Of great societal interest, sport has grown to become a major-media mar- ket draw and economic power but also an academic pursuit with its own spe- cialized literature. According to Ellis Cashmore, in Sports Culture: An A to Z Guide, “Sport as an institution is just too big economically, too important po- litically, too influential in shaping people’s lives not to be taken seriously as a subject for academic inquiry. People kill in the name of sport; and, corre- spondingly, others die. Fans spend small fortunes in the pursuit of their sport. Bookies make and, occasionally, lose big fortunes. Corporations are built on what is now a sports.
