Essay Example: Politics in Sports

The celebration of football as a game is becoming overly prominent across the globe, not only as a game but, as a career as well. Football in England, for example, is highly competitive and characterized by intense efforts by the footballers to remain at the top of the list of elite footballers. The metamorphosis of football from a purely entertaining game to a critically competitive career comes immense demand alongside. The life of a typical elite footballer is so focused on football such that it compromises other aspects of identity. From the food the footballers eat to how they sleep; from a psychological disposition to emotional statuses of the footballers, exclusive performance in football remains the center of concern. The caloric content of the foods the footballers consume plays important role in the development of the footballer. This is similar to the emphasis laid on the psychological preparation for the match days as well as the intellectual capacity to handle the match during the match day. The biggest concern in the sports fraternity is how fast the demands of the sport are encroaching into the personal developments of the footballers such that these footballers totally forget to live like normal human beings after retirement. The question that begs here is; is there life after football for the elite footballers? This paper takes seeks to address the various conditions in the lives of the elite performers as they train to the time they retire to understand how the elite performance in football affects their development.

Life after sports

In his book, Is There Life After Football?: Surviving the NFL HolsteinA., Jones, & Koonce (2014) take a careful scan at the lives of different footballers from the time they enter into football to their retirement ages to understand the locus of their lives during all these periods. The main concern here is to establish the challenges the elite footballers undergo in coping with life without sports. The bottom line, according to this book is that the footballers spend a significant portion of their lifespan training and eating purely to excel in football. To achieve the expected output in the industry, these footballers have to undergo deep and longstanding training and nutrition. The obsession with football is more prominent in the developed nation of Europe, especially in England. The expectation from the fans together with the employers demand create an intriguing situation in which the players have their lives engulfed in football in sports for their entire lifespan. In this analysis, Holstein, Jones & Koonce (2014) make an important summary of the lives of the elite footballers. One is that the football career begins in childhood in which the obsession begins. Secondly, there is developed the perception that the football is a lucrative career that is associated with good life. For this reason, many people opt to enthusiastically and frivolously pursue any methods that can make them prominent footballers even if they do not have the talents naturally. Lastly, is the media portrayal of the football as a lucrative game hence making the pursuers to conform to the popular culture of becoming excellent footballers. Elite playing is becoming a common phenomenon because most people register in colleges, not to pursue other careers but, to get avenues to more competitive environments through the college opportunities. This is the main reason as to why many college footballers drop out before their completion of the courses.

An insider's look at the lives of the footballers reveals that English players' love for football is in such a way that they detach from the normal lives lived by the rest of the society members. This is primarily due to the scientific lives of proper nutrition that they live during their careers, together with the hefty paychecks they are subject to during these times. Many of the footballers who a have the opportunities to narrate their lives after football make serious testimonies that are critical to understanding the rest of the players in the same spectrum. For instance, the former Manchester United legend's revelation that he would be getting into professional boxing after retiring from football is a clear indication of the difficulties of transitioning from the football life to the life without games. Rio Ferdinand announced that after a long career in football, he would be joining the professional boxing club.

However, there are other footballers who have tried as much as possible to run their private lives after football successfully. In many instances, the footballers get into highly competitive businesses or opt to get employment into the media. The footballers choose to work in the media as a way of bridging their highly lucrative football jobs to a normal life. Media jobs are also luxurious and may place the footballers at a level good enough to retain the initial lifestyles. However, it is not a perfect substitute for football. A perfect example is the case of John Salako whose skills in the games can measure up to the media expectations of many employers. Such players can perform best in the media due to the public approval and the positive self-image they portray.

Theories of sports development and the above occurrences.

Achievement goal theory in sports.

