The exercise of athletic competitions has long been criticised by some Christian thinkers as being a type of idolatry, through which "human beings extol by themselves, adore them selves, sacrifice them selves and reward themselves.

Nationalism is often apparent from the pursuit of sport, or in its reporting: folks contend in casino api countrywide teams, or commentators and audiences can adopt a partisan watch. On occasion, this sort of tensions may result in violent confrontation among the players or spectators inside of and outside of the sporting location, as in the Football War.