Anyone who reads the newspaper, watches television, or listens to casual conversation on the street is aware of the ubiquitous nature of sport. It is everywhere. It flavors our national culture and permeates every corner of our daily lives. Sport in America, as in many countries, is big business, popular culture, and potent politics. It has become its own medium of communication and has important ramifications for international and multicultural relationships. There is no topic that should be of greater interest to social science in general and anthropology in particular than the study of...

Sports permeates the fabric of our society on all levels and it also is a universal phenomenon expressed in all cultures of the world. It has become the international medium of cultural exchange in the contemporary world. Witness the galvanizing popularity of the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympic Games, the World Track and Field Championships in Athens, Greece, and the 1998 Winter Olympics from Nagano, Japan.

Americans, indeed people throughout the world, are often consumed by sport. It is no wonder that some refer to sport as the New American Religion. Social scientists can no longer afford...