Sports theorists work in close association with social scientists to come up with theories that can account for the achievement levels in sports as well as possible failures among the sportsmen. Psychologist and Sociologists are in a consensus as far as the level of motivation and perception of self is concerned. Achievement goal theory is a psychological theory with tenant on competence and self-motivation of the player (Chin, Khoo, & Low, 2012). The theory states that for one to make a remarkable achievement, there must be a manifestation of two-goal orientation in the individual. Task and ego are the most formative goal orientations that the individual must exhibit. As such, a successful player or rather a footballer must have exhibited clear perception of the very success prior to his choice to be a footballer. In an evaluative setting like sports, the player must exhibit mastery in it. The main impetus towards achievement in a specific task is the absolute mastery skills or the zeal to learn it. In this discourse, the primary goal of the player is to achieve the learning of good football playing. The player does everything within his reach to ensure that he receives the ultimate price. In the context of football, we can argue that before the footballer becomes a successful elite player like Lionel Messi, he must have an intrinsic motivation to be as such. This intrinsic motivation is the main drive towards success is the motive to succeed. There is no other external drive other than the role of the player to train.

This theory holds give the massive efforts put by the players to get placement in prominent positions across the world. As earlier mentioned, many young men who have intrinsic motivation to be prominent sportsmen do everything within their abilities to ensure that they achieve their goals. This is more so if we consider the case of college students who register in colleges specifically to get the opportunities to play in the competitive college slots. The students enroll as regular students to learn academics but their interests in football override their academic drives and they end up dropping out of schools after getting the opportunities to be players. This is a common phenomenon in both America and England. The intrinsic motivation is so colossal that the students opt to go the academic way before they finally find themselves a place.

Achievement goal theory stresses on the individuals drive to succeed, the process of success notwithstanding. The standards of evaluation of success are absolute. In athletics, the athlete makes a positive self-reference with least regard to the sentiments of the judges. This, in effect, lets the athlete excel or fail at last. The athlete only refers to him/ herself in the course of the competition. The focus here is on how the athlete can improve but not how the judges can make him better. The role of the ego is to enhance self-confidence in the given filed. It is due to this ego that the footballer or the athlete excels or fails without referring to the standards of the judges (Harwood, Hardy & Swain, 2000). If a footballer perceives himself as fully competent in his task, the ego becomes stronger and there will be positive feedback. Hence, the theory underscores two concepts in achievement: task orientation or ego orientation. Apparently, footballers who are task oriented tend to outperform those that are ego oriented.

Sports for social change

Some sports theorist focus on sports, not only as an entertainment but, also as a means of achieving social cohesion. Control of deviant behaviors in the societies can also be effective through sports and games. This is because sports enhance self-esteem and a sense of responsibility among the players. In England, there are different sports programs aimed at aimed at the promotion of social responsibility and crime control. One perfect example is the Kickz program. This program brings together the youths aged 12 to 18 years to engage in sports as a means of motivation. The youths in this program are those who belong to the deprived communities across the nation. The idea is to enhance their self-image and have a different perception of life. This is in line with the achievement goal theory which stresses on the role the ego plays in personal development. Evidence from the Kickz program indicates that since its inception, the crime rate among the youths dropped from 2529 to 867. Hence, Kickz programs accounts for at last 20 percent reduction in youth crime in the locality. This is a viable social investment and there is a reason for government involvement in such activities. The amount saved in crime prevention since the beginning of the program is 7.35 pounds for every pound invested (Kick-starting a passion for sport - Sport England (2018). The other achievements of such programs are the social cohesion achieved as the youths gather to demonstrate their prowess in football.

Sports, education and lifelong learning.

The frivolous pursuit of sports as a career derives from the foundation of education as a socialization factor. Success in education and the general life skills heavily depends on the ability to perform well in sports. There is enough evidence which relates success in education and sports performance. Sports are also instrumental in the cognitive development of the players. Increased habitual physical activities help improve the performances of individuals in schools. This is evident if we consider practical examples of players who have also displayed excellent academic performances in their schools. In as much as there is the characteristic drop out among the college footballers, others who manage to go through the entire process record impressive results. For instance, Duncan Watmore of Sunderland is a first class graduate with a degree in Economics and Business Management. Another impressive case is the case of Vincent Kompany who is not an English but, due to his educational level, can speak better English than most of is colleagues in the English speaking countries. Sports, just like education, should be a continuous process whose main aim is to enhance wellness other than earning luxurious life.

The ease of coaching depends on the motive of the player. According to the achievement goal theory, a player is either successful due to his being result oriented or ego oriented. The theory stresses the importance of a task-oriented player as opposed to that who is ego oriented. Intrin...