Alphabet Impact: What's in a Letter?
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Each letter in the English language represents just under 4% of the total alphabet. (Go ahead, try not to start singing the Alphabet Song!)
For context, this percentage is roughly equivalent to the state of Montana in relationship to the total US landmass (boasting about 150k square miles of the U.S.’s roughly 3.8M square miles of terrain). Montana isn’t called the Big Sky State for no reason. It’s the 4th largest state, behind Alaska, Texas, and California. Without Montana we miss out on things such as Going-to-the-Sun Road, inspiration for Yellowstone, and of course (my favorite), A River Runs Through It. If Montana was gone, people would notice!
Like the state of Montana, a single letter in the alphabet can be pretty important, too.
Today’s post is brought to you by the letter “S”
You may (or may not) have noticed that we refer to the industry our new firm, Cimarron Global Solutions, serves as the “Sport and Tourism Industry.”
Did we forget the “S” in “Sports”? What about “events?” Are we being lazy?
The answer is no. We didn’t forget it, and as you probably guessed, every word choice was carefully considered.
Here in the U.S., where Cimarron is based, we tend to almost universally reference “sports” versus “sport” in an industry context. And there is nothing wrong with that – it’s how we were raised up in the industry, by golly!
But that’s only one lens through which the industry should be explored.
In fact, across most academic literature – and almost everywhere else around the world – the English word “sport” is used in both its singular form (ex. “I participated in the sport of golf.”) AND its plural form (ex. “The growth of sport worldwide”) to represent the industry.
Here are a few academic journal titles to demonstrate the point:
- Journal of Sport Management
- Sport Management Review
- European Sport Management Quarterly
- International Journal of Sport Marketing and Sponsorship
- Journal of Sport & Tourism
- Sport in Society (emphasis mine)
Heck, we even titled our forthcoming publication “Creating Community Through Sport.” Don’t fret, you won’t find a P-value or regression analysis in our pub – we’re here to keep it simple and applicable. And regarding the academic journals listed above? Don’t worry about diving into all that academic mumbo jumbo. We’ve got you covered on that, too!
One Letter Matters
- "Sport" is the most universally accepted form of the word to represent the industry. (Trust me, you don’t have to waste your time doing the research; I already did, as I wrote an entire section in my dissertation about this very topic.)
- It better represents the vast ecosystem including, but also well beyond, solely events.
- Sport can be a sector of the broader Tourism industry, yet both Sport and Tourism are also industries that stand on their own.
- And, perhaps most importantly, and in case you hadn’t noticed, globalization of sport is exponentially increasing…
The Wide World of Sport
The global eyes of sport will be squarely on North America over the next decade as the continent prepares to host some of the world’s largest and most prestigious sporting events (World Cup 2026, LA Olympics & Paralympics 2028, World Rugby, World Cricket…you get the gist). As ambassadors for sport in our cities, states and across our country, it only makes sense that we respectfully take these cultural and linguistic differences into consideration.
We’re a global organization working with clients and partners all over the world. The word “Global” in our name wasn’t a mistake either. Will we use an “s” in some of our writing and working with our domestic clients? Of course. Is it a typo when we write and publish in the industry without it? Definitely not.
The 19th Hole with Stoll
Am I telling you to drink your double shot latte with your pinky in the air and stop saying “sports”? Absolutely not. And I’m definitely not telling you to start swapping “z’s” for “s’s” or adding a “u” to give your “organisational” writing “flavour” for our “neighbours”. (Sorry, Grant!)
But I am seeking to widen our collective perspective about sport to the broader world. After all, it’s a global industry, whether we admit it or not. While we do it one way here in the States, the rest of the world does it differently—not right or wrong, just different.
And perhaps, just maybe, taking a minute to understand and appreciate these little nuances might help you display understanding, show genuine care, and forge a relationship that could lead your destination to welcome an international event of its own. It’s much more possible than you might believe! (It’s true. And we can help.)
So next time you hear someone say “sport” instead of “sports” take a second to ask a question and dig a little deeper. You likely picked up on a clue that can provide amazing new learning about the expansiveness of our industry!
Let’s not lose sight of that 4% – like Montana, one simple letter can be HUGE.
Evoke a thought.
