Sport & Multiculturalism
This past fall semester (Fall 2016), I had the opportunity to once again take an honors seminar that included an international study tour. The class was called Sport & Multiculturalism and we were able to travel to Melbourne, Australia for a week after classes ended for the semester in December 2016. Throughout the class, we learned about and discussed various sports and sporting events and their relationship to and impact on cultures, lifestyles, and attitudes around the world. Competitions such as the Olympics and the World Cup were especially in class relevant because they represent the coming together of a number of cultures all bound by the sports involved – we watched a number of documentaries and read books and articles to this effect.
Also during the semester, we had two main projects to work on. The first was on a topic of our choosing, and so I explored the financing of different sports leagues around the world, namely the Big 4 leagues here in the US (NFL, NBA, MLB, & NHL) against the biggest soccer leagues in Europe (EPL, La Liga, Bundesliga). My analysis found that the leagues themselves make similar amounts of money, but that on average players in those European soccer leagues make more money than their counterparts in the American leagues while the American teams themselves bring in more money and the leagues a bit more competitive as the overall talent is more concentrated in singular leagues versus multiple top-tier leagues for the same sport. The second project we worked on, our final project for the semester, was a report, likened to a bid to host a competition, for an international sporting event in a country or city. I was fortunate enough to report on men’s soccer in Prague and so I fashioned my project after the UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years on an opposite rotation to the World Cup. This final project is attached below.
To talk a little bit about our trip to Australia, I think it was something that everyone enjoyed immensely. The weather was very nice (December is summer time there), and so we were able to explore Melbourne, a very cosmopolitan and metropolitan city, to our hearts’ desire. Our organized activities included a trip to a ranch for retired race horses, a tour of the famous Melbourne Cricket Grounds (MCG), a trip to see the Penguin Parade on Phillip Island, and the opportunity to see a few live sporting events (baseball, soccer, & horse racing). During our free time, aside from exploring the city, people went shopping, sampled different fares, and during a free day I had the chance to travel a little further down the southern coast of Australia to a town called Torquay & learn how to surf. We were in a bit of a sheltered bay where the waves were appropriate for first-timers, but afterwards we took a ride to the famous Bells Beach (pictured above) where the Rip Curl Pro surfing competition is held each year, one of the most prestigious and longest running surf competitions in the world according to our instructor. Overall it was a fantastic class and a super fun trip, and I hope I have the opportunity to go back some day.
Also during the semester, we had two main projects to work on. The first was on a topic of our choosing, and so I explored the financing of different sports leagues around the world, namely the Big 4 leagues here in the US (NFL, NBA, MLB, & NHL) against the biggest soccer leagues in Europe (EPL, La Liga, Bundesliga). My analysis found that the leagues themselves make similar amounts of money, but that on average players in those European soccer leagues make more money than their counterparts in the American leagues while the American teams themselves bring in more money and the leagues a bit more competitive as the overall talent is more concentrated in singular leagues versus multiple top-tier leagues for the same sport. The second project we worked on, our final project for the semester, was a report, likened to a bid to host a competition, for an international sporting event in a country or city. I was fortunate enough to report on men’s soccer in Prague and so I fashioned my project after the UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years on an opposite rotation to the World Cup. This final project is attached below.
To talk a little bit about our trip to Australia, I think it was something that everyone enjoyed immensely. The weather was very nice (December is summer time there), and so we were able to explore Melbourne, a very cosmopolitan and metropolitan city, to our hearts’ desire. Our organized activities included a trip to a ranch for retired race horses, a tour of the famous Melbourne Cricket Grounds (MCG), a trip to see the Penguin Parade on Phillip Island, and the opportunity to see a few live sporting events (baseball, soccer, & horse racing). During our free time, aside from exploring the city, people went shopping, sampled different fares, and during a free day I had the chance to travel a little further down the southern coast of Australia to a town called Torquay & learn how to surf. We were in a bit of a sheltered bay where the waves were appropriate for first-timers, but afterwards we took a ride to the famous Bells Beach (pictured above) where the Rip Curl Pro surfing competition is held each year, one of the most prestigious and longest running surf competitions in the world according to our instructor. Overall it was a fantastic class and a super fun trip, and I hope I have the opportunity to go back some day.
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