An Examination of Conceptualization of Sport Metaphors

Abstract

This study examined the metaphors that were used by athletes, coaches, faculty members, and sport managers to describe the concept of “sport”. Participants (N=473) were asked to reveal the single metaphor they had in minds in the sense of the concept of sport by the prompt “Sport is like … because …” 22 valid metaphors were analyzed by content analysis and 5 conceptual categories were identified. Differences in the conceptualization of sport were detected in terms of participants’ gender, continents, and professions. Metaphors seem to be an effective tool to have a better understanding of the concept of sport.