Sports Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Sports - Essay Example In his Sport: A Cultural History, Richard Mandell leads the reader through the history of sports and really gets at the core of what makes sports such a quintessentially human activity and enterprise. For the Greeks, for example, sports were a time for ritual and pageantry. They set their calendars according to the various sporting events that they loved so much. Sports and sporting events were inherently tied to religious practice and offerings to the gods would be made at the various Olympic games. Indeed, the Olympics began as a way of honouring the important gods whom the Greeks loved so much. Athletes were worshipped as paragons of physical beauty and power and their deeds were written about in epic poems. Indeed, some athletes were even seen as human gods and were worshipped by their followers. There was of course an additional element to the athletic prowess, as Mandell clearly indicates in his fine book: Athletic talent, potential or proved, was a precious commodity in the economic and political commerce of Greece. Established or promising athletes were therefore worth nurturing. The superior athlete, then, functioned in a quasi-sacred atmosphere, his performances ritualistically arranged and reverentially viewed. The awesome semi-divine status given the victor . . . has never been equalled subsequently. (53) Mandell's book was written in 1984, before the rise of celebrity cult that surrounds many athletes today. Just as in the ancient world a cult would develop around a god or a goddess, so today many athletes have thousands of fans. In the past, gods and saints would have icons-today fans cover themselves in logos and put posters on the wall. There are a lot of similarities between gods and athletes in today's contemporary world. So while athletes such as David Beckham and Alex Rodriguez may not literally be considered divine in today's world, they certainly do occupy a position of significant power and fame-more so than nearly anyone else on the planet. They are often involved with beautiful women, fast cars, and advertising campaigns. They make tens of millions of dollars and can do virtually anything they like. Indeed, it is fair to say that in today's world the culture of sports celebrity has never been so vibrant. We truly live in unique times. In the 20th century sports have been about celebrity, but they have also been about politics too. This is another important point made by Mandell in his book. He compares the rivalries between Communist countries and capitalist countries throughout the last one hundred years. He shows how much governments and people invested in their athletes as representatives of their political ideologies and their nationalist hopes. Sports was in a way an extension of war by other means. The Soviet Union especially is an interesting case study in the subject. Mandell writes: There was no indigenous sports tradition acceptable for the vast empire of many cultures, so the Soviets adopted all those sports that since 1896 had been steadily integrated into the Olympic program. The thorough recruiting of potential stars, the scientific investigation of principles of movement and performance, the refinement of apparatus and training that had characterized American and then Japanese and Nazi sport were pushed much further. Fitness exercises were introduced at all levels of education and even on the job. (265) Sports for the Soviets were politics. Sports were international prestige and a

BMW Films case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

BMW Films - Case Study Example Besides â€Å"the hire† series, various options that the company can take in order to consolidate its marketing strategy are paramount in order to maintain its market position, and increase its success and performance in the automobile industry (Jham 2). Concerning a approach that can help consolidate the market position that BMW has had in their marketing and general growth, there is a need for the company to make a careful consideration of their previous action. â€Å"The hire† series were an essential step that gave the company huge growth after their introduction in terms of average sales as shown. Information from customers’ feedback has openly shown that they loved the approach and were fascinated by the driver character in the BMW films. As the company executive officer, there seem to be another opportunity in re-inventing the series. In this approach, the company should try to increase the amount of time, since people have been eager to know what happened of the driver in the films (Moon 10). Here is the catch, the company should re-edit the strategy and include other characters that advance the promotional objectives of the company, the results would surely be tremendous. The first option explains that the company should milk all the films available completely before re-introducing a new strategy. This is also the same idea in the second option; however, the third one talks of something a different, a new version of the films. Rejecting the first two arises from the fact that they may not be any different from the current BMW films approach, for this reason, the company may not achieve much. The forth option recommends for doing nothing, but watch as the events unfold, this is not a safe idea because other companies are trying their best to increase their market share, BMW therefore has a mandate to change its approach too. The issues of whether the