According to contemporary diagnoses, we are witnessing the transition to a post-heroic society: Has society really completely lost interest in heroism? Karl-Heinrich Bette demonstrates that the central reservoir of heroes in modern times is forgotten and overlooked in these descriptions: elite sports with its continuous production of victories and defeats, spectacular records, and nerve-wracking tension. Competitions appear in an alternative interpretation as artificially and serially manufactured crises and emergencies that enable individuals or groups to present themselves as heroes in front of a mass audience during post-heroic times.