Finding Your Sports Team

Ever since I've been a true sports fanatic, I’ve received criticism for having the Atlanta Braves and Sacramento Kings as my favorite sports teams. The main complaint I hear is that I, nor my family, have ever lived in the Atlanta or Sacramento area. Instead, I’ve spent my whole life in south Texas, and therefore people think I should root for Texas teams. One of the problems with that is that none of the professional sports team in Texas are close to my hometown. The San Antonio Spurs are the closest, and they are a four hour drive away. The second problem is that no one in my family follows American sports to influence my preference in teams.

Personally, I don’t mind that people think it’s weird that I like these random teams because it is odd. What I don’t like is people questioning how good a fan I am. I’ve followed the Braves since ’96 and the Kings fan since ’00. I’ve never wavered in my loyalty and passion for these teams. I fell in love with both these teams after randomly watching them on TV. Is that wrong? Is that an unacceptable way of picking a team to follow? I don’t think it is. However, as I’ve grown up I’ve had trouble picking teams to follow for other sports. Part of me doesn’t want to pick a random team that is doing well and be considered a fair weather fan, or someone who is just a fan of winning teams. Would it be wrong for me to claim the Chicago Bears as my favorite football team now that I go to Northwestern? I’m sure some people would attribute me liking the Bears to the recent success they’ve had instead of the fact that I now live in the Chicago area. Is that fair? I know it’s stupid to worry about what others may think of you, but for once I would like to be a fan of a team and not be questioned about it.

Why Don't I Have Sports Hero?

The funny thing about me not having a sports hero is that I don’t know exactly why I don’t have one. The last time I labeled one athlete as my favorite was when I was around ten years old and playing little league baseball. That athlete was Chipper Jones of the Atlanta Braves, my favorite baseball team. One day after school I came home and saw Chipper Jones on a sports talk show called Up Close. I was excited to see my favorite player outside of the baseball diamond. To my disappointment the interview wasn’t as jolly as I hoped. The interview focused on some domestic violence charges brought up on Chipper Jones. I don’t think I ever looked at Chipper the same way again. I continued and still do admire Chipper’s baseball skill but I no longer have that attachment to him. As I see it, before I would have hated the idea of him leaving the Braves but now, if the situation was right, I wouldn’t mind him being traded. If he did play for another team I probably would still like him and hope he did well. I’ve felt that way for other Braves’ players who have left over the years and players of other teams. I even still root for Tom Glavine, who left the Braves to join their rival the New York Mets. I know I shouldn’t expect athletes to be perfect in all aspects of life, but I guess I don’t know why I should have stronger feelings for them than other people just because they are good at sports. I guess I just don’t see athletes as being that special and worth the extra attention or admiration.

Nature and Significance of Play as a Cultural Phenomenon by J. Huizinga

Objective
The main purpose of this article is to explain the meaning of play. According to the author play is a significant function that transcends the immediate needs of life and imparts meaning to the action. Play goes beyond being a purely physical or biological activity.

Forms of play

• Simple form: dogs playing with each other
• Developed form: regular contests and performances in front of the public

Biological Functions of Play

• Relaxing
• Discharges energy
• Imitative instinct
• Training for work later on in life
• Exercise for need of restraint
• Fulfills desire to dominate and compete
• Outlet of harmful impulses
• Gives personal value
• Wish-fulfillment
• Restores energy

Problem with Defining Play though these Biological Functions

• They all talk about the cause or intention underlying the action of play. They don’t talk about what is “at play” when play occurs
• They overlap and do not exclude each other. You can agree with almost all of the biological functions of play without having contradictions
• The questions regarding what is the fun of playing and why do crowds get so riled up by a sporting match are left unanswered with these explanations.

Play has tension, mirth (gladness or gaiety as shown by or accompanied with laughter), and fun.

The Fun Element of Play

• Resists all logical interpretation or analysis but yet characterizes the essence of play.
• No other modern language has the exact equivalent of the English word “fun”
• Play can’t be denied but things like justice, beauty, truth, goodness, mind and God can be denied.
• Play is not matter and is irrational. It goes beyond a physical or mechanical need. We know when we play

Play Before Culture

• Play is older than culture.
• Play is present everywhere. “The incidence of play is not associated with any particular stage of civilization or view of the universe”
• Play has a social function
• Language and play are connected as seen in the use of metaphors which play on words to express and describe life and objects in it.Pure play is one of the main bases of civilization. Play and culture are interwoven.

Play and Seriousness, Laughter, and Comic

• Play can go back and forth across the line of what is serious
• Humans laugh but animals don’t, yet they both play
• “In itself play is not comical either for the player or public”
• Play has no moral function

Play and Aesthetic Beauty

• Play has some elements of beauty.
• However, play can not be defined solely through aesthetic qualities. Aesthetic qualities are like the biological functions of play; they are a part of play but do not define it.

1st Characteristics of Formal Play: Free

• Play is a voluntary activity
• Because we enjoy play we tend to think we need it but we don’t. It is done at leisure
• An exception is when play is a cultural function. Then there is an obligation or duty to play.

2nd Characteristic: Not Ordinary or Real Life

• You consciously enter another world when you play.
• The other pretend world can be serious.
• Example of child pretending to be a train while his father interrupts him at play. The child knows he is pretending to be a train but still takes the situation seriously
• “Play turns to seriousness and seriousness to play”
• Play is an integral part of life, not just a break from the real world.
• Does not contradict with play being voluntary because play is not a necessity for life. It just makes life better.

3rd Characteristic: Secluded and Limited

• Play has certain limits of time and place (arena, stage, table)
• Once played it is treasured as a memory
• Inside its designated area, play creates or is order
• Order found in play can be aesthetically pleasing

Tension in Play

• In play there is some objective. Tension is uncertainty of whether the player at play will accomplish what he or she wants. Examples range kicking a fieldgoal in football to finishing a jigsaw puzzle.
• The amount of tension increases with competition because it produces more intense emotions.
• Tension tests a player’s courage, tenacity, resources, and his belief in fairness.
• “The rules of a game are absolutely binding and allow no doubt”
• Player who ignores the rules is a “spoil-sport”
• False player, or cheat: pretends to play while still acknowledging the magic circle
• Spoil sport: robs play of its illusion and threatens the existence of the play community. Is a coward and should be ejected. Example is a kid who refuses to make-believe
• Society is more lenient to a cheat than a spoil sport

Play and Social groupings

• “A play-community generally tends to become permanent even after the game is over.” Ex. Athletes being friends off the field
• Play tends to surround itself in secrecy
• We are different and do things differently when at play.
• Dressing up in costumes helps facilitate this transition to another being.

Metis in Basketball

After our in-class discussion on Monday, I can not stop thinking about how professional basketball exemplifies the definition of metis found in our readings and discussion.

In the De Certeau reading, an economic principle of metis is discussed. The premise of this principle is that metis involves getting the maximum effect from the minimum amount of effort. Professional basketball is all about pacing and making as many easy baskets as you can. One complaint I hear often with regards to professional basketball is that they don’t try for the first three quarters of the game. As someone who has seen a few professional games in person and many on TV, I admit there is less hustle shown in the early quarters. However, I don’t feel it is because the players do not care about the outcome of the game. Instead, they are just trying to pace themselves. They understand it is hard to give 100% effort for 48 straight minutes, and that a couple of baskets early in the game can be made up.

In the first extract of Detienne and Vernant an individual with metis is described as being more changeable, more mobile, than their circumstances. Basketball players likewise have to adjust to whatever is thrown at them, whether it be a different defense or how the referees are calling the game. The great players are able to win by overcoming these obstacles by either passing out of the double team to find the open player or find some other way to get a shot off.

We also discussed about seizing the right or opportune moment. Great basketball players like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Time Duncan focus on getting their teammates involved at the beginning of the game. They understand that their teammates need to build confidence in their scoring ability so that when they are forced to give up the ball because of a double team late in the game their teammates can make the play. Great players also know when it is their responsibility to step up and make a shot to stop a run by the other team. There are many moments in a game that can be deemed critical. The superstars that win are able to analyze these moments and make a judgment of what the best option is for that moment.

As I mentioned in class, Michael Jordan was able to keep future hall of famers like Karl Malone, John Stockton, Reggie Miller, and Charles Barkley from winning a championship. There is no physical basketball skill Jordan had that made him supreme when compared to these individuals. Miller could make 3’s better than MJ. Malone and Barkley could take MJ in the post. Stockton could drive to the paint (probably not as good as MJ but he was still good at it). Instead, I believe it was Jordan’s ability to analyze the game and execute in critical times that made him rise above his peers.

Sport and Society

While I now agree with C.L.R. James’s opinion that sport can reflect and impact society, I did not always think this way. James reflects on the role of sport within the Ancient Greek and later 19^th Century British societies. Those cultures, however, bear no significance to me. Instead, it is through more recent events in sports that I dispel this notion of an imaginary line separating politics and society from sport. These more recent events include 9/11, the War in Iraq, and Hurricane Katrina. With the attack of 9/11, I think many Americans saw our way of life being threatened. One way of dispelling that notion was through the continuation of baseball, America’s pastime. With the War in Iraq, I think of Pat Tillman and how he gave up playing football with the Arizona Cardinals to serve in Iraq, where he unfortunately died. He is a testament of how war affects everyone, and how the men and women serving in the armed forces make significant sacrifices for others. With Hurricane Katrina, I think of the joy that the New Orleans Saints brought to the city with their run at possibly winning a championship after being a bad team for so long. I know that when my sports team wins I feel good, and I can only hope that seeing the Saints win brought at least some moments of joy to the lives of people who must be miserable after Hurricane Katrina. I question whether any of the connections I just made will be mentioned in history books that reflect on 9/11, the War in Iraq, and Hurricane Katrina. I doubt it.

Has Sports Gone Too Far?

In the first paragraph of the extract written by John Dewey, he talks about a “harmony between human activities and surroundings, a harmony which is disturbed only when man indulges in “artificial” departures from nature.” He goes on further to mention how physical activity can lead to man finding happiness, rest, and relief.

I feel that athletes today push themselves more then ever and that maybe the desire to win has gone too far. I’ve seen far too many athletes my age blowout their knees for an activity that started out as a fun hobby. Professional athletes appear to find the stress to perform so burdensome that they turn to steroids and other performance enhancing drugs. I’m beginning to feel that society’s demand for greatness has lead these “artificial departures from nature” and what sport is meant to be. I know when I watch a sports game I want to see spectacular feats never accomplished before.

I only can hope that the act of winning makes the sacrifices and risks an athlete takes worth it. I feel sympathy towards athletes who give it their all and will never physically be the same once they retire. I admire Tiki Barber, who is retiring from the NFL while he still has the ability to play because he doesn’t want his life to end after football. He wants to be physically able to play with his kids and pursue other passions.

I don’t think the way sports are played is going to be changed anytime soon. All I know for sure is that I’ll continue to watch sports and not take for granted the simple things such as a mid-range jumper or the ability to sacrifice a man over to third with less than two outs.

Why I Love Sports

The amazing thing about sports to me is its ability to unite masses of people together for a variety of reasons. I’ve always found it amusing how sports fans use the term ‘we’ when referring to their team like they are part of the organization (I’m just as guilty as anyone). While some like the thrill of competition that sports provides, others may use sports as a way of escaping their daily lives for a few hours. As someone who is interested in the medical profession, I’m fascinated by how athletes are physically able to do what they do. From hitters in baseball being able to distinguish between a 90-mph fastball and a hard breaking splitter in half a second and still be able to hit the ball over 400 feet to basketball players hanging and twisting in midair for a lay-up, sports are a testament to the almost endless ability of the human body. As a result, I am saddened by the alleged use of steroids and other performance enhancing drugs by professional athletes that make their accomplishments less realistic. The fact remains, however, that we all have our own reason for being fascinated with sports and those reasons represent a gateway into human thought and feelings. I thus find the philosophy of sport to be a way of understanding human nature.