Role Of Sport In America

Sports have undeniably been a huge factor in development of our modern day American society. Evolving immensely from the human nature of play, they have grown far beyond a simple leisure activity. Since the beginning, however, sport has played a crucial part in reflecting and contributing to the popular culture of each era. Sports in America also have a unique characteristic in that they are amplified and taken extremely seriously. Elliott J. Gorn and Michael Oriard, in “Taking Sports Seriously,” highlight this escalated role of sport in our society, even since its origins. Early in eighteenth century America, Virginian gentry were solidifying their place at the top of the social hierarchy (with black slaves at the bottom directly under …show more content…
In correspondence with gambling in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries in Virginia, bets, sometimes large and sometimes small, were placed between men over cocks and were taken gravely. Clifford Geertz, in “Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight,” describes, “the more [money] one risks the more of a lot of other things, such as one’s pride, one’s poise, one’s dispassion, one’s masculinity, one also risks.” Like the Virginians, more than money was on the line when betting. Though, in cockfighting, all things risked besides money were only actually risked momentarily. Shortly after, the public humility one may feel after losing a bet would be forgotten, and the focus would be on the next fight at hand; Geertz wrote, “no one’s status is actually altered by the outcome of the cockfight.” This divergence in the two games reflects the divergence in the two comparable …show more content…
During a time period where mass media was on the rise and a struggle was brewing between those who chose to partake in the indulgences of the roaring twenties and those who believed these same indulgences were taking away from careers and social morale. James Tunney, also known as the Fighting Marine, had a respected image in the eyes of the media, and, in fact, in the eyes of most Americans. Gorn describes this honored war veteran as representing “an individual who lived by social rules and succeeded through self-control.” In sharp contrast, “Jack” Dempsey held an image of the complete opposite. He did not follow these “social rules;” working in the mines out west and engaging in gambling, drinking, and the “Hollywood lifestyle,” many Americans viewed Dempsey as a “social outlaw.” This persepctive of him, however, mostly emanated from the media’s portrayal of the Manassa Mauler. Elliott J. Gorn, in “Manassa Mauler and the Fighting Marine,“ wrote, “Dempsey’s outlaw image appealed to those most victimized by the gnawing hatreds and injustices of American society.”
The two images of these widely popular fighters spread throughout America, reaching far more people than the usual crowd attracted to boxing. This metaphor in the ring encompassed the main opposing cultural ideals of this time