alex deherrera

People have an overwhelming desire to believe in something. Become the focal point of such desire by offering them a cause, a new faith to follow. Keep your words vague but full of promises; emphasize enthusiasm over rationality and clear thinking… In the absence of organized religion and grand causes, your new belief system will bring you untold power.”

Robert Greene “The 48 Laws of Power”

It is often said that people watch sporting events as a means to escape the daily drudgery of life, and that is why Joe Average will spend hours reading about his favorite WNBA team, spending money on tickets and television packages, living and dying with every move, every playoff game, and every transaction. The power of sports is hard to recreate elsewhere in society; people do not cheer for companies to crush their competition (save for the cultists that worship Apple products) nor do they tend to go out of their way to support only one brand (again, save for the Apple fanatics). The difference in loyalty between a sports team/player and a company is fairly simple: people root for their teams by birth, tradition or at random whereas in most cases they choose to buy products from a company based off of convenience, availability or most likely the price. Yes, their are cases where some people will spend more for products based off of brand loyalty, but I figure it is a safe assumption to say as a whole that in general a majority of people care more for the economic impact of saving money than they do over buying an Intel computer over a rival.

The reason the Olympics are such a powerful product is because they take the fanaticism that follows athletic competitions but harnesses that into a nation-pride frenzy where the achievements of “our athletes” somehow ascends the boundary of competition and becomes a sense of national pride. Michael Phelps was born in America and his achievements are vicariously empowering America over other countries. Logically this idea makes no sense, but when you combine athletics and nation pride you get this mixture. China is famous for harvesting children at young ages who show any slight skill at an athletic event and training them for the onset of their journey into adulthood. The Chinese know better than anyone that if you can harness national pride and unite the common folk then they are much more willing to overlook issues such as human rights violations (yes I realize this does not make much sense if looked at from a rational manner but nationalism tends to be irrational).

The Olympics are the perfect platform for nations to expand national pride through athletic competitions. The men and women representing their respective countries are suppose to be the best in the world at what they do, and by association, the best countries must have the best. Julius Caesar often put on lavish spectacles to entertain the masses and establish himself as a larger-than-life figure. China is currently doing the same thing. Their opening ceremony was meticulously planned out the even the tiniest detail; they wanted everything to be perfect down to the little girl singing the national anthem to the 29 foot prints leading to the lighting of the Olympic torch. Since the games began, when was the last time you heard about their occupation of Tibet? While people care about the issues, the games serve as a distraction that many allow themselves to be easily caught up in. Make no mistake about it, the Olympics are an economic juggernaut that if used correctly can greatly enhance a country on the world wide level. Many people believed that China wanted these games to be their coming out party as a global power and thus far they have exceeded the expectation placed upon them.

Sports in general are often used as a tool of power. This is why teams are able to hold cities hostage for brand new facilities and sweet-heart leases as no politician wants to risk angering the masses by spurning a source of escapism and unity. When you combine the love at competition with the pride of nations you get a combination that can be easily whipped up and riled into a frenzy. Remember, the fans of Red Star Belgrade were used as a militia during the 1990s Balkan Wars. Sports have the power to unite a country like few other devices are capable of, and if used correctly, much power can be gained by playing the field effectively.