The Rocky Road to Peace

As humanity became what it is today, many things changed.  One such change is the emphasis on peace, and as such less war.  Though there are still wars fought, there is nowhere near as much as there was hundreds of years ago, when groups such as the Romans went on huge conquests to gain land and power.  As a result, people's natural instinct to compete with others could no longer be satisfied through war, and so sports are now used as an alternative.  As such, every sport match is similar to a 'war-in-miniature,' and perhaps that is why sports have become so popular.

This parallel can be seen especially present in Rocky IV, because even though it is about a boxing match between Rocky and Drago, it is really about the American hero versus the godless Russian.  This movie came out in 1985, and so it was right around the time of the Cold War, and suggested that America was the better of the two sides, through the contrast in the two characters as well as Rocky's eventual victory.

In an essay written by Heather L. Reid, "Sport, Education, and the Meaning of Victory," Reid says that winning is not only about physically besting an opponent, but rather about winning in conjunction with virtue.  Lance Armstrong is an example of when these two factors were not both present; he did win the Tour de France a record-breaking amount of times, but now that he has admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs, the virtue is gone, and so nobody really considers him a "winner" anymore.  In contrast, Rocky IV shows an example where both aspects are present.  Rocky is out training hard in the outdoors, and it is just through his blood, sweat, and tears that he is able to get stronger.  The russian, Drago, however, is just always using gyms and machines, all while taking orders from trainers and very possibly cheating as well.  This contrast not only emphasizes what the film wants to portray about America as opposed to Russia, but also makes it all the better when Rocky finally pulls through and wins the boxing match.  Not only did he win, but he won in the most virtuous way possible, and so even the Russian spectators came over to his side in the end.  This also portrays America beating the Russians in general, which is exactly what Americans wanted to see at the time.

The similarities to war aren't limited to cross-nation conflicts either, even in games between state teams or even just high school or college ones, people love to use their sports teams to gain a feeling of superiority over one group or another.  Though this may seem a bit silly on the surface, it is doubtless that countless fans share in the victory of their favorite teams, and as such feel ratified themselves.  Sports are a much less bloody way to get these feeling out that war, and so hopefully through organizations such as the Olympics there can be an even greater worldwide shift towards sports to take out violent feelings, and less actual killing.

(I am only allowed to make this text small or large, normal is apparently broken)