The History Of Water Polo In Hungary And In The United States

From a sociological perspective it is important to understand the history of water polo in Hungary and in the United States. Water polo has a long history and tradition in Hungary, the sport itself gives and creates a “national identity” in the Hungarian society, while the United States has a lot shorter history in water polo (Reinhart, 1996). The first official and documented water polo game in Hungary was played in 1987 and since then the sport itself developed to a professional level (Brucknerg, 2011).

For example, the term “Dry Pass” was invented by a Hungarian coach in 1928 and Hungarians were the first who developed different skills in order to speed up the games (Ramona Aquatics). As a result, Hungary’s new playing style, which was about quickness and finesse, let the Hungarian teams to dominate in water polo in the world for the next 60 years (SJAC).

Reinhart says in his journal of sport history, Fists flew and blood flowed: Symbolic Resistance and International Response in Hungarian Water Polo at the Melbourne Olympics, 1956, that water polo is a very popular sport in Hungary and traditionally it is said that Hungarians were born to play water polo because this sport is in their veins (1996).

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Reinhart in his book talks about how water polo gives a “national identity” to Hungarians because water polo not only a simple sport in Hungary it is the national sport that played a significant role in the Hungarian history that highly determined how people think about water polo nowadays. By national identity Reinhart refers back to a memorable incident in the history of Olympic Water Polo where the Soviet Union played against Hungary in the semifinal at the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games.

It happened four weeks before the Games that 200,000 Soviet troops compassed Hungary to repress the rise of anti-Communist thoughts. Hungary was already in a war with the Soviet Union and there was already plenty of blood between the two countries before the game started in the Olympic Games. The game was brutal, the referees could not control the game and everyone remembers to this game as the “Blood in the Water” match (Ramona Aquatics). Hungary before the final minutes took a 4-0 lead against the Soviets and the most memorable incident happened. The youngest Hungarian player was hit by the Soviet center and there was blood everywhere. However, Hungarians won against the Soviet Union and the team made the final where they won a gold medal but at the same time Hungary was still invaded by the Soviet Troops.

The Hungarian Olympic team represented the country with dignity while their country was still battered down by the Soviets. From a sociological aspect the winning against the Soviets on that game in Melbourne gave a national glory and hope to the Hungarian civilians to fight for their future and home. The parallel between these two events is that if the Hungarians could play under equal circumstances then there was no question who would win, but on the other hand the Soviet military proved to be stronger than the Hungarian during the revolution. On the other hand, in the United States there is no such historical connection between water polo and the society in a way as Hungary has. Americans started to play water polo according to their own rules which was more like a “water rugby” than water polo (Ramona Aquatics).

The first time when Americans played according to the “real” water polo rules was in 1914 when most of the American teams accepted the international rules that was set between 1890 and 1900. Opposite to Hungarians, Americans for a long time period learned how to play water polo from other European countries. Coaches from the United States travelled around the world to acquire different tactical and technical styles from European teams and this is how water polo in the United States started to develop. Hungary not only has longer history in water polo but also has a richer history than the United States. The Hungarian men’s water polo team won total of 15 medals from Olympic Games and total of 9 Olympic gold medals (Bíró, 2011). The last 3 gold medals were in a row in 2000, 2004, and 2008 that determined the future of modern water polo not just only on the men side but also on the women side. In contrast USA men’s water polo team has only 7 medals from Olympic Games and only 1 gold.

These data are important because it proves that such a small country like Hungary compare to the United States can be also dominant and successful in a sport. However, in my research I focus on the national women’s water polo teams in both countries because I would like to see how water polo developed in the modern times and why it is turned to the opposite way in which the American national women’s water polo team dominates the world in women’s water polo as Hungarians used to do it on the men’s side. Furthermore, this led me to a simple question: how the American women’s water polo team can dominate women’s water polo since the late 1990s if the sport itself initiated from Europe and if water polo is in the Hungarian’s veins.In the history of Olympics, women’s water polo only on the list of the Olympic events since 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. Nevertheless, there is a big American dominance on the women’s side since women’s water polo is on the list of the Olympic events.

On the women’s side Hungarians did not participate on the first Olympic Games (2000 Sydney), got sixth place in 2004 Athens, and since then in the 2008 Beijing, 2012 London, and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games the team has always ended up fourth. On the other hand, the US national women’s water polo team has 5 Olympic medals and is undefeated since 2012 London Olympic Games when they won their first gold medal. Moreover, the US team won a gold medal in every big international tournaments, such as World Leagues, World Championships, Olympic Games, and World Cups in the following 5 years. Thus, the US water polo team made history in women’s water polo because they won two Olympic Games in a row (2012 London, 2016 Rio de Janeiro) that never happened before with any other national team in the world. According to the article, Women2000 and beyond there has been and there is still a division and discrimination between man and women in sports globally (2007).

However, there are many major accomplishments and advances for gender equality that helped female athletes to succeed in sports. Markovits and Rensman in their book, Gaming the World: How Sports Are Reshaping Global Politics and Culture, argue that female teams are more likely succeed in countries where there is no hegemonic sport culture, where not only men supported and recognized in a sport, and where a given sport is not fully dominated by men. By hegemonic sport culture, sociologists mean that it is the sport culture of a country where female athletes would not become a threat to male athleticism, power, and strength at any circumstances (Messner, 1988). While Markovits and Rensmann looked at female and male national soccer teams globally, they compared the teams’ results, and they found out that “women succeeded precisely in countries where soccer was not completely occupied by men, and thus did not fully constitute what we have termed “hegemonic sports culture.”(p.178).

The authors also argue that if the men’s game did not dominate in an international level and if the men’s team is not successful enough internationally then the women’s game can “develop and flourish” in the country (p. 178). This is one of the main sociological factors why the American women’s water polo team is more successful at an elite level than the Hungarian team because the Hungarian women’s water polo does not get as much attention, recognition, support, and equal treatment in the shadow of the men’s water polo team.

The Hungarian Water Polo Federation gives more attention and support to the men’s team because in the past they were more successful as the results showed it than the women’s team. While in the United States the national woman and man water polo teams have more equal opportunities and recognition because their men’s team is not as successful as their women’s team at an international level. Furthermore, women in sport are still not as supported in Hungary than in the United States. Initially women’s existence in sports caused a big indignation in the Hungarian society and unfortunately there is still a noticeable sex discrimination (Szajli, 2017). Social scientist argue that women did not participate in any sports until the end of the 19th century, because women “had to stay home, clean the windows, wash the floor, hold children, and since these activities are already physical for a fragile and weak woman they do not need other sport activities” (Szécsi, 2014).

Overall, according to Gyöngyike Kovács by the 21st century Hungary developed a little bit on providing equal opportunities for both men and women in sport however in general Hungary still struggling with not to discriminate sexes in a sport or in civil life. Kovács claims that to achieve gender equality in sports Hungary needs to provide equal conditions, adequate financial supports for women, and the society should play a bigger role in accepting female athletes and teams (2017). When I compared the Hungarian women’s and men’s national teams based on the support they get from the Hungarian Water Polo Federation, I found out that the two national teams does not have an equal support system. The Hungarain women’s water polo national team does not get as much attention and recognition as men, the financial support for women is less, the training conditions are poorer and the supplies are different as well.

Throughout the interview with one of the Hungarian players, she told me that there is a huge difference between the man and woman national teams in Hungary because women do not get the same financial support as men do from the Hungarian Water Polo Federation. She told me that, “I understand that the men’s team has better results and they won 3 Olympic Games in a row, but after we won a European Championship and got better results in the past two Olympic Games nothing changed financially.” I asked her to give me an example, how people should imagine financial differences or support between the men and women’s national teams and she said the following: “Before the 2016 Olympic Games every Olympic athlete supposed to get Audi cars from the Olympic Federation because Audi was the main sponsor for the entire Hungarian Olympic Team. However, the Water Polo Federation refused these cars from the Hungarian Olympic Committee (MOB) to give it to the players.

The reason was because Volvo (another car brand) was already sponsored the water polo federation and they was going to provide the cars for the players. Volvo wanted to give 13-13 cars for both the woman and the man teams before the Olympic Games to equally support the teams but the woman team only got 3 cars because the president of the Hungarian Water Polo Federation prohibited Volvo to give the same amount of cars for both sides” (Interview, 2018). Furthermore, she told me that the action of the president of the Hungarian Water Polo Federation not only created inequality between the two teams but also created a tension among the players because only 3 players got cars. Another example that she brought up was that the women’s team did not get the same amount of dietary supplements as the men team did. Again the Water Polo Federation said that women’s team only allowed to get reduced amount of supplements in comparison to the men’s team.

As a result the women’s team only got dietary supplements that was enough for six players while the whole men’s team got dietary supplements. This also caused a problem for the women’s team in the past years because since the players had to share the vitamins and supplements, most of the players could not get access to the adequate amount of nutrients that are important in order to perform at a high level. In contrast, in the United States, there is a more equalized support system for the men and the women’s national teams from the USA Water Polo Federation. Opposite to Hungary the American women’s water polo team is more successful than the men’s team because they have more medals from the biggest tournaments and Olympic Games. Even so the teams are getting the same financial support, they have the same training conditions and supply availabilities. However, it was not always the same as it it now in the United States that female athletes had the same opportunities and support in a sport. Women’s opportunities in the United States were also limited just as it was in Hungary prior to 1870.

Competitive physical activity did not exist for women until Title IX became a law. In the early 1900’s women begun to participate in athletic clubs but they still could not participate in any competitive sports (Academy: Bell, 2008). When Title IX was signed into law in 1972, most people had no idea how it is going to impact women’s sports and female athletes in the United States (Simpson, 2012). Title IX was originally signed by President Richard Nixon in order to give equal educational opportunities to both women and men. The law says that every educational program and activity that receives federal funding cannot discriminate sexes: 'No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance' (Simpson, 2012). However, Title IX not only had a big impact on equal educational opportunities for both sexes but also its biggest impact has been on school sports programs. It is because colleges in the United States who receive federal funding allowed female athletes to use Title XI to argue that schools should provide the same opportunities to women like men and that schools should also take women in sport just as seriously as they do it with men (Rothman, 2017).

As the statistical data shows it in Simpson’s article, Title IX has a huge impact on female athletes participation in sports nowadays because only 300,000 girls played high school sport in 1974 and now this number is more than 3.1 million (Simpson, 2012). According to the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) statistical database, there is a 25% increase in female athlete participation in college sport in the United States compare to the previous decade. For example by the 2016-17 academic year women participation in college sports increased to 44% from 35% since 1989 (NCAA, 2017). Since Title IX globally in the UNited States affects and provides equal treatment for women and men, women’s water polo is also getting equal financial and social support as the men’s team from the USA Water Polo Federation.

During my interview with an American player who won a gold in 2012 and a former player of Cal Berkeley, she said that she was able to play water polo in college because of Title IX. Their team became a varsity sport in 1995 at Berkeley so she could play water polo at a high level. She also told me that in 2012 both the men and women’s team got the same stipend from the US Water Polo Federation and that for example the women’s had a donor before the 2012 Olympic Games who gave 500 dollars more in every month to support their living during preparation (Interview, 2018). This shows that the USA Water Polo Federation does not discriminate sexes futhermore provides equal financial support. OPTIMISM VS PESSIMISMAnother sociological factor that determines and contributes to success in a sport is the attitude and the mentality of the society where sportsmen grew up.

The Hungarian society has adopted a very pessimistic attitude while Americans were always known as an optimistic community who think positively about everything. The reason why Hungary is adopted a pessimistic attitude is because throughout history Hungarians lost many wars, always fought on the losers side, and nowadays the economic and financial circumstances are still not showing upsweeps in the country (Matalin, 2015). Because of the historical losses and economic declines Hungarians adopted a very strong pessimistic national identity. The pessimistic national identity is the result of being scared of losing the country throughout wars. Hungary’s fear from losing the country became factual because after the Treaty of Trianon in 1920 the county lost two third of its land. Furthermore, this is why Hungary’s national anthem is about distress and the fear from the death of the nation. The historian András Gerő said that in an interview that Hungary adopted a complainant and envious culture and it is because of the historical losses (Matalin, 2015). He proves his claim with that Hungarians never talk about what they have and achieved already or what they are proud of rather they always talk about what they do not have in life or what is not enough in their lives.

The sociologist Endre Sík explained another possible reason why Hungary is a pessimistic society and it is because of the people’s misconceptions of their values (Matalin, 2015). Based on the last research that was in 2009, sociologists found out that Hungary has a reserved but rational culture which creates tension, uncertainty, and pessimism among people. As a result Hungarian historians and sociologist claimed that pessimism has a bad effect on people’s creativity, productivity, and competitivity which affects the mentality and attitude of the Hungarian athletes during performance and spectators during competitions. Based on my interview with one the Hungarian players, she told me that every time when she wanted to cheer the team up during a hard swim set she got yelled for saying that only five left out of ten two hundred meters sprints. One of her teammates said that “you need to stop yelling how many two hundreds left because it is very distracting and annoying for many of us” (Interview).

She told me she felt confused and she felt bad throughout that practice because she just wanted to help and hearten her teammates. Since pessimistic mentality impregnated into the Hungarian society it is not a usual thing to cheer for each other during practice or give compliments if someone did a great job. Furthermore not only athletes adopted a pessimistic mentality but the spectators can also lose their faith in their favorite teams or sportsman after a setback. As I mentioned water polo in Hungary is a national sport and people/spectators can embrace the team’s losses and winnings. However, based on my interviews I found out that if the women’s water polo team succeeds then the whole country is proud collectively but if the team under performs in a competition then the spectators can easily become haters. My Hungarian interviewee told me that “overall the team gets a lot of support from the spectators, there are many more fans who are visiting the games compare to the past years but if we accidently lose against a team that we supposed beat than the spectators can easily turn against us” (Interview, 2018) She also mentioned that when the spectators are not delighted with the team’s performance they start to question the team’s abilities and work ethics.

She said, “they start attacking us through social media and writing about how we are not going to win anything… I know as an athlete I should not read these comments but it is hard not to deal with the haters because they just do not know how much work we put in and we also want to make them proud… but they just scold us because we had a bad day.” The pessimistic mentality in the Hungarian society’s not only affected the athletes reduced positive mentality towards success but also reinforced the sports fans negative attitude when their team under perform to their expectations. In the article, The Psychology of Sports Fans: How Fans Affect Players, the author talks about the importance of the fans during and after the competitions. The author claims that since the spectators do not have any effect on athletes’ physical abilities, they have a big influence of the athletes’ psyche because fans have the power to “enhance or undermine [their] concentration” (Psychology Educator).

This is why it necessary to have a positive harmony between the spectators and the athletes because if there is an optimistic social support system behind athletes then they can perform better and if the spectators are keep supporting their team after a setback then it is easier to athletes to succeed and win in the future. On the other hand, America is known as one of the most optimistic country and society. Based on the article by Jared Keller it is true that the American society is more optimistic than other European countries because “people are more hopeful about the future than their peers in other wealthy nations” (Keller, 2015). Furthermore, many political and social scientists observed that optimism is not only essential in the achievement of the American Dream but optimism also enhances the social and economic institutions of American civil society (Keller, 2015). The French observer of the American civil life and society, Tocqueville claimed that Americans were more optimistic than Europeans at his time in the 19th century because all the people “have all a lively faith in the perfectibility of man ...

They all consider society as a body in a state of improvement” (Keller, 2015) Another philosopher Charles Handy, who reacted to Tocqueville’s observations in 2001, claimed that most of the Americans believe that they can make a greater future by working hard and that they feel responsible for doing their very best in order to create brighter future (Keller, 2015). This optimistic mentality in the American society not only helps for civilians but it plays a big role in the American sport life. In general, optimism is correlated with positive approaches, attitudes, thinkings, and emotions (PSychology Research and Reference). Moreover, optimism is positively correlated with the high level of mental toughness of athletes and this high levels of optimism will be more likely to help athletes to perform successfully. It is because athletes with an optimistic mentality have better use “of approach-oriented coping strategies (e.g., logical analysis, increased effort) and less use of avoidance-oriented coping strategies (e.g., disengagement) when facing difficulties” (Psychology Research and Reference). In contrast to Hungary, in the United States there is a different way how the spectators support their favorite teams and athletes. They are more optimistic and positive about their teams’ performances and results. It is because sport has been well-integrated and still plays a big role in the American culture.

Americans are “sport-crazed” in a way where its spectators became “hardcore sport fans” that means no matter what they will be still passionate about their teams (Van Schaik, 2014). Van Schaik in his article claims that there are a couple of examples when mediocre teams are still able to maintain a wholesome fan base despite of their failures in America (Van Schaik, 2014). This shows that since the American society adopted an optimistic attitude in general the fans will more likely to keep support their teams after a setback and they will more likely think positively about their team's future success. According to a Hungarian psychologist, Gergő Harsányi, the American athletes think positively during sport competitions because culturally they have an optimistic attitude which says: “we are the champions, and we will bring under every opponent”. In contrast the “famous” Hungarian pessimistic attitude suggests that “we are unlucky and we are always the victims of the happenings” (Pinczés, 2017). My survey data also shows that the players of the American women’s water polo team are more optimistic about their future success because only 36% of the national team members said that it happened when they lost their faith and hope in winning a game regardless of the scores while 50% of the Hungarian women’s water polo players said that they lost their hope in winning a game regardless of the scores.