Sport Space and National Identity

Abstract

This contribution will discuss how the formation of a national sport space interacts with the development of national self-awareness and national identity with reference to the Austrian case. It will be argued that the growing of an Austrian identity is not merely synchronous with the establishment of an Austrian sport space but that this nation-building process has been helped along substantially by the “Austrification” of two leading sports: urban soccer (associated with Vienna) and alpine skiing (linked with rural—mainly alpine—Austria).

Understanding the consequences of victory amongst sport spectators: The mediating role of BIRGing

“…What will make the difference is, arguably, the cultural grounding of those sports. Examples would be rugby in France, Ireland, New‐Zealand and Wales (e.g., Smith, 2000), baseball in Taiwan (Sundeen, 2001), basketball in Lithuania (Cingiene & Laskiene, 2004) or downhill skiing in Austria (Horak & Spitaler, 2003). Yet it would be erroneous to conclude that everyone will use sport as a means to foster their sense of national belonging as team identification could play a moderating role here.…”

Sport in the urban landscape of Zagreb and Split

“…Construction of national identity through sports has two aspects: a) daily and procedural level through the use of national symbols, participation in international competitions, rounds of domestic leagues, etc. ; and b) via extraordinary successes or failures experienced by every sport from time to time and which become a part of the collective memory (Horak and Spitaler, 2003). Collective identification, particularly when associated with success, makes people feel better and engenders a sense of place pride (Bale, 1993;.…”

The Greening of Euro 2016: Fan Footage, Representational Tropes, and the Media Lionization of the Irish in France

“…However, the centrality of sport in the project of Irish nation building is hardly unique. For example, Roman Horak and Georg Spitaler (2003) similarly describe the importance of urban soccer and alpine skiing in the development of national self-awareness and Austrian national identity. Likewise, Mark Falcous (2007) has discussed how the New Zealand rugby team (known internationally as the All Blacks) was central to attempts to rebrand national identity in a manner that reconciled Maori culture with decolonized settler culture.…”