Sports, Language, Emotion, and Nation

I just watched the NHK special program on the 80-year history of TV broadcasting of sports in Japan. It was sort of a Japanese historiography of the 80 years in terms of news of famous sports events, such as Olympics, sumo tournaments, high-school baseball tournaments, etc. Tears welled up in my eyes when I watched some of the news where Japanese athletes triumphed and newscasters exclaimed with joy and excitement. I have cried many times by watching foreign films (subtitled in English). But I wonder whether I could cry when I watch sports news in other languages than Japanese--my so-called "mother tongue." Hmm, probably I could if there were players whom I was familiar and sympathetic with.

I've been wondering about the relationship between familiarity and favoritism.