A) The author identifies four paradoxes, the first being that sport is a fantasy, a diversion from the realities of work, relationships, and survival. Sport elaborates in its rituals what it means to be human: the risks, the trials, the collective impulse of the game, and...the certainty that nothing is certain and things can change and be changed. The second is that sports shares with larger societies the basic elements and expressions of bureaucratization, commercialization, racism, sexism, etc. American sport mirrors american values. Third, sport is compelling because it combines spectacle with drama, excellence and clarity. Lastly, there is a human desire to identify with something greater than oneself. For athletes, it's a part of being a team, making sacrifices and working together to reach a common goal, and for the fans, it's about identifying with a team or sports hero bonds them with others who share their allegiance. In terms of comparing and contrasting my definition of sport with Eitzen's paradoxes of sport, our view point as to what sport offers is very similar, but I believe his first and fourth paradoxes to be perfect depictions of what sport is. Sport provides outlets for those who need to get away from the stresses of life, and helps fill voids in the lives of those who have no one to look up to.
B) I've never really realized, until writing this, at how much sport has become such a major part of my life. As ridiculous as it may sound, sport could be one of the best things that I have ever known. Not because it's fun to watch or it's fun to play, but because it offers so much more than just scoring goals or hitting home runs. Sport can pull the best and worst out of people, and for those who play sports, it can push them to physical, mental, and emotional limits you didn't think could be reached. I feel that I developed a connection for sport at a young age. Growing up, I played baseball and basketball, and was constantly surrounded by everything sports. Sport was always easily accessible for me because everyone in my family played sports; even my stepdad coaches high school basketball. But I didn't really start to appreciate sport for what it was until I was about 20 years old when my sister Jocelyn, who played basketball for the University of Nevada Reno, passed away from a brain tumor. She literally played until she couldn't anymore, and during that time while she was still playing and watching her go through what she was going through, I realized that basketball had provided her with an outlet she could turn to when things were going bad and she just didn't want to talk about her illness anymore. It was as if she used basketball as therapy to ease the pain she was feeling. It's because of her that I have such a great appreciation for sport, because it provided her with the comfort that no one or nothing else could provide.
References
Eitzen, D.S (2006). Fair and Foul: Beyond the Myths and Paradoxes of Sport (2nd Ed.). Oxford, Rowman & Littlefield: Chapter 1
Your connection to sport is very moving. It is obvious that you are very passionate about what sports can offer us. What do you think are some of the pitfalls of these characteristics? The paradox lies in the fact that something that can bring so much joy and passion can also be destructive. I would have liked to see you address this side of sport a little more in your analysis of the article.
ReplyDelete~Brittainy