When it comes time for global sporting competitions such as the World Cup or the Olympics, a state should care about its team’s performance. For events such as these, an entire nation is represented by just a small handful of people. The players and athletes wear their states’ colors and flags and by doing so become a living symbol of that nation. The fans share in this sense of national pride by also wearing the colors of their respective state. Because of this, the team’s performance can directly correlate with how other people of the world view that nation.
Global sporting competitions also spark a form of internationalism that otherwise would not occur. An example would be the United States, a state where “football” is not the most popular sport, yet from the month long span of time of June 11th to July 11th, the World Cup was one of the most highly watched and discussed events in the U.S.. Americans wanted to support “their” team and show pride for the country they belong to. Further still, global sporting events create an cross-national interest as even when an individual state’s team loses and is out of the competition, the citizens of that nation do not stop watching these global events, but rather find another team to support and watch. This promotes friendly sportsmanship between states and unites the world as one supporting the athleticism and teamwork of the competition. The healthy competition of sports may even present an opportunity to diffuse aggressions between countries on the playing field. If you traveled to another state during these global competitions, you would also perceive the world impact of the games. A common topic of the games can be discussed between individuals of separate states, which reduces the “distance” between nations.
But while a win in an event may improve a nation’s image, it does not necessarily change the political status of the state, its interrelations with other state, or its diplomatic positions. In fact it could potentially incite more aggressive attitudes between highly competitive nations creating more hostility. Instead of forming common bonds between states this could end up separating them more. Though unlikely, this incensed national pride can also be used to fulfill particular political schemes, to create justification and support for military plans against other states. In addition, if a country were to win the World Cup it would not likely improve their trade relations with others or improve their economic condition, they would only have the glory of winning the competition. Global competitions can create a huge boost to a state’s sense of nationalism but other than that a state receives no benefits in supporting the sporting competitions if it is looking for an impact to global relations or acceptance and its stature with respect to its politics.
While a win improves a nations image, there are ways a sporting event can hurt a countries image. For example, during the Beijing Olympics there was some controversy over possible foul play. It had appeared that China entered a gymnast who was under the age of 16 and was therefore cheating. No proof was found that this was true but even the accusation during the olympics hurt the Chinese image for millions of people.
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