Empires, big business and modern communication and transportation technologies account for the rise of sports, which today has reached near-mania, writes Intelligent Life Magazine. “When communism fell, capitalism motored on. These days, imperial might lies partly in the hands of global commerce, and while the American football team are still relative minnows at the World Cup, plenty of big American fish are in the water. At the German grounds in 2006, the green of the pitch was often framed by the red of Coca-Cola and McDonald’s. Germany has 1,200 breweries, but none of them supplied the official beer of the tournament: for the sixth World Cup running, it was Budweiser.”