Fastest Game in the World: Hockey and the Globalization of Sports (Sport in World History)

by Bruce Berglund

The untold story of hockey's deep roots from different regions of the world, and its global, cultural impact.

Played on frozen ponds in cold northern lands, hockey seemed an especially unlikely game to gain a global following. But from its beginnings in the nineteenth century, the sport has drawn from different cultures and crossed boundaries––between Canada and the United States, across the Atlantic, and among different regions of Europe. It has been a political flashpoint within countries and internationally. And it has given rise to far-reaching cultural changes and firmly held traditions.
 
The Fastest Game in the World is a global history of a global sport, drawing upon research conducted around the world in a variety of languages. From Canadian prairies to Swiss mountain resorts, Soviet housing blocks to American suburbs, Bruce Berglund takes readers on an international tour, seamlessly weaving in hockey’s local, national, and international trends. Written in a lively style with wide-ranging breadth and attention to telling detail, The Fastest Game in the World will thrill both the lifelong fan and anyone who is curious about how games intertwine with politics, economics, and culture.
 

Genres: Sports, Hockey, Nonfiction, History

341 pages, Paperback

First published December 8, 2020

Reviews

[Cornertop6 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Съвети за правене на печеливши спортни залагания

Следните съвети имат за цел да ви помогнат да направите положителен онлайн залог. Вижте тази страница - нашето ръководство заспортни залагания в България. Разбира се, това не гарантира вашите печалби. Може би по-важното е, да се насладим на тръпката от любимото ни забавление:


Определете бюджета си

Този съвет е изключително важен, независимо дали залагате онлайн или офлайн. Все още можете да се задръстите в онлайн залаганията, така че е жизненоважно да зададете праг за вашите средни стойности. Вашият бюджет трябва да бъде сума, която можете да си позволите. Ако се придържате към предварително определен бюджет, можете да си гарантирате спокойствие в случай на емоционални и прибързани действия.

Сравнете коефициентите на различни букмейкъри

По всяка вероятност много фенове на спортните залагания често се чудят къде е най-доброто място за залагане. Според нас винаги трябва да разглеждате коефициентите, предлагани от различните букмейкъри и разбира се да изберете този, който предлага най-високите коефициенти за определено спортно събитие. Това е една от основните причини, поради които е добра идея да имате акаунти, регистрирани в повече от един сайт за залагания.

Прочетете правилата за залагане и бонус офертите

Основните правила за повечето залагания са сравнително ясни, но могат да варират между различните компании за онлайн спортни залагания. Затова отделете няколко минути, за да научите повече за правилата на залозите, които ви интересуват. Също така е важно да обърнете внимание на условията за бонуси и промоционални оферти, които трябва да изпълните, за да се възползвате от тях. Също така следете за специални оферти и промоции, които много сайтове за спортни залагания предлагат на своите клиенти. Те се предлагат в различни форми, като връщане на пари за определени залози или увеличени коефициенти за определен залог.

Спортове, на които мога да залагам онлайн

Най-популярните спортове, на които се залага онлайн, всъщност са най-известните спортове: футбол, волейбол, баскетбол, тенис, бокс, ММА, конни надбягвания. Важно е да се отбележи, че производителите на катарами предлагат доста широка гама от спортове, включително дартс, крикет, футзал и др.

Футбол

Няма съмнение, че спортът на върха в световната ранглиста, разбира се, е футболът. Този спорт има най-голям интерес в световен мащаб, затова букмейкърите му обръщат голямо внимание и се стремят да предложат възможно най-много възможности за залагане и високи коефициенти. Залаганията на футбол онлайн са най-популярни сред комарджиите.

Баскетбол

Следва добре познатият спорт – баскетболът. Този спорт дължи голямата си популярност на американското първенство на НБА. За него пазарите, предлагани от онлайн букмейкърите, са най-много и се предлагат много разнообразни опции за залагане.

тенис

Тенисът е друг изключително популярен спорт, който привлича вниманието на милиони хора по света. Онлайн тенис залаганията са добре развити и можете да се възползвате от многото допълнителни залози, предлагани на големи турнири.

Волейбол

Волейболът също е неизменна част от всеки сайт за спортни залагания. Основните видове залози, които се предлагат, са победител в мача, точен резултат от сета, хендикап, общ брой точки и победител в първия сет. Равенство не съществува.

Бокс

Боксът определено е перлата в короната на спортните залагания. Ако искате вашите боксови залози да бъдат успешни, трябва да се поинтересувате за моментното състояние на боксьорите в мача и колко са амбициозни. Не можем да се оплачем и от липсата на оферти с високи коефициенти, когато става дума за онлайн залагания на бокс.

Конно надбягване

Състезанията между коне на хиподрума привличат вниманието на любителите на спортните залагания поради изключително високите коефициенти, които се предлагат за този тип състезания. Това е чудесна възможност да направите голяма печалба, дори и с малък залог. Това е един спорт, който няма недостиг на изненади, така че трябва да го познавате много подробно, ако искате да се увенчаете с успешен залог.

[Onlinefogadasnet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alapvető fogadási készségek fejlesztése


Sok általános tévhit létezik a sportfogadásokkal kapcsolatban. Némelyikük teljesen ártalmatlan, de néhányuk téves benyomást kelthet az emberekben a sportfogadásról. Azok számára, akiket érdekel, hogy megbízható magyarországi fogadóirodákat találjanak online, ajánljuk ezt a linket, ahol útmutatónk segít ebben a feladatban!

A sportfogadás a szerencséről szól
Sportfogadásból lehetetlen nyerni

A sportfogadásokon könnyű nyerni

A lista második és harmadik tévhite egyértelműen ellentmond egymásnak. Nyilván mindkettőnek nem lehet igaza, és egyiknek sincs igaza, de kezdjük az előbbivel, ha a sportfogadásban rejlő szerencséről van szó.

A sportfogadás a szerencsejáték egy formája, és minden szerencsejátékhoz legalább bizonyos fokú szerencsére van szükség. Egyesek több szerencsét igényelnek, mint mások. Vegyük például a kaszinó játékgépeket. Nem igényelnek szakértelmet. Csak kifizeti a pénzét, és reméli, hogy a tárcsák nyerő kombinációt pörögnek. A szerencse az egyetlen tényező, amely meghatározza, hogy nyersz vagy veszítesz. Valójában ugyanez mondható el a legtöbb kaszinójátékról, bár némelyiküknek van valamilyen készségeleme.

A lottó a szerencséről szól, akárcsak a bingó. A sportfogadás azonban más. Ez a szerencsejáték egy olyan formája, ahol NEM a szerencse a hajtóerő. Noha van egy kis szerencse is, a sportesemények kimenetele természetesen nem teljesen véletlenszerű. Lehetőség van a tudás, a készség és a stratégia kombinációjával megjósolni, hogy mi fog történni. A sikeres sportfogadók ezt nagyon jól meg tudják csinálni, és ezért nyernek folyamatosan. Nem azért, mert mindenkinél boldogabbak.

Már maga a tény, hogy létezik sikeres sportfogadás, egyértelművé teszi, hogy a győzelem nem lehetetlen. Az emberek ma veszítenek, igen, de többféle ok miatt. Persze nem azért, mert lehetetlen a győzelem. Elméletileg bárki pénzt kereshet a sportfogadásokból a megfelelő megközelítéssel. És higgyen nekünk, rengeteg ember van, aki megteszi.

Az az elképzelés azonban, hogy nyerni könnyű, távol áll az igazságtól. Sok újonc a sportfogadásban tévesen azt hiszi, hogy a pénz kereséséhez mindössze annyit kell tennie, hogy pontosan megjósolja a sportesemények (például egy Premier League-mérkőzés - lásd itt) kimenetelét. Feltételezik, hogy képesek lesznek ezekre a pontos előrejelzésekre, ha eleget ismernek a sportágról. Sajnos teljesen tévednek.

A sportfogadások egyik fő célja a pontos előrejelzés. Ez nyilvánvaló. És ha valaki következetesen pontosan meg tudná jósolni a sportfogadások kimenetelét, akkor sok pénzt keresne. Ez azonban egyszerűen nem lehetséges. Még az enciklopédikus sportismeretek mellett is túlságosan kiszámíthatatlan a sport.

A sikeres sportfogadók nemcsak pontos előrejelzéseket tudnak készíteni, hanem azt is meg tudják határozni, hogy az esélyek mikor vannak kedvező helyen a fogadás megtételére. Ezen túlmenően ezek a fogadóirodák tudják, hogyan kell megfelelően kezelni bankrolljaikat, és hatékonyan végezni minden szükséges kutatást és elemzést. Röviden: a sikeres sportfogadás követelményei túlmutatnak az alapos sporttudáson.

A sportfogadás bevezetőjének harmadik részében található cikkek segítenek megérteni ezeket a követelményeket. Még jobb, hogy segítenek a sikerhez szükséges készségek fejlesztésében. Kezdőknek szólnak, így az információk és tanácsok meglehetősen alapvetőek. Nagyon könnyen érthetőnek kell lennie.

Valóban fejleszteni szeretné fogadási készségeit? Akkor legalább szánjon időt a következő két cikk elolvasására. Tele vannak nagyon egyszerű tippekkel, amelyek segítenek a kezdetektől fogva jó fogadási szokások kialakításában, és megakadályozzák, hogy túl sok költséges hibát kövessen el.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much like the title says, this is a look at how hockey became a global sport, something beyond that played in Canada. Berglund gives due focus to the development of the sport in the US, Western Europe, and Russia, showing that while hockey may have first been codified in Canada, it grew in parallel in all these regions as well. In particular it is good to have a focus on regions like Germany, Scandinavia, and Czechoslovakia here, as they are often only quickly mentioned in other histories of the game. Berglund also shows how the different regions interacted with each other, borrowing ideas and further refining their own aspects to make hockey the sport that it is today, in both good and bad terms.

If there is one thing to critique, it is that the book is quite short (about 250 pages of text), while it's clear that Berglund could easily write much more, and not have it become bloated or dragging on.

While an academic book (with copious citations in multiple languages), it is easily accessible, and something that would appeal to both those looking for a scholarly work on the subject, and people looking for a solid history of hockey.

[Chris Aylott · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the author's wife may have said best, "it's a hockey book, but it's not about hockey." Berglund has constructed a superb cultural history tracing the flow of people, money, and thought back and forth between nations. He shows how a simple idea -- "Hey! Let's run around on ice and hit stuff with sticks!" -- is systematized, elaborated upon, shared, and ultimately monetized. And he does so in a way that (unlike the previous sentence) is charming and accessible.

By showing hockey's true evolution, Berglund sets it in context and shows it both influenced and was influenced by national and world events. There's lots of "big" history here, but what I really appreciated was coming away with a better understanding of why the new hockey arena and next year's world championships are so important to my adopted hometown of Tampere -- and that's just based on a few passing paragraphs in a book filled with insights.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily the best hockey book this hockey fan has ever come across. And it's not just about hockey. Berglund's prodigious research allows him to roam across culture, economics, history, tradition, geo-politics -- and, oh yeah, the gradual development of the game we know. His knowledge of European culture as it applies to hockey is especially impressive, considering that so much writing about the game traditionally starts and ends with Canada. As an academic, Berglund is predisposed to write as an observer rather than as a cheerleader. The only complaint with this book is that it's not long enough. One suspects Berglund has much more fascinating information that he could impart if allowed a few more chapters.

[Bookich Store · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not a hockey fan. Bruce Berglund does weave a historical and geopolitical story about life and how hockey has affected all of us. Because he talks in broad strokes about how the game developed and why, in addition to the inside scoop about hockey events, countries, and personalities this is a fascinating, entertaining and educational read. This is a five-star recommendation to buy and read.
The Fastest Game in the World: Hockey and the Globalization of Sports (Volume 6)

[Jay Gabler · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you read only four pages in this book, check out Berglund's description of mid-century Minnesota youth hockey as "a tale of two cities": Eveleth, with its scrappy community teams, and the booming Minneapolis suburb of Edina.

"Unlike the sons of immigrant miners who had brought the state title back to Eveleth each winter," writes Berglund, "Edina's hockey players were the sons of executives."

I reviewed The Fastest Game in the World for the Duluth News Tribune.

[Kevin]

I really really enjoyed this book. Berglund uses hockey as a lens to look at the globalization of sports in an engaging way. While this doesn't feel as complete as David Goldblatt's The Ball Is Round: A Global History of Soccer, Berglund is more critical here, providing important insights into hockey, its development, and specifically one of the best treatments and critiques of youth sports I've read.

[Brw2024 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Berglund does a nice job of tracing the evolution of hockey from bandy to a hockey puck. Fits in the international story of hockey and its role in politics. Also inserts growth of women's hockey and how youth hockey has evolved.

[Rick S · Rating 5 out of 5]

A history book, with hockey as a backdrop. Easy read. Very informative.

[Paul Hanson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Comprehensive, detailed history of this great sport. Incredible details of the international aspects of the game. Learned a lot.

[Andrew Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recommended for all hockey fans.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall enjoyed this book -- it's an interesting look at putting sport in general and hockey specifically in a more global context. I did appreciate that it touched on women's hockey as well!