <_<

[Brownfist]

Well I think sport will be around post-revolution however, I do think that the meaning of sport will be altered. I think that we need to sport in specific circumstances of specific social relations and economic-political identities and realities. If one looks at Celtics and Rangers games in football, India and Pakistan cricket matches, cricket during apartheid South Africa etc. I recently wrote a paper on sports and politics in India and Pakistan. Thus, a post-revolutionary scenario would alter the very relationship to sports. Sports I think would go through a transformation from its presently commodified state. I agree with YKTMX that:


Sport, and the enjoyment of sport, is a central feature of working class life. It gives people a sense of identity, an expression of self, which they are denied in capitalist society. Of course we would like to see more class based identity, but I doubt that having a condescending attitude to things like football is the best way to achieve it.

However, we do need to see how sports has lead to commodification of everyday life. Thus, contemporary sports would need to undergo a transformation which would allow for sports to become leisure once again, or as Adorno refers to it as "free time".

A critique of sports that has been provided by a little known Indian Feminist-Marxist Ranganayakamma can be found at: http://www.ranganayakamma.org/malleswari.htm.