Sport As A National Identity

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Reflection Paper – Sport as a National Identity

The world of sports has left our country full of emotions. Sports can make us laugh, cheer, hate, and even cry. It is very powerful and it has a major impact on the lives that we lead. Many times we can see people, including myself, rushing through their work, dinner, and family time in order to be in front of the television before the start of a big game. The World Series this year was one of the best series of all time. It was filled with so much emotion because it was the dominant Yankees, representing New York after the September 11 tragedy, against the newest team and underdog, Arizona Diamondbacks. You could not take your eyes off the game because if you did you might have missed some of the most significant and amazing comebacks in history. That World Series also meant a lot to our country for our National pride. My heart was filled with emotion, but also pride when the television focused on the flag that was flying over Yankee stadium during the World Series.
It was the same flag that was flying over the World Trade Center the day it was attacked. Showing that flag, with the holes and damage it had received, sent a message to every American and the rest of the world. That flag flying over the World Series told the world that even though we might get hit, we will get up, dust off our wounds and continue to strive and live life the way that we want to live it. That World Series, I believe was the most recent show of national soldiatary and patriotism during a sporting event. Because of the recent attack on our country, sport and baseball were used as part of the healing process. With all that was going on in New York City the Mayor, Rudy Guilliani, still took his time out for every game to be sitting in the front row to show his support for the team that was representing his city. The Mayor most likely had a functionalist theory type of thinking. That is, he a...