Cultural History Commons^™

Damar Hamlin's Cardic Arrest, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

The exact cause of Damar Hamlin’s collapse following a tackle in Monday’s night’s NFL game between Cincinnati and Buffalo is not known. He remains in the Intensive Care Unit at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. Millions of football fans watched this tragedy unfold on television along with all those in the Stadium. Millions more have seen replays and listened to discussions and reactions to the incident. What is known is that Hamlin experienced cardiac arrest and is now fighting for his life.

Bowls, Bowls, Bowