Sports and competition in Britain

The content

• A national passion• The social importance of sport• Cricket• Football• Rugby• Animals in sport• Other sports• Gambling• A little game

A national passion

• Their main form of entertainment

• Rarely the best at particular sports

< > One of the best in a much larger number of different sports

British individualism at work!

The social importance of sport

• Participation has legal recognition

• Duty of local authority: provide & maintain playing fields and other facilities

• Sports on television:every sportno matter the popularity

• Tradition as important as actual contest

Cricket

• Not the nation sport of Britain• England, small part of Wales: played at

top level• Symbolizes: slow and peaceful way of life• Eleven players• Test matches can last up to five days of

six hours each• Played at top level: Australia,

England,Pakistan… Borat&Crickets

Football

• Association football: full official name of ‘soccer’

• Seperates from:* rugby football* Australian football* American football

• Not only for working classFunnyFootballEnglishFootballTeam

• Appearance of Fanzines:magazines in informal style, published by fans

• Teams tend to be men-only: violent

• No worse anymore because of the accidents

Rugby• Two versions:• Rugby union and

rugby league• Rugby league:

traditional home is the working class of the north of England

• Rugby union: mainly for the middle classes.

Rugby

Animals in Sports• Hunting:

* foxhunting• Shooting:

* killing birds* shooting parties

• Fishing:* competetivly angling

• Race:* horse racing* Greyhound racing

horseRacing

Other sports

• Preference for team games.

• Popular individual sports socializing is an important aspect:

tennis, golf,sailing and snooker.

Gambling

• Widespread: throughout all classes

• Gambling on:* horses* dogs* football pools

• What does it mean? ‘Who won the 2.30 at Chester?’

A little game

• On a sticky wicket

• Saved by the bell

• First past the post

• Win hands down

Cricket: in a difficult situation

Boxing: saved from a bad or dangerous situation by a sudden event

Horse- racing and riding: the winner

Sports in general: win hands down

Some famous venues

• Football Wembley

• Rugby Union Twickenham

• Horse- racing (flat) Ascot

• Cricket Lord’s

• Golf St.- Andrews

• Motor Racing Silverstone