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A captivating exploration of how America''s complicated and ever-evolving relationship with the world can be seen through the two footballs of the world--American football and soccer--and the interaction between them. The United States is the only major nation on earth that can''t compete against others in its favorite spectator sport because no one else plays it. But as the world''s game of football keeps growing in popularity in the United States and the nation prepares to co-host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the two footballing worlds are converging. In The Great Game , Andres Martinez looks at how a generation of sporting billionaires, tech and media conglomerates, women players propelled by Title IX, computer game enthusiasts, and immigrants have sought to end America''s sports isolationism--not by continuing to expand the reach of "their" games, but by turning their country into an unexpected power in the other, international, football. It''s a story of America''s changing cultural customs and demography, as well as a tale of shifting business philosophies driven by technology. Sport has become an ever more massive industry, its economic value soaring thanks to its unique ability to still bring together audiences in the tens of millions on a regular basis and a growing appreciation for its "soft" yet impactful branding power. The Great Game is a fascinating examination of the evolving state of US sporting interests, as those with money, power, and celebrity seek to prevail in a global sport, eager to extend their reach, set the rules of play worldwide, and connect Americans to the outside world like never before.
About the author
Andrés Martinez is co-director of the Great Game Lab at Arizona State University, where he also teaches at the Cronkite School of Journalism, and is a fellow at the New America think tank. He has been a business reporter, editorial writer, and editor at the
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,
Wall Street Journal,
Los Angeles Times, and the
New York Times, where he was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for a series of editorials on global trade. He has also written extensively on sport and globalization for the
Los Angeles Times,
Slate,
Time,
Reuters, the
Washington Post, and
Reforma.
