Sport and Politics

Website: http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Issues/2014/10/06/Law-and-Politics/Nationals.aspx?hl=Law%20and%20Politics&sc=0

As we learned on October 2nd and 7th in our American Sport in the 21st Century class, sports and politics raise a lot of talk.  First, we learned that the government promotes the prestige and power of a community or nation.  In the article, it explains how federal candidates and political parties have spent at least $245,000 ticket and merchandise during election times.  Politicians like to do this because sport is one of the largest industries and what most people are interested in.  For this sake, they can get a lot of publicity and support.  Second, we learned that they reproduce dominant values.  Also supported in the article, the politicians are seen giving the tickets away to donors.  This is another way that they are able to gain support through sports.  Finally, we learned that politicians use sport as a way to promote nationalism.  They feel that if they can connect with the sports fans through sports, which already make them feel a sense of nationalism because like in the article they are buying tickets for baseball; America's pastime, they can connect through that and make them feel a sense of nationalism for their government.