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Articles 151 - 180 of 842

Full-Text Articles in Cultural History

Reflection, Richard C. Crepeau Dec 2011

Reflection, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

As I prepare to leave England and return to Florida and as the end of the year approaches, I have thought about writing an end of the year summary piece. Thinking about that I decided that what I only would reflect upon the last six or seven weeks of this year, weeks that have turned out to be most remarkable in content and emblematic of the past year.


Thanksgiving, Richard C. Crepeau Nov 2011

Thanksgiving, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

(As with all American traditions if it happened once or twice it is one. Therefore I present my traditional Thanksgiving piece) The History of Thanksgiving and of Football both go back into the Middle Ages, and so it may not be so strange that the two would become intertwined in modern America.


Al Davis, Richard C. Crepeau Nov 2011

Al Davis, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Over the past weekend news came of the death of Al Davis at the age of 82. It did not make the nightly news in France or the newspapers that I saw. It was not until returning to England on Monday that I, really by chance, stumbled across the news of Davis’ death. I can say I was surprised and somewhat taken aback by the possibility that I might have missed the death of such an important figure in the history of sport in America, particularly the history of the National Football League.


Baseball's Night, Richard C. Crepeau Sep 2011

Baseball's Night, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

It was approximately 12:45 a.m. in London when Mark Teixeira’s bases loaded blast reached the seats in The Can, and the Yankees added four runs to the one they were gifted in the first inning. It was 5-0. David Price had very little, and I turned off my computer and went to bed. At the time the Braves were 1-1 with Philadelphia, the Red Sox and O’s were scoreless and that seemed not to matter at that point. The Cardinals and Astros had not yet begun.


Penn State, Richard C. Crepeau Sep 2011

Penn State, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

The world of intercollegiate athletics, particularly the world of elite football and basketball programs, is a world unto itself. It has a connection to reality analogous to that of Disney World, and is shrouded in a veil of secrecy rivaling that of the CIA. Those who run these programs live in a paranoid environment that sustains a bunker mentality, while at the same time is invested with a sense that the rules, of any world beyond their offices, do not apply to them. They are vigilant in maintaining their splendid isolation in a vacuum of privilege.


College Football, Richard C. Crepeau Aug 2011

College Football, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Staged events are seldom convincing and often offensive. About two weeks ago the President of THE Ohio State University, Gordon Gee decided to stage a public apology for his comments several weeks earlier in which he used the Little Sisters of the Poor as a punch line for criticism of scheduling by lesser football teams than his group of tainted national champions.


London, Richard C. Crepeau Aug 2011

London, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

As some of you know I am now in London where I will spend the fall semester teaching at the Florida State University London Centre. I am not certain how this will affect my general view of the American sports scene, but I can tell you that the riots of this week have affected my ability to concentrate on sport and the issues that have arisen over the past two weeks.


Nfl, Richard C. Crepeau Jul 2011

Nfl, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Today was Day 129 of America Held Hostage. No, the Ayatollah Komenhi and his band of fanatical hostage takers have not returned. This is not the ABC television news mantra that was featured during the Iranian Hostage crisis and spawned “Nightline” and made a celebrity out of Ted Koppel. This was something far more significant.


World Cup, Richard C. Crepeau Jul 2011

World Cup, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Do you believe in miracles? Since it was first used by Al Michaels on the ABC telecast during the final seconds of the U.S.–Soviet Hockey game at the 1980 Olympics, this line has been quoted countless times by American sports fans. Watching the totally unexpected play or the remarkable outcome to some game, fans have often turned to this phrase to express their wonder.


The Olympics In East Asia: Nationalism, Regionalism, And Globalism On The Center Stage Of World Sports, William W. Kelly, Susan Brownell Jan 2011

The Olympics In East Asia: Nationalism, Regionalism, And Globalism On The Center Stage Of World Sports, William W. Kelly, Susan Brownell

CEAS Occasional Publication Series

Yale CEAS Occasional Publication Series - Volume 3


Excesses Of The Super Bowl, Richard C. Crepeau Feb 2010

Excesses Of The Super Bowl, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

From its modest beginnings in 1966 at the AFL-NFL Championship Game in Los Angeles down to Super Bowl XLIV, it has become increasingly apparent that Super Sunday has grown exponentially and in the process has become a bloated monster. Over the past quarter century or more Super Sunday has illustrated the ability of a sporting event to offer a distorted and exaggerated version of social reality and social values in America and the Super Bowl has done this on a grand, glorious, and obscene scale.


Athletes In Confessional Mode, Richard C. Crepeau Jan 2010

Athletes In Confessional Mode, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

What is it about the media, and by implication, the public, that we seem to require a public confessional from our fallen heroes and icons? As I watched some of the Mark McGwire interview with Bob Costas I wondered if it had started with McGwire looking at the floor and saying, "Forgive me Bobby, for I have sinned." I trust it did not, even though it might have added to the ambiance.


A December To Remember, Richard C. Crepeau Dec 2009

A December To Remember, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

It has been a December to remember. As the month comes to a close with a remarkable flurry of headline sports stories, its clear that this one month was not only one for the memory bank, but that it may have been the most fitting way to end a year that has certified the decade as the Naughty Naughties. What seemed like an awkward tag at the beginning of the new century has become a most appropriate signature phrase as this decade comes to its ignominious close.


Bobby Bowden Departs, Richard C. Crepeau Dec 2009

Bobby Bowden Departs, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

When is the right time to leave? Some wait too long, others leave too soon. Some go out on top. Some tarnish their legacy before letting go.


End The Nfl Blackout!, Richard C. Crepeau Sep 2009

End The Nfl Blackout!, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Over the past week there has been some comment on the NFL television blackout policy that prohibits the televising of home games in the home market unless there has been a sellout 72 hours in advance of kickoff. Some, including Richard Sandomir of the New York Times, have suggested that in this time of economic crisis, when it appears that the number of sellouts of NFL games will be dropping, that Commissioner Goodell should end or suspend the blackout policy. This is a reasonable sentiment, although one might question if offering more blood and circuses offers a viable solution to …


The Water Torture Of Baseball's Steroid Leaks, Richard C. Crepeau Aug 2009

The Water Torture Of Baseball's Steroid Leaks, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

When I was a young boy I remember using the term "Chinese water torture" for any activity that seemed long, torturous, and pointless. I have been reminded of this repeatedly over the last few years as slowly, usually one by one, the names of those baseball players who tested positive for some sort of performance enhancing drugs have become public. Anonymous and confidential drug testing that was conducted for Major League baseball and the MLB Players Association in 2003 to determine the extent of a drug problem in baseball has turned out to be not so confidential.


An Amazing Open, And An Obscenity In Arlington, Richard C. Crepeau Jul 2009

An Amazing Open, And An Obscenity In Arlington, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

If you watched The Open from Turnberry this weekend there were two surprises: Tiger Woods didn’t make the cut and Tom Watson nearly won the tournament. It became obvious that Tiger wasn’t playing his A-game when in the middle of his second round he played himself out of the tournament. Woods was one under par after seven holes and then went bogey, bogey, double bogey, par, bogey, double bogey. He was hitting shots that any weekend duffer could relate to as he topped the ball, mishit the ball several times, and explored all of the varieties of the rough. It …


Fabulous Finals At Wimbledon, Richard C. Crepeau Jul 2009

Fabulous Finals At Wimbledon, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

It’s been a week now since the finals were played at Wimbledon. On the women’s side the Williams sisters once again demonstrated to their opponents just how difficult it will be to win a tournament during which both of them are playing their normal game. On the men’s side Roger Federer entered the history books by winning his 15th Grand Slam event. As always Wimbledon offered a level of play that was memorable, and laid down new bench marks for high quality play and then reset the argumentative territory for the title “best Wimbledon match of all-time,” or at the …


More Corruption In College Sports, Richard C. Crepeau Jun 2009

More Corruption In College Sports, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

The story began with this line: The NCAA placed Alabama's football program and 15 other of the school's athletic teams on three years' probation for major violations due to misuse of free textbooks.


A Wild Weekend In Sports, Richard C. Crepeau Jun 2009

A Wild Weekend In Sports, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

It was one of those weekends of sports gluttony, especially if you were fixated on a television set, intent on catching every bit of drama you could find. And indeed there was much to find. Hockey, basketball, tennis, golf, NASCAR, baseball, horse racing, and who knows how much else if you have access to the worldwide network of sports channels available from every corner of the universe. As for me, this weekend was extraordinarily full of sport as I was a bit under the weather and looking for escape from the realities of physical irritation.


The Death Of Nick Adenhart, Richard C. Crepeau Apr 2009

The Death Of Nick Adenhart, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

For all us fans the opening of the baseball season is one of the first signs of spring. The teams have ended training in Arizona and Florida and are now ready for the long grind of the regular season. April is full of optimism and hope. It is the time of renewal, a time to begin again as an equal in the standings. Reality will set in eventually for all but the very best, hopes will fade, champions will be crowned, and then the following spring it will begin again.


Dick's Fantasy Sports: Ncaa, Yankee Stadium, And The Cubs, Richard C. Crepeau Apr 2009

Dick's Fantasy Sports: Ncaa, Yankee Stadium, And The Cubs, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Over the past few weeks I have heard and read a lot of very interesting things coming out of SportsWorld.


Time For The Us To Get Serious In The Wbc, Richard C. Crepeau Mar 2009

Time For The Us To Get Serious In The Wbc, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

In case you haven't heard, and apparently many in the United States have not, Japan is the World Champion of Baseball for the second time running. No, they did not win the World Series, they won the World Baseball Classic, and for the second time in as many tries the United States did not make it to the finals. If this were basketball the outcry in the United States would be deafening. In fact, there is no outcry.


Fsu And Bobby Bowden Are Mildly Slapped, Richard C. Crepeau Mar 2009

Fsu And Bobby Bowden Are Mildly Slapped, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Over the past several months Florida State University has been preparing to face the music in its latest athletic scandal. Now that the NCAA has made its ruling, FSU officials don't seem to appreciate the tune that the NCAA is playing. However, there is little doubt that many FSU athletes, with the proper academic counseling, could name that tune, although it might take more than three notes


The Commercialization Of College Sports, Richard C. Crepeau Mar 2009

The Commercialization Of College Sports, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

At the 2009 NCAA Convention in January the president of the organization, Dr. Myles Brand, gave his State of the Association Address. The subject was the dangers of commercialism in intercollegiate athletics. Reading Dr. Brand's address on the brink of the annual epidemic of March Madness is, to the say the least, a mind-blowing exercise. It is either the product of unfettered chutzpah or incredible naïveté. The tone and content of the address offer considerable evidence of each.


A-Rod And Steroids, Richard C. Crepeau Feb 2009

A-Rod And Steroids, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Just when it seems that the drug issue in sports is about to slip out of the headlines, and just when it seems that the revelations about steroid use in baseball are coming to an end, something happens. This time an Olympic Gold Medal collector is photographed filling those massive swimming-developed lungs from a bong. Then the man who was going to remove Barry Bonds from the top of the home run charts and make any asterisks irrelevant is hung out to dry by another leak of confidential information from a sealed grand jury report.


Super Bowl Xliii, Richard C. Crepeau Jan 2009

Super Bowl Xliii, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

It is time once again to enter the days of the Roman Numerals when excess becomes the norm, hyperbole is accepted as standard English, and the rich demonstrate in no uncertain terms that they are, and you are not. It is also the time when the middle class, those 85% of Americans who identify themselves as such, do their best to wallow in excess.


Objectification Of Children, Richard C. Crepeau Jan 2009

Objectification Of Children, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

To say that sport is a central institution in American life would be a gross understatement. The obsessive hold that sport has on Americans is obvious to anyone who spends more than five minutes examining the culture. As we approach the mid-winter festival of the Super Bowl such an obsession seems self-evident.


Race And The Bucs, Richard C. Crepeau Jan 2009

Race And The Bucs, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

As the nation prepares for the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States (I have not seen that referenced as Henry Aaron's number), I am struck by how much has been written about the changes in American society that have prepared the United States for this moment. There have been articles about how the music industry has transformed the way in which Americans think about African Americans. The New York Times today has a piece on how American film has contributed to the transformation of American society. There have been numerous comments on the significance …


The Bc$; Football's (Non) Diversity, Richard C. Crepeau Jan 2009

The Bc$; Football's (Non) Diversity, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

There is something so right about college football this year. On January 2, nearly a week before the so-called BC$ National Championship game, there is a legitimate national champion already in place. On the 2nd of January in some bowl game somewhere Utah stomped all over Alabama. You will remember the Crimson Tide from earlier this season when they were ranked by several experts, computers, and their fans as Number One in the nation. We know that Utah is the national champion, not because they rolled all over the Tide, 31-17, but because they are the only undefeated team in …