The Importance Of International Sports Events During The Cold War

The Cold War of the 20th century is seen by many to be a war fought in order to spread the ideologies of the world’s two major powers, the Soviet Union and the United States. In order to successfully spread their communist ideals, the Soviet Union had to show to the world that their system was working better than the capitalist ideals of the West and the United States. In their attempt to do so, the Soviet Union used various methods of propaganda and persuasion to convince the outside world that their economy and people were flourishing under their communist system. One of these methods was through international sport. The Soviets built strong sports programs, mainly their prized hockey team and Olympic program, to assert their world power

International sporting events during the Cold War period clearly showed to the world that the people of these occupied Eastern European countries were not happy in the communist state they were being forced to live in. In 1955, the second ranked international soccer team in the world, played in what was supposed to be a friendly, meaningless match against the Soviets. During the game however the Hungarians were rude and played a dangerously physical game with the Soviets. After the game, players left the pitch without shaking the hands of their Soviet counterparts. In Poland, sporting events became a sort of tool for protest against Soviet policy in the area. “Soviet athletes playing or competing in Poland were more and more often greeted by whistles and shouted anti-Sovietisms,” 9 and athletes who defeated Soviet teams were greeted as national heroes. The events that transpired during most sporting events between the Soviets and the member of the “Eastern Bloc” during the Cold War time period, from the World Cup to the Olympics, relayed to the World the attitudes of the people within countries whose governments seemed to be allied with the Soviets. “There was a pattern in place: the more ecstatic and ingratiating the attitude of the official leadership toward its Soviet ‘friends,’ the more hostile the stands.” 9At the 1967 World Ice Hockey Championship in Vienna, the mood between the two teams was set while the Czechoslovak fans booed, whistled, and threw trash on the ice during the playing of the Soviet national anthem. A brawl erupted between the Czechoslovak team and the Soviet team during play, and the Czechs refused newspapers drooled over the game’s nasty details and gloated about the ‘hockey war’ being waged between socialist states.” 9 Western media was