America's Hegemonic System

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Sports are no longer about passion and competition; these were lost a while ago. All we have left is a structure in which corporations dominate our favorite pastimes. The games are less about enjoyment, and more about increasing the value of “property”. We live in a society in which the entirety of jerseys, stadiums, and even bodies are owned and advertised by people looking to make a quick buck. The question we should be asking is how did we get here? Every day of our lives, we follow a hegemonic system that to us feels normal, but for an outsider looking in, is startling. Hegemony, simplified, is normalizing the prevailing political system to the general populace whilst asserting dominance. Whether that refers to Americans reciting …show more content…

However, when referring to hegemony in sports, the conflict of interest becomes transparent. An example that was brought up during class was that playing the national anthems before a soccer match shows our pride to our nation, but it also shows how our sports normalizes and strengthens the ruling ideas of those in charge. Corporate sports on the other hand are kind of different. The idea that people are able to profit off of our passions is frustrating, but the fact that they use it to manipulate and normalize their actions is disturbing. For example, McDonalds, an organization that has had a hand in the increase in childhood obesity (Young, 2011), sponsors the FIFA World Cup, which is a competition that revolves around health, fitness, and athleticism. They are using sly tactics that lead to an increase in sales, which can be seen in the recent US World Cup Qualifier when the children walked out wearing McDonald’s shirts rather than the team’s jerseys. These companies then use the profit to further boost their presence in the game and regulate/manipulate their image. It’s a vicious cycle that may lead to the downfall of sports and to the rise of corporate control over the

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