22. Sporting culture in english speaking world

Cricket

• is a popular sport, associated with the middle classes

• a very slow experience to watch

• successfully exported round the empire along with Rugby Union

Horse racing

• is the sport of Kings and has events that attract more visitors over a weekend even than the premiere league

• it is all about gambling – traditionally all families have a bet on the Grand National

• Grand National is the biggest and most famous competition in the UK (something like Velká Pardubická)

Darts

• is a peculiarly British phenomena and along with snooker has moved a long way from its smoky alcoholic home

• it’s closely connected with the working class in Northern England along with Dutch players

So basically in England is everything about class, language, place where you live, even sports!!! In the rest of the English speaking countries sports are about identity – showing that the nation is not under Britain and their control.

The Republic of Ireland:

• has its own unique sports

• gambling is very popular in Ireland

• and any sport which can be gambled on especially dog and horse racing

• in Ireland sport used to be about national identity and there is a protestant/catholic divide in support especially of national teams, so called sectarianism

• for example Celtic Glasgow is catholic team and Rangers are protestants

• nevertheless many Irish people watch English football

Gaelic Football

• a hybrid of football and rugby – very complicated

• Gaelic football is very similar to Australian (aussie) football

• you can kick the ball, throw the ball or run with the ball in your hands but only four steps then you have to kick to the ball

Hurling

• played with sticks (like Lacross crossed with hockey)

Bare Knuckle Boxing

• is popular primarily among the Irish traveler community.

Across the former British colonies- British sports remain popular- especially Rugby (the New Zealand All Blacks) and Cricket (massive in the Indian Subcontinent and the West Indies). In Australia they have Aussie Rules Football which is the number one sport and has a lot in common with Gaelic Football.

In New Zealand most popular sport is rugby. Kiwies have the best rugby team on the World which is notorious for its HAKKA DANCE.

In Australia the sport number one is Australian football. Aussie rules football is played on the football field which is even bigger than the soccer one. It’s very similar to rugby and it’s very brutal. The main goal is to move the ball down the field and scored.

Then surfing and cricket as well.

US:

• also has its own unique sports (American Football, Baseball, and Basketball) which it has exported to many countries.

• ice Hockey is also popular there and in Canada

• American sports have a unique relationship with higher education and college sports are a big business

• consequently colleges offer scholarships to gifted athletes in many different sports- especially basketball and American football

• college sports are nearly as watched as professional sports in Europe

• baseball is played only in USA and Japan (also was racially segregated for a long time) was invented in 18th century possibly from British game called rounders but many insist it was invented on American soil

• basketball was invented by a high school teacher in 1890s (became very popular mainly because you can play it in urban areas and you don’t need any special equipment, it’s very popular among Afro-Americans)

• american football is very popular among American schools (it is very similar to rugby but there are slightly different rules – with American football is very connected cheerleading what became sport on its own)

• since August 2016, some American athletes have protested against police brutality and racism by kneeling during the U.S. national anthem. Since 2017, many players also began protesting against President Donald Trump's criticisms of those involved in the protest as well as against Trump's policies since taking office. Some observers have described the protests as politically motivated or patriotic, while others have criticized the attention to social issues during sporting events, and others have called the protests unpatriotic or disrespectful. The protests began in the National Football League (NFL) after San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick sat and later knelt during the anthem, before his team's preseason games of 2016. Throughout the following seasons, members of various NFL and other sports teams have engaged in similar silent protests. On September 24, 2017, the NFL protests became more widespread when over 200 players sat or knelt in response to President Donald Trump's calling for owners to "fire" the protesting players.

• soccer is also played in the USA but mainly by women (and it’s definitely not so popular as in Europe)