A few historians, most notably Bernard Lewis – claim that team sports as we understand as we know them today were primarily the result of Western culture. British Premier John Major was more explicit in 1995:
We developed the majority of the great sports in the world. …. in the 19th century. Britain was the birthplace of a revolution in leisure every little bit as important as the industrial and agricultural revolutions we started prior to the century.
Traditional team sports are viewed as coming from Britain and then being transferred across the British Empire. European colonialism helped spread certain games across the globe particularly cricket (not specifically connected to baseball) and football of all forms as well as bowling in a variety of forms as well as cue sports (like carom billiards, snooker and pool) as well as hockey and its equestrian cousins, and tennis, as well as various winter sports. The original Europe-dominated current Olympic Games generally also ensured uniformity in European and, in particular British and British, rules when the rules for similar games across the globe were combined.
Also read: Abhinav Bindra
No matter the game’s origins regardless of the game’s origins, regardless of the game’s origins, Industrial Revolution and mass production resulted in increased leisure time, which meant greater time to spend watching or playing (and betting on) spectator sports, and lower levels of elitism and increased accessibility to sports of various types. Since the advent the mass media as well as global communications professionalism became a norm in sports, which increased the popularity of sports in general.
With the growing importance put on winners resulted in a greater need to bet. Some of the most common ways of cheating today involve the use of performance-enhancing drugs such as steroids. This kind of substances has been a crime for a long time, however, in recent years there have been institutions set up to supervise professional athletes and make sure fair play is played in the game.
Important links: