In the film Eight Men Out, the idea of winning is put to the test. The players of the White Sox are discontented with their current pay for their awesome season, so entering the World Series, some gamblers catch wind of their unhappiness and try to capitalize on it by offering them money to throw the series altogether. While some of the team remains true to the sport, others play a crooked game and cause the Sox to lose the series ultimately leading them to a conspiracy trial.
As I watched this movie I tried to think about the meaning of winning in the realm of sports. In Reid's "Sport, Education, and the meaning of Victory," the author questions what winning is: "One reason this question is seldom asked may be that, on the face of it, the answer is absurdly obvious. Sports, after all, are essentially sets of rules constructed by human beings, and winning is clearly defined within each of these sets of rules." Even though the morality of some of the Sox players was very skewed, did the crooked players really think they were "losing" off the field? They felt as though they had been wronged by the owner of the team, so winning was not something that needed to happen on the field for them.
On the other hand, one of the characters, Bucky, refuses to blow the game just for money. Once the scandal is out in the open, the neighborhood kid's that admire the players come to Bucky and ask him if it is true. He replies "when you grow up things get complicated." And they ask him if he was involved and he said "I guess I just never really grew up." The correlation between honest playing and still being a child is an interesting way to look at it. But it makes me think of the way those kids and the city looked up to the players, and how they could still turn their idea of winning around in order to get the pay day they thought they deserved. Bucky knew that they were not treated correctly from the owner of the team, but his morals and love of an honest game trumped the pay.
The reading says that the reason sports are held so highly is the admiration of human excellence, and that is why spectators come. When people are not playing honest the sport itself is not honest; the idea of human excellence is not shown and sports lose the ethics that they once held.
I think that winning is so important because it can be clearly defined. However, the effort or behind the scenes preparation can't be easily seen. Thus you may have a person who's better on a holistic scale but still lose to someone who is not as capable or who is not morally intacted because numbers are visible.
ReplyDeleteMcKenzie,
ReplyDeleteI found your blog interesting because you highlight a dilemma with professional sports. On one side there is the professional athlete that has to be paid and on the other side there is the team's corporation dictating how much to pay the athlete. To the owners and people that run the team, all they care about is the victory. I would even argue that money has become part of the culture of professional sports to the point that professional sports team have to value money so much that they place monetary value on how "good" the athlete plays. Do yo think that athleticism can be bought?
I really liked your last couple lines because it really tied in your argument. And while I never saw it that way, I do kind of agree with your point. I always thought that I watched sports because it was entertaining to see people compete, but looking back, I can't recall how many times I'd talk about how I am always amazed at what some athletes can do. I mean I can't do it. We pay to watch these people amaze us with the talents we don't have and we support them and expect them to play or perform to the best of their ability. However, at the opposite end, they are just human, and that means they have feelings and can act on emotions. And while they are excellent at their sport doesn't mean they are excellent humans all around.
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