Sports as a “Game”:

This paper focuses on the fact that there are instances when people are “connected” or “unconnected” to each other and society through sports. It addresses the issue of understanding the field where a relationship emerges, like the two sides of a coin. Rather than the perspective that “sports are competitive plays,” which is considered self-evident, this paper adopts the perspective that sports can be realized only by playing them as games in the first place. In this paper, the “act of playing sports” is discussed from the perspective of game theory, to reorganize the “connection” between the two.<br> 　It was found that sports as a “game” is a spontaneous act of trial-and-error toward a lusory goal, a challenge created by a prelusory goal and constitutive rules that cannot be easily overcome. It was found that the place where “connections” are created in sports is an unstable place where others who understand the meaning of the game must constantly continue to reach a consensus on the lusory goal together.<br> 　Modern sports also tend to create “strong connections” because they are practiced in physical space. In contrast, new sports are designed as games that people who have never met before can play through rules that change constitutive means while expanding the world to cyberspace and utilizing technology, but this was shown to generate “weak connections.”<br> 　Finally, it was indicated that it is necessary to consider not only the idea that sports promote withdrawal from playing but also the idea of common amusement through sports as a “game.” In response to the situation wherein various “connections” in society are breaking up, creating new games with a playful spirit will open up possibilities for a strong sports culture.