The former British athlete Sebastian Coe declared on the 12th November that "he wanted to tap into United Kingdom's passion for sports" by presenting the London Olympic bid.
It is indeed undeniable that sports have a significant place in British society. There are at least 36 million people, much more than half of the British population, who workout once a month. On an international scale, Great Britain owns about fifty sport world titles. Great Britain has surely been the place where the passion for sports has been the most popular over the last few decades in Europe. Football and Rugby for instance have deep roots in the British society.
But one may wonder how come this fabulous British passion for sport is undying. In order to answer to this question, it is necessary to examine the framework where this passion for sport grows and spreads out easily in Great Britain.
We can say that Great Britain is the birthplace of many sports in Europe and all over the world. For instance, the English football Association was created in 1863, a few years after the creation of the sport, the Rugby football Union was created in 1871 along with many other associations that were created during the two last centuries in Great Britain. These are symbols of the strong link between the country and its passion for sport.
[...] Sports played a part in cementing the empire before 1945 and afterwards were important for the Commonwealth with the organization of the Commonwealth Games The British population The main supporters and actors of mass sports like football and rugby are for sure the middle class and working class who try moreover to appropriate previous posh sports like boxing or cricket. In fact, sport in Great Britain has become so important thanks to their unconditional support. Then, upper middle class and aristocracy are most interested and represented in Tennis (we must keep in mind that the tournament Wimbledon is one of the most famous tennis competition in the world), Golf (There are lots of very famous golf fields in Great Britain and especially in Scotland like St Andrews and Carnoustie), field Hockey or Horse Riding (Epsom derby for example). [...]
[...] So the derbies are very important: for instance Aston Villa versus Birmingham City for cities but also Leeds United against Manchester United in the north Religious aspects This part is very general because even if religion has always taken part in big events and particularly in sports ones, it has never played a direct role or it has always been mixed with others facts. So it's very complicated to analyze the religious aspect of the sport in general. But in Great Britain, we can however say something about it because of the particularity of the country on the religious aspect. [...]
[...] II] When the passion for sports turns to Fanaticism: The British exclusivity and its limits. Be fan in Great Britain The necessary devotion to sports As we have previously said, the passion the British develop toward sport is so important that it is now “impossible” not to adhere to a certain spirit which makes you dream. This can be explained because people in general and especially the working class have lives which are often very sad because of their family situation, their work or because of delinquency. [...]
[...] Cricket is a British institution and is part of English boys' curriculum but it is also played at girls schools, in colleges and universities according to Blair's home rules laid down by the Marylebone cricket club which was founded in 1787. In the 18th century, cricket was played by aristocrats. Playing roles were divided into professional bowlers, mostly working class, and amateur batsmen which were gentlemen players. Rugby was named after the public school of Rugby, were it originated in the first half of the 19th century. [...]
[...] Its objective is to: Improve access to facilities and to better coaching Achieve better health through sport Improve sporting performance Maximise the potential of sport in order to create wealth and employment All distributing bodies of Lottery funding are to ensure that applicants incorporate access and availability for diseabled people. The government also wishes to improve facilities for disabled spectators by puting wheelchair in spaces offering an unobstructed view of the pitch. Finaly, sport is now considered as a mean to improve social life and involvement in the society. [...]
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