Читать книгу One Game at a Time. Why Sports Matter онлайн

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Chomsky’s generalized position is echoed by all kinds of people—whether they spend much time thinking about sports or not—who tend to defer to this analytical refuge; it’s an easy and clichéd place to wander off to. And to be sure, sports consistently give us every reason to revile them. Whether it’s the a-hole football players from your high school, the idiot jock homophobe culture, the sexual assaults so endemic to athletics, the crazed militarism at pro events, or the fucking Washington Redskins, it ain’t like sports aren’t doing their honest best to drive good people away. In the face of all the mouth-breathing scorn jock culture heaps on others, it’s hardly surprising that thoughtful people of every predilection aren’t terribly impressed with the possibilities of the sports world, and refuse to return the respect that sports has denied them.

The presumption of the essential triviality of sports is visible (in a weirdly self-flagellating twitch) even among sports-nerds. Many of us are simultaneously obsessed and chagrined—as if sports aren’t worthy of our legitimate attention. It’s something we hide like the porn history on our computers, something that stains whatever fantasies we might have of being serious adults. Even on rabid sports talk radio, whenever a tragedy occurs commentators trot out an inevitably reflexive cliché: “Makes you think about what really matters….” As if sports don’t really matter—when they clearly, absolutely do.