Last Friday, notable sports journalist Frank Deford delivered the keynote address for the fifth annual Shasha Seminar for Human Concerns, a University forum that examines one global issue yearly through seminars and workshops. This year, University alumni, parents, and friends explored the “Triumph of Sports Culture.”
Deford, a senior contributing writer at “Sports Illustrated” magazine, a regular correspondent for HBO’s “Real Sports” show, and a commentator on NPR’s “Morning Edition” program, began his presentation with an attention-grabbing statement that set the tone for the rest of the evening.
“Eighty-one percent of golfers would rather shoot par than have sex with a beautiful woman,” he said.
Deford went on to paint the picture of today’s sports-engulfed society.
“Baseball caps and tennis shirts are more prevalent than ever,” he said. “The Super Bowl is celebrated more and more across society, is more common than Easter, and is even considered more American than Easter. Today, the American Dream is superseded by fantasy football.”
Athletics is ingrained in current culture, something Deford said has proven to be a mostly positive influence on millions of Americans.
One century ago, Deford explained, soldiers at war defined the American hero. Since then, athletics have replaced the military as fulfilling a manly role and producing heroes. Nowhere was this more prevalent than for minorities in America, Deford said, particularly for African Americans.
According to Deford, the growth of sports culture eventually bound Americans together in novel ways.
“Sports bring us together in such a fragmented society where we don’t even watch the same television shows,” Deford said. “Sports create a unifying factor that brings different people together to provide entertainment.”
In an age in which television channels are designed specifically to broadcast sports 24 hours per day and 365 days per year, Deford said Americans today crave sports in ways that were unheard of even decades ago. The nation has adapted to the triumph of sports in society through several measures.
Noting the positive influences of sports culture, Deford also questioned the new levels it has reached, raising athletic scholarships as an example.
“Why do athletes alone get scholarships and others don’t?” he asked. “Why do tennis players get financial support but the piano player doesn’t?”
Deford lamented the triumph of sports over education in several societal aspects, saying that it is only in this nation that athletics have significant sway over higher education. Boys in particular look to sports for salvation at an early age, to the detriment of their education, he suggested. As a result, he predicts colleges will be filled 60 percent with women in the near future.
Deford concluded by reiterating that sports culture has had a unifying effect on society and that its role in America will remain significant.
Leave a Reply