The Ugly Side of the Games

This discussion is related to Module Outcome 2. The preparation for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro has proven to be a far more complicated task than initially thought. As Brazil is in the middle of a worsening recession, and the Brazilian government comes under scrutiny, there are outcries about forced evictions from Rio’s slums in order to make way for the construction of Olympic facilities
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. Further, ticket sales for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro games are abysmally low
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, which leads many to predict that several of the Olympic venues will have scores of empty seats. Given this scenario unfolding in Brazil, your job in this discussion will be to examine the economics and politics surrounding a nation’s bidding and preparation for the Olympic Games. Is the situation in Brazil typical? Does it differ all that much from stadium construction in other professional sports? Also, to what extent are the struggles that countries encounter in preparing for the Olympic Games an illustration of a new era of the Olympiad?
Please be sure to have the appropriate video and reading content completed before beginning the activity.
Before participating in this discussion, make sure you have completed the relevant video and reading content for the module. Drawing upon this content and your own independent research, please respond to the following questions in your pos:
• Giving reference to our required videos for this module, in what ways are countries preparing for the Olympic Games subject to the same problems encountered by cities that channel large amounts of public funds into the construction of sports stadiums? In what ways do these enterprises differ, if any? Explain in detail.
• Giving reference to a least one of our readings, explain why a country would lobby so vigorously to host an Olympic games. For example, are there really economic benefits to hosting the Olympics? If not, is national prestige enough of an incentive to bear the cost to host an Olympics? Please give at least one specific example to support your response.
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Module notes: The Political Economy of Sport
Berman, M. (2000). Saturday Gladiators
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. New York Times Book Review, 41.
Easterbrook, G. (2013, October). How the NFL Fleeces Taxpayers
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. The Atlantic 312(3), 44-50.
Feezell, R. M. (2001). The game of life: College sports and educational values; Beer and circus; Intercollegiate athletics and the American university: A university president’s perspective
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. Academe, 87(5), 90-92.
Gerdy, J. R. (2002). Sports: The All-American Addiction
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. Jackson, MS, USA: University Press of Mississippi, pp.144-170.
Kuriloff, A., Preston, D. (2012, September 5). In Stadium Building Spree, U.S. Taxpayers Lose $4 Billion
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. Bloomberg News.
Milke, M., & Veldhuis, N. (2010). Subsidizing Professional Sports is the Worst Form of Corporate Welfare
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. Fraser Forum, 30-31.
Nocera, J. (2016, February 13). N. Carolina seeks salvation in Smith’s legacy
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. New York Times, D1.
Sack, A. L. (2003, March 17). College Sports and the Myth of Amateurism
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. Christian Science Monitor, 9.
Vedder, R. (2013, June 17). How Poor Students Subsidize Unworthy College Sports
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. Bloomberg View.
Wolverton, B. (2016, January 8). 10 Revealing Tidbits We Found in Football Coaches’ Contracts.
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Chronicle of Higher Education, 62(17), A12-A13.
Wolverton, B., & Kambhampati, S. (2016, January 29). As Sports Programs Get Richer, Few Give Much for Academics.
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Chronicle of Higher Education, 62(20), 1.
Zimbalist, A. (2010). Circling the bases: Essays on the challenges and prospects of the sports industry
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. Philadelphia, PA, USA: Temple University Press, pp.1-37.

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