The colosseum is the birthplace of highly attended spectator sports.
I am not necessarily referring to THE Colosseum as a proper noun that is located in Rome, although that iconic structure is included in my list. Just colosseums (or coliseums, as I will refer to them in discussion since I am a post-modern American) in general, as they were to the Greeks and the Romans. I'm not sure if gladiator battles were genuinely the first sport that garnered spectators, but they were certainly the archetype for highly attended spectator sports. These now antique structures hold thousands and thousands of people; the Colosseum (as a proper noun) held an estimate of 50,000 people before half of it crumbled into only memory. The Arles Coliseum pictured above probably holds half of that, just as a I-AA college stadium might.
These days, sports arenas, coliseums (such as Clemson's basketball facility, Littlejohn Coliseum) and stadiums are massive architectural structures that are admired by even those who know nothing of architecture. For example, the revolutionary television recently installed by Jerry Jones in the Dallas Cowboys' stadium has made numerous headlines this year. These facilities cost millions of dollars and endless hours of manual labor to erect, and many of them are cutting edge as far as design goes. Just as coliseums were built before 100 AD, sports venues now hold both sporting events and other public spectacles; they are built with multiple entrances/exits; and almost all are either commissioned by wealthy citizens or wealthy institutions.
Wealth is a key word here. Not only did--and do--large structures primarily built of hardened minerals such as these centric in my discussion require a source of wealth, but the events that occur within their walls are commissioned by wealth as well. Just as Greek and Roman royalty commissioned and supported their favorite gladiators, today's sports stars and teams are purchased, sold and traded among only the most wealthy and powerful citizens.
But the similarities between gladiator battles and the major athletic events don't end there. Granted, the sense of utter barbarianism that existed in the gladiator era has been replaced by more humane laws, but the athletes and games themselves share multiple similarities. For example: the necessary physique, the intense and exhaustive training, the offensive/defensive dichotomy, frequent injury. Shields and swords have been replaced with pads and balls, sticks, and other props. Live animals have been replaced by animal mascots, such as the ever popular tiger.
On a smaller scale than television, these massive structures have allowed sport to become something remarkable, cultural, powerful, historical and iconic. Just as we read about gladiator battles and the large gatherings they attracted in history books, in millenia to come students will study our cultures and societies by the sports that we invested in and were passionate about. Sports aren't only about competition, though they do strike a chord of that aspect of the human spirit. Sports embody other aspects of the human spirit as well; passion and desire, opportunity, dreams, pride, storytelling, admiration, human connectedness and community, and an almost primal instinct of physicality that can never entirely be ignored. The spirit that large spectator sports offer is what has solidified a place for an entire multi-billion dollar industry that engages and employs millions upon millions of people, and it all began with the engagement of several thousands simultaneously in the ancient coliseums.
There's a level of sanctity to these structures of the past, as well as the present. They are symbolic monuments of human essence.
These days, sports arenas, coliseums (such as Clemson's basketball facility, Littlejohn Coliseum) and stadiums are massive architectural structures that are admired by even those who know nothing of architecture. For example, the revolutionary television recently installed by Jerry Jones in the Dallas Cowboys' stadium has made numerous headlines this year. These facilities cost millions of dollars and endless hours of manual labor to erect, and many of them are cutting edge as far as design goes. Just as coliseums were built before 100 AD, sports venues now hold both sporting events and other public spectacles; they are built with multiple entrances/exits; and almost all are either commissioned by wealthy citizens or wealthy institutions.
Wealth is a key word here. Not only did--and do--large structures primarily built of hardened minerals such as these centric in my discussion require a source of wealth, but the events that occur within their walls are commissioned by wealth as well. Just as Greek and Roman royalty commissioned and supported their favorite gladiators, today's sports stars and teams are purchased, sold and traded among only the most wealthy and powerful citizens.
But the similarities between gladiator battles and the major athletic events don't end there. Granted, the sense of utter barbarianism that existed in the gladiator era has been replaced by more humane laws, but the athletes and games themselves share multiple similarities. For example: the necessary physique, the intense and exhaustive training, the offensive/defensive dichotomy, frequent injury. Shields and swords have been replaced with pads and balls, sticks, and other props. Live animals have been replaced by animal mascots, such as the ever popular tiger.
On a smaller scale than television, these massive structures have allowed sport to become something remarkable, cultural, powerful, historical and iconic. Just as we read about gladiator battles and the large gatherings they attracted in history books, in millenia to come students will study our cultures and societies by the sports that we invested in and were passionate about. Sports aren't only about competition, though they do strike a chord of that aspect of the human spirit. Sports embody other aspects of the human spirit as well; passion and desire, opportunity, dreams, pride, storytelling, admiration, human connectedness and community, and an almost primal instinct of physicality that can never entirely be ignored. The spirit that large spectator sports offer is what has solidified a place for an entire multi-billion dollar industry that engages and employs millions upon millions of people, and it all began with the engagement of several thousands simultaneously in the ancient coliseums.
There's a level of sanctity to these structures of the past, as well as the present. They are symbolic monuments of human essence.
