Countries should care about the success of their national teams because of the impact that success could have on the world's image of that country. Sporting events such as the Olympics or the World Cup provide the chance for states to demonstrate their sportsmanship and camaraderie, or lack of, and the success of a national team is important to a country in terms of moral and reputation. During sporting events like these, people from all over the world are watching, therefore it is important that athletes and teams put on their best performances and their best behavior. With these athletes being ambassadors to their countries, it is important to sustain a good reputation because anything that happens could reflect poorly on your country. From an economic standpoint worldwide sporting events are beneficial because they allow countries to advertise and demonstrate their value to people across the globe. For example during the Olympics an american could see an advertisement promoting cruises in Norway, because for a few months Norway is thrown into the global spotlight whereas at any other time it is not seen as a big tourist attraction. Although these sporting events are a chance for countries to advertise and get on the map, states also use these competitions to boost the morale of the people.
The Olympics and World Cup give the fans and citizens of countries a chance to support their country and a reason to rally behind them. A struggling nation, whether it be economic trouble or political turmoil, has the opportunity to unite for a month out of the year, to stop all violence that might be occurring, and to forget all religious, political, and racial differences. If an unstable country has a common goal, for their soccer team to win the World Cup, then those people all have the same thing to cheer for. Athletic competitions not only give countries a chance to improve global reputation, but also gives them hope in times of trouble and something to unite around. So although they are only labeled as friendly competitions, global sporting events are important to countries and they should care about their teams, regardless of whether they win or lose.
Citizens should care about their country's performance and the behavior of their athletes; Ben put it very well when he said that during the time of the Olympics or World Cup athletes are ambassadors. It is very important that these athletes portray a possitive image of their country - just like diplomats, the world will associate their actions with those of their nation.
ReplyDeleteAdvertising through these international sporting events may help some countries economies, but it is the most beneficial to the nation hosting the games. It is very good for their economy and their international image. China, for example, used the 2008 Beijing Olympics to show the world that they had become a modern and industrialized nation, yet a nation who still had strong ties with its ancient culture. They did this by building first-rate sports complexes and through their involvement in the opening ceremony, where they displayed Chinese culture to the world.
While international sporting events may help build unity within a nation, they can hurt global unity. Each nation cheers specifically for their team, meaning that they can become hostile against other nations. Sometimes, political rivalries extend into the Olympics. During the Cold War Russia and the US battled in every sport; winning was the most important thing as people felt it made their country seem stronger. Although international games are in general a positive thing, citizens should be careful not to extend existing hostilities to these games.