When Lorrie Moore wrote her New York Review of Books review of the Friday Night Lights phenomenon—the television series, the book, and the movie–she made sure she prefaced it with talk of ‘guilty pleasures’: On my way to a Manhattan book party recently my mind was wandering to cultural guilty pleasures: sprightly but inane movies,Continue reading “The ‘Guilty Pleasures’ of ‘Friday Night Lights’”
Category Archives: Sports
Of Pugilistic Encounters and Uncanny Resemblances
In high school, I boxed for a year in the flyweight division. In the year-end boxing tournament, I lost in the final. To my best friend’s identical twin. Most people who I recount this story to are struck by the apparent weirdness of fighting an opponent that bore a striking resemblance to someone who IContinue reading “Of Pugilistic Encounters and Uncanny Resemblances”
Leave the Sports Fans Alone, Go Get the Protesters
In writing on Quebec’s heavy-handed crackdown on the continuing student protests (“Our Not So Friendly Northern Neighbor”, International Herald Tribune, May 23 2012), Laurence Bherer and Pascale Dufour note the generally well-behaved demeanor of the protesters: Since the beginning of the student strike, leaders have told protesters to avoid violence. Protesters even condemned the small minority of troublemakers whoContinue reading “Leave the Sports Fans Alone, Go Get the Protesters”
Crossfit and Strong Women
A singularly positive aspect about being in a Crossfit space–like the one at Crossfit South Brooklyn, which, in point of fact, is the only one I’ve ever spent any time in–is the many opportunities that arise to see strong women in action. Women can deadlift, squat, clean and jerk, run fast, do muscle-ups, pull-ups–you nameContinue reading “Crossfit and Strong Women”
Ozzie Guillen, the First Amendment in the Workplace, and Bromance
The Florida Marlins’ suspension of its manager Ozzie Guillen for his ‘pro-Castro’ remarks provides yet another teachable moment about the First Amendment and its relationship to the workplace. (Guillen has been suspended for five games.) Guillen’s original remarks read: I love Fidel Castro. I respect Fidel Castro. You know why? A lot of people haveContinue reading “Ozzie Guillen, the First Amendment in the Workplace, and Bromance”
Dennis Bergkamp’s Goal and Fan Encounters in the Rainforest
The Wikipedia entry for Dennis Bergkamp–who graced the rosters of Ajax, Internazionale, Arsenal and the Dutch national team in a career lasting twenty years–includes the following notes: Bergkamp scored three times in the 1998 FIFA World Cup, including a memorable winning goal in the final minute of the quarter-final against Argentina. Bergkamp took a leapingContinue reading “Dennis Bergkamp’s Goal and Fan Encounters in the Rainforest”
Roger Cohen, the “Two Footballs”, and False Dichotomies
Over at the New York Times, Roger Cohen has an Op-Ed contrasting football and football. I mean, Association football and American football. Or, rather, soccer and football. Roughly Cohen’s thesis is: soccer is all skill and art, football is all violent force and anti-finesse; America reveals its plebeian failure to appreciate soccer artistry by itsContinue reading “Roger Cohen, the “Two Footballs”, and False Dichotomies”
Asif Kapadia’s Senna Takes Pole Position
Asif Kapadia’s Senna, based on the life of the late Ayrton Senna, succeeds as documentary, a sports movie, and a movie. It works as biography, as a morally-instructive fairy-tale about an improbably good-looking, intelligent, sensitive, and articulate sportsman (in a sport made singular by its technologically-enforced impersonal distance from its spectators), and finally, as aContinue reading “Asif Kapadia’s Senna Takes Pole Position”
Pick-up Games, Participation, and Basketball
As is evident from a glance at my “About” page, I blog on cricket. Which would seem to indicate I’m obsessed about the game to some extent. But when it comes to actually playing a game, cricket is not my favorite sport. And the reason for that is simple: cricket too often permits non-participation byContinue reading “Pick-up Games, Participation, and Basketball”
Samir Chopra 