American Sports Culture

I am guilty as anyone! Athletics holds such an important place in my life and has for so many years. My junior high & high school years were spent preparing for, recovering from, or dreaming about the game - basketball, baseball, soccer, football. There is no telling how many miles, dollars, and hours were expended on athletic pursuits. All the way through college, the majority of my time and identity were intimately tied to athletics. Countless relationships & memories were the direct result of my participation in basketball. Not the least of theses was my relationship with my dad and men at church. I cannot underestimate the good that came into my life & the influence I was able to have was incredible.

However, the American culture of sports is not all it's cracked up to be! Chap Clark in his book Hurt - a reflective multi-year study of American youth culture - argues that youth today are experiencing a "systemic abandonment" from the adult generations. In other words, young people are detached from previous generations and forced to basically raise themselves. Clark argues that athletics is one of the main ways that adults "abandon" youth. We equate "spending time with our children" with taking them to and from practices and ballgames. In doing so, we offer them no alternative to a culture which idolizes athletics and permits them to sense their worth via their performance. The premium on athletics is astounding!

As I write this post, sportcasters are hyped up about Brett Favre's return to Lambeau Field as a Minnesota Viking. Words and phrases like "He's a traitor" are thrown around by fans full of pure hatred and disgust for a man they adored for almost two decades. Lines are drawn along superficial boundaries (i.e. sports teams) and "allegiances" are shifted with the drop of a hat. I fully admit that I don't have a favorite team that I follow. And, say, Packer fans freely admit that non-Packer fans cannot understand their passion and allegiance....I think I'm okay with that! I don't think I want to understand something that draws lines and defines relationships based on a game - a temporary and short-term sport. It is not athletics that I take issue with; It has much to offer in terms of work ethic, perseverance, teamwork, etc. It is, however, an attitude and perspective that allows sports to take such an important place that other more important items are ignored.