Some drugs used in sports are dangerous. But many sports themselves, and the training also are dangerous. Athletes may be pressured by coaches and trainers to use dangerous drugs, but these same coaches that pressure athletes train hard, which may risk injury. Some people also say that advances in technology in equipment are just the same as drug use. In swimming some people use a shark suit to swim faster. Some people take steroids for the same effect.
Commercialisation of sport is when sport becomes a business. This means that when there are two teams competing to win the game there are many other people who are also trying to make a profit. Sport becomes a global commodity, which means it becomes a product that can be bought or sold over the world. Sport is a worldwide money making “product” that is accessible to everyone. Before sports became commercialised it was run by governing bodies and by the individual clubs. As the sports become commercialised the media bosses and the companies who sponsor teams have more power in the sport and can dictate parts of the games.
This may be anything from dictating the time a match starts so that they can arrange it around other programmes on there station, to saying what logos and names are shown on the kits. Recently the winning GB Olympic team had a ceremony through London to celebrate them. They all were asked to wear the team tracksuit sponsored by Addidas but because of sponsorship conflicts with Nike and Reebok some athletes were told they could not wear it.
“This is not about commercialism but a common-sense decision” Philip Pope BOA spokesman The reason that Nike and Reebok were upset about the athletes they sponsor wearing other companies logos was because of merchandising. Fans do not just support their team they buy all sorts of merchandise to show their connection to the club. Wearing team colours is a fashion statement as well as a way to show alliance to the team. The England football teams grey away kit was designed to look good with jeans so that it would be bought as a casual shirt rather than just a form of support.
Many stadiums have a team shop at the ground to make extra money for the club. This puts pressure on team supporters especially the parent of young children to buy new kits and merchandise as the kids feel it makes them cool and with the “in crowd”. This can back fire though as was the case with Manchester united who changed their kits to often and made parents angry, as the kids always wanted the new kit.
As spoken about before with the media, commercialism also has an effect on the rules of the game and how the game is played. Changes made to speed up the game and make it more accessible to the majority. The Olympic games are the biggest sporting event in the world. Watched by millions of people from every country in the world. Companies know that advertising on such a big sporting area will be extremely beneficial and profitable.
The 1984 games in Los Angeles was the first time the games had corporate sponsorship. The organisational committee separated sponsors into three categories Official Sponsor, Official Supplier and Official Licensee. The profit was $215 million. This is when the Olympic started to be recognised as a multi-million Pound competition, and every company wanted to be a part of it. In 1985 the IOC created The Olympic Partner (TOP) this would spread the revenue support for the games. TOP was made up of multi national organisations. In return for there financial commitments they where guaranteed exclusive and worldwide marketing opportunities
With the increase in the popularity of sport, the games have become a powerful political tool. Some countries use as elite competitors as political ambassadors. One of the main objectives, as stated in the Olympic Charter, of the International Olympic Committee is to, oppose any political abuse of sport and athletes. However, the Olympic games have been influenced by politics for many years One of the most recognised Games to be influenced by politics was in 1936 at the Berlin Games. Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany had control of the Olympic games. He used the Games as a display of political strength. Many Jewish communities, in various countries, asked for a boycott of these Games. Hitler failed in his attempt to use the Games to prove his theory of racial superiority. As Jesse Owens, an American black athlete, won four gold medals in the 100m, 200m, long jump and the 4 x 100m relay