Western sports

The Romans built immense structures such as the amphitheatres to house their festivals of sport. The Romans exhibited a passion for blood sports, such as the infamous Gladiatorial battles that pitted contestants against one another in a fight to the death. The Olympic Games revived many of the sports of classical antiquity—such as Greco-Roman wrestling, discus and javelin.[10] The sport of bullfighting is a traditional spectacle of Spain, Portugal, southern France, and some Latin American countries. It traces its roots to prehistoric bull worship and sacrifice and is often linked to Rome, where many human-versus-animal events were held. Bullfighting spread from Spain to its American colonies, and in the 19th century to France, where it developed into a distinctive form in its own right.[11]

Jousting and hunting were popular sports in the European Middle Ages, and the aristocratic classes developed passions for leisure activities. A great number of popular global sports were first developed or codified in Europe. The modern game of golf originated in Scotland, where the first written record of golf is James II's banning of the game in 1457, as an unwelcome distraction to learning archery.[12]

A depiction of Americans playing polo, an Asian-origin game standardized and spread by the British.

Western European countries used sport as a method to increase cultural connections between themselves and their colonies. Colonizers also used sport as a way to keep their soldiers fit in tough environments and to create social changes among colonized peoples; the philosophy of Muscular Christianity was influential in this regard in British colonies, and was also put in practice in Asia by the YMCA.[13] This had an intended effect of causing the decline of traditional sports around the world.[14][15][16] On the other hand, colonized peoples often used Western sports as an opportunity to prove themselves by defeating their colonizers in said sports; this contributed to many nascent independence movements.[17]

In South Asia, the influence of and resistance to Western sport also led to the standardization of some traditional Indian games such as kabaddi and introduced organized competitions at statewide and national levels for these games.[18][19][20] In China, the introduction of Western sports resulted in sports being valued more in terms of their competitive aspects,[21][22] in contrast to a native emphasis on sports being used for harmony between people and nature.[23][24][25] In Japan, Western sports were adopted as part of the Meiji era modernization, and were given values in line with the samurai philosophy of Bushido.[26]

Some sports were imported to the West from its colonies; for example, the equestrian game of polo, which was discovered by the British in South Asia, was spread by the British worldwide in a British-standardized form.[27][28] The British also modified some Indian board games to create the modern games of snakes and ladders and ludo.[29]

The Industrial Revolution that began in Great Britain in the 18th century brought increased leisure time, leading to more opportunities for citizens to participate in athletic activities and also follow spectator sports. These trends continued with the advent of mass media and global communication. The bat and ball sport of cricket was first played in England during the 16th century and was exported around the globe via the British Empire. A number of popular modern sports were devised or codified in the United Kingdom during the 19th century and obtained global prominence; these include ping pong, modern tennis, association football, netball and rugby.[30]

The British sought to use their sports as a method to propagate their moral values among their colonial subjects, and to prove the superiority of British culture.[31][32]

A baseball game being played between American Marines and Japanese players. Baseball is a game invented by the English, modified by America, and is a popular sport in Japan and neighboring countries.

The United States also developed unique variations of English sports. English migrants took antecedents of baseball to America during the colonial period. The history of American football can be traced to early versions of rugby football and association football.[33] Many games are known as "football" were being played at colleges and universities in the United States in the first half of the 19th century. American football resulted from several major divergences from rugby, most notably the rule changes instituted by Walter Camp, the "Father of American football".[34] Basketball was invented in 1891 by James Naismith, a Canadian physical education instructor working in Springfield, Massachusetts, in the United States.[35] Volleyball was created in Holyoke, Massachusetts, a city directly north of Springfield, in 1895.[36] In the case of lacrosse, a Native American sport became a professional American sport.[37][38]

The United States pioneered the professionalization of sports; leagues like Major League Baseball, National Football League, and the National Basketball Association are still among the wealthiest leagues in the world.[39][40]

America introduced some of its sports to various Asian countries (including American colonies in Asia); this resulted in baseball becoming established in Japan and basketball becoming popular in China.[41] Japanese colonization of East Asia helped to spread baseball and other Western sports in the region.[42][43]

A bowler about to deliver the ball to the batter in cricket. T20 cricket has rapidly grown into the most popular format of cricket, and is now spreading around the world.

Even as European colonization of the world came to an end after World War 2, Western sports continued to play a prominent role. Western sports became an important part of nation-building and diplomacy for some newly independent countries;[44] for example, cricket played a significant role in helping India unite its diverse peoples and conduct diplomacy when it faced tensions with its neighbor Pakistan.[45][46] With the advent of T20 cricket, a greatly shortened version of the game, cricket leagues have become prominent in South Asia and beyond, with the Indian Premier League now among the richest sports leagues in the world.[47] Western sports also play an important role in the promotion of health and good societal values (such as gender equality) in former colonies,[48] and are generally seen as an important part of the modernization process.[21] The worldwide dominance of Western sports has also resulted in competitions based in Western countries overtaking the popularity of local competitions in other parts of the world,[49] and the further decline of non-Western sports.[50][51][52] Western sports have also grown because of their economic dominance and brand identification among fans.[53]

The Olympic Games, though they initially started off with an emphasis on including traditional games from around the world,[54] eventually became a major transmission vector for Western sports, with Western nations dominating in the event. However, some non-Western sports such as judo have over time become part of the Olympics.[55]

E-sports have emerged in the modern era; video game adaptations of Western sports have also become popular, such as the FIFA video game series.[56]

Some traditional Western games have been adapted into major professional competitions, as is the case with World Chase Tag for the game of tag.[57]