The Meaning of Sports

“The Meaning of Sports” The Significance of the Rise of American Team Sports During the 19th and 20th Centuries I. Ingredients for the Emergence of Team Sports      Longer Childhoods Public Education Growth of Cities Modern Methods of Transportation Addresses the needs of the spirit and the psyche II. Diversion from the Routines of Life      “Disport” Need for diversion increased in modern era Link with drama Team Sports offer compelling drama Team Sports as a sort of epic III. Team Sports Feature Coherence  Basic Human Need  Modern lives much less predictable and explicable  Neither art nor religion offer modern coherence for many  Team Sports—haven from incoherence IV. Sports and Contemporary Parallels Sports’ resemblance to the Detective Novel  History of Movies run parallel to modern team sports --Reaching Mass Culture --Similar shifts in power  V. Star Power on Sports Teams  Power of Attraction  Authenticity of Star Players’ lives  Are ballplayers entertainers?  Sports provides heroes --source of admiration --model for emulation V. Star Power on Sports Teams (cont.)  Superior Athletes as Appropriate Role Models --Train Diligently --Perform under Pressure  Significance of Hall of Fame V. Star Power on Sports Teams (cont.)  Rare qualities of sports stars  Heroic appeal through authenticity that can be observed  Reliable testimonials for consumer goods VI. “Democracy” reflected in Team Sports     Not a political system, but the notion of social equality Aristocracy of ancient sport Team sports before the modern era Significance of what players wear -- “uniform” VI. “Democracy” in Team Sports (cont.)  Discontent with the sameness of the uniform in late 20th Century  Team Sports reflect the principle of merit  Sports as a reflection of the French Revolution VII. Team Sports as a Reflection of the Market Economy  Changes during the Industrial Revolution -- “division of labor”  Specialization and Interdependence  Competition in Sports and the Marketplace VIII. Rules in Sports and the Market Economy  Significance of Rules  Preeminence of rules in the United States  Properties of Sports rules --universal --transparent --legitimate VIII. Rules in Sports (cont.)  Umpires and Referees -- “Whistle-Blowing”  Rules for Scoring  Rules governing the effort to Score  Rules governing behavior toward officials  Rules against trying “not” to win  Deception allowed except as related to the pursued goal IX. Professional Sports and the Equality of Opportunity  The role of the amateur draft  The role of the salary cap  European preference for equality of results  Difficulty of a tie in professional American sports X. Impact of Sports on Spectators  Emotional Identification  Monetary Identification  European Sports tend to divide people  American professional sports tend to unite --e pluribus unum XI. Impact of Sports on Spectators (cont.)   Sports as a reflection of American geographic mobility Sports as a reflection of the American “melting pot” --John McGraw --Lou Gehrig --Sandy Koufax --Tony Lazzeri XII. Why 3 Major Team Sports in the United States?  Variety due to seasonal schedules  Reflect different eras of economic activity --Baseball: agrarian --Football: industrial --Basketball: postindustrial