Editorial. Examining the Olympics : heritage, identity and performance

Sport is undoubtedly a central part of culture. As MacGregor (2006, p. ix) states, 'it is impossible to know a people until you know the game they play. To understand America, you need to know football. To understand Brazil, soccer'. It would therefore be quite tempting to encapsulate the entirety of a people in terms of a sport: rugby union is an essential aspect of New Zealand culture, just as ice hockey is in Canada, and cricket in India. As we know, however, American, Brazilian, New Zealand, Canadian and Indian cultures are far more complex than their sports alone; thus, it would seem foolish to exclude other cultural practices from an understanding of these nations and their societies.