This past April, in noting the online debut of a new sports journal, The Allrounder, I noted its self-description: The Allrounder will be distinct from existing sports media sites in covering the whole world of sport. The site will feature writers from different countries, whose expertise ranges from basketball, cricket, and hockey to all codesContinue reading “At The Allrounder: Being A Mets And Yankees Fan”
Tag Archives: professional sports
Why Do Yankees Fans Venerate Derek Jeter?
In an interview with The Allrounder, my friend Amy Bass (a Red Sox fan!) takes on the following question: The Yankees’ longtime captain, Derek Jeter, is retiring this season and has been the object of widespread veneration throughout the league. Do Red Sox fans share in this respect of Jeter? and answers, in part, thus:Continue reading “Why Do Yankees Fans Venerate Derek Jeter?”
Brazil Unravel, All Together Now
Eight goals were scored in the ninety minutes of the World Cup semi-final yesterday between Brazil and Germany. Unfortunately for Brazil, seven of them were scored by Germany. Five of them came in the first half, in an eighteen minute stretch that began in the 11th minute and concluded with a four-goal burst in sixContinue reading “Brazil Unravel, All Together Now”
Soccer’s Clubs and Countries
Once the hubbub and the desperate hopes of the group stage have died down, the World Cup slowly settles down to normal service: the upstarts fade away and the big guns play on. Now, at the semi-final stage, the match-ups look decidedly familiar: Brazil versus German, Netherlands versus Argentina. (The final could be any oneContinue reading “Soccer’s Clubs and Countries”
Being Reductive About Sport (And How Silly It Is)
Some folks dislike sport. I use the word ‘dislike’ advisedly; the members of this cohort are not offering critical, politically tinged analysis of sport’s entanglement with big business and its value schemas; they are not exposing sport’s use as an ideology promulgating system, it’s supposed facilitation of political disengagement; they are not critiquing sport forContinue reading “Being Reductive About Sport (And How Silly It Is)”
Tribalism’s Easy Allure: Brooklyn Does Not Like Toronto Anymore (in the NBA)
Tribalism in sports is a curious thing; it is especially so in professional sports, where as I’ve noted, we encounter: [T]he mystery of how millions of sports fans, here in the US, and all over the world, develop long-standing, passionately defended and articulated, emotionally infused, personal allegiances with large, profit-seeking, corporate entities, an enterprise thatContinue reading “Tribalism’s Easy Allure: Brooklyn Does Not Like Toronto Anymore (in the NBA)”
Ending the NCAA’s Plantation Racket
In Kevin Smith‘s Chasing Amy, Banky tries to talk Holden out of his crush on Amy: Banky Edwards: Alright, now see this? This is a four-way road, okay? And dead in the center is a crisp, new, hundred dollar bill. Now, at the end of each of these streets are four people, okay? You following?Continue reading “Ending the NCAA’s Plantation Racket”
O’Bannon vs. NCAA: A Hotter Ticket Than March Madness
Why doesn’t the NCAA pay its players? Because they are amateurs. Why are they amateurs? Because the NCAA doesn’t pay them. That, roughly, is the NCAA’s argument for running the gigantic exploitation racket called “college sports.” Become the primary feeder for the nation’s professional leagues, to the extent it is well-nigh impossible to get draftedContinue reading “O’Bannon vs. NCAA: A Hotter Ticket Than March Madness”
Superbowl Notes: The Great Dictator, Sorry, Sports Coach
In 1984, like a good sports fan, I paid diligent attention–as I had previously in 1976 and 1980–to the Olympics, held that year in Los Angeles. Very few events were telecast live; we had to be content with lengthy packages of highlight clips. Included in them was as the triumphant march to an eventual goldContinue reading “Superbowl Notes: The Great Dictator, Sorry, Sports Coach”
Sports, the Distraction from the ‘Main Game’
Sometime ago, I received an email from an Australian friend of mine, who, among other things, wrote: Been thinking about how you and I love sport, how it really means something to us, how we cheer for our teams and are gutted when they lose. Yet we all know that sport (particularly non-participatory sport) isContinue reading “Sports, the Distraction from the ‘Main Game’”
Samir Chopra 