The imaginary structure of defeat In sport

Abstract

Defeat is for sport like the social shadow that hangs over what is refuted in a productivist world such as sadness, depression, withdrawal, stillness, silence and other forms of subjectivation that escape frenzy. As a discursive practice, defeat is accompanied by adjectives that refer to what must be refuted, prevented or even denied, since no athlete trains and competes with the intention of losing. In the structure of contemporary sport, the reproduction of the liberal model that favors victory can be observed. This often leads the silver and bronze medal winner to feel defeated, denying a feat worthy of historical record. The ramifications of defeat are not sufficiently studied, which contributes to an attitude of denial in relation to this situation on the part of both athletes and professionals who work in the sports universe. On the other hand, certain dimensions of the collective imagination referring to the content of sport, that is, socially shared productions, tend to relate the athlete and the spectacular figure of the hero. The objective of this work is to present a discussion about the imaginary of defeat in contemporary sport, as well as to present some categories that classify adverse outcomes, thus seeking to contribute to the understanding of this complex phenomenon.