Reid's argument of Victory goes all the way back to Socrates and Plato's theory and concept of arete, excellence. Sports were an outlet that people would participate in to help make better people in the long run; or more well rounded. The overall goal of sports is to reach a winner at some point and time through gaining points, crossing a finish line, or going a distance. As a human society we lift people who engage in sports highly because we make them children's role models as well as place a huge responsibility on athletes heads to conduct themselves in the highest form of arete. Think about the outrage and uproar over Colin Kaepernick and the personal stance he is taking in the athletic arena. We place athletes on a pedestal because we innately relate the meaning of being an athlete and winning with some sort of moral ethical code of some sort. When players in games like football or basketball, players can be fined large amounts of money or even loose endorsements for "immoral" or behaviors that are not high in standard.
Reid brings to the front that the since of excellence, or arete, is known as a virtue and people take their virtues seriously. She goes into some different types of victories; a true victory, a tainted win/win-on-paper, moral victory and personal victory. In the movie "Eight Men Out" that we set back in 1919 which was the rise and prime of "American Leisure and Entertainment". There were eight men that were sought out on the Black Sox team to lose the games on purpose for a payout. Granted as athletes, they innately want to win and achieve their highest form of success however when you aren't being paid (taken care of) properly, losing a couple of games to "win big" in the bets to make a fortune. Such nature of conspiring to lose purposely for fixed bets and to cash in plays with the moral compass especially with the innocent players that are just caught up in the foolishness via association. The scandal was blown up to the point of being brought to the courts and all the players were tried in court. To actually see the intent of all the players or judge them separately.
Reid talks about how in the evolution of sports the famous inscriptions that read "know thyself" and "nothing in excess" are key to truly achieving arete in victory. She connects the phrase "Know thyself" with understanding ones own weakness being able to overcome them. The second phrase, "nothing in excess" brings about subject of temperance/self-control which is centered around the discipline of an athlete. Together these promote the bases of how we view our athletes currently, they must have self-knowledge (self awareness) and discipline.
Reid talks about how in the evolution of sports the famous inscriptions that read "know thyself" and "nothing in excess" are key to truly achieving arete in victory. She connects the phrase "Know thyself" with understanding ones own weakness being able to overcome them. The second phrase, "nothing in excess" brings about subject of temperance/self-control which is centered around the discipline of an athlete. Together these promote the bases of how we view our athletes currently, they must have self-knowledge (self awareness) and discipline.
Derrick,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog because you talk about what is going on in the psyche of the player. Some proponents of Mill's theory of higher and lower pleasures would support that in order for sports to be constituted as a higher pleasure, it not only has to activate physical stimulus but also intellectual stimulus. However, you point out that players are human and have to be in tune with his/her body. The reason, I think, this is welcoming to see is because sports is subjective and should not be seen objectively. As you mentioned, "Know thyself and nothing in excess are key to achieving arete in victory." This shows the human spirit of the player involved in sport. Do you think sports should only be about the victory?
I also watched Eight Men Out and was surprised by the fact that they thought that they were winning with their fortune and not their team beating the other. It takes away from the "arete" and the concept of athletes representing more than being good at a sport. The reading discussed how when famous athletes make mistakes it is seen as worse than when "normal" people make the very same mistakes. In the film, one of the best in the game, though, gets excused for his mistakes while the others do not. So, even though people get more disappointed; they end up being excused based on the level of their skills.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed that you brought Colin Kaepernick into the conversation. I think you are absolutely right in saying that we, as Americans, attach a sort of moral code with professional athletes. We see it all the time with Curry, Lebron, Phelps, etc. One thing that was always interesting to me, however, is that when Tim Tebow came into the NFL he got so much backlash. Why is it that some athletes are unbelievably good at holding that reputation, yet others fade or get ridiculed? Kaepernick is not the first athlete to step into the political arena, as Abdul-Jabar and Ali amongst others have throughout history as well. This reinforces the fact that we have always assigned moral codes to certain athletes and that sports are more than just winning or losing.
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