David Moscoso Sánchez

The media construction of the sports’ elite from the European perspective: an analysis of the European Symposium of Sports 2010

AbstractSince the first Olympic Games, the figure of the athlete has roused enormous passion. One may wonder if nowadays the cultural mechanisms that produce them are analogous and perform the same functions as in the past. This article aims to answer these questions. For this purpose, we have relied on the analysis of the discourse from different actors in the 2010 European Symposium of Sports “Thinking Sports, Transforming Society: The EU in favor of citizenship for the XXI Century”. The results will provide relevant information about the responsibility of the mass media in the production of a sports spectacle, the role of the big brands and the exemplarity of the sports’ elite. In this manner, the need was conveyed of producing a different view of sports, so that in the contest between humanistic values and materialistic values, those who contribute to the welfare of the citizens could achieve glory.Abstract Since the first Olympic Games, the figure of the athlete has roused enormous passion. One may wonder if nowadays the cultural mechanisms that produce them are analogous and perform the same functions as in the past. This article aims to answer these questions. For this purpose, we have relied on the analysis of the discourse from different actors in the 2010 European Symposium of Sports “Thinking Sports, Transforming Society: The EU in favor of citizenship for the XXI Century”. The results will provide relevant information about the responsibility of the mass media in the production of a sports spectacle, the role of the big brands and the exemplarity of the sports’ elite. In this manner, the need was conveyed of producing a different view of sports, so that in the contest between humanistic values and materialistic values, those who contribute to the welfare of the citizens could achieve glory.

DA DEMOCRATIZAÇÃO DO ESPORTE À HEGEMONIA DOS MERCADOS: O CONTEXTO EUROPEU E O CASO ESPANHOL

The sport system of democratic countries is in crisis. This is because the welfare state, on which many public sport policies are based, has been superseded by a new cycle of neoliberal hegemony. To illustrate this reality, we focus on the case of Spain. It becomes evident that civil society has a low representation in political decision making in sport matters and that organized sport has failed to fulfill a social function, being confined to the interests of economic agents. This article requests that social sciences take a critical stance with regards to this reality.