Body

It is through the body that human beings act, feel emotions, express and represent meanings and identities. Sport is a sphere in which athletic bodies, capable of delivering winning performances and/or exhibiting signs of health, beauty, youth, are shaped and staged. Today sports culture shares a close connection with contemporary consumer culture, insofar as the satisfaction of fundamental personal desires – including enjoyment, well-being and the presentation of an attractive and winning self-image – finds a place in the market in the offer of sports products and services, in the promotional messages provided by media and advertising. The sports and physical activity industry provides varied and ever new solutions to the contemporary individual’s quest for physical self-fulfillment, and further provides reference models in the bodies of sports champions. The latter exploit fan identification and the capital of fame and glory rooted in their embodied athletic abilities to promote various brands, products, and services, thus becoming mobile advertisements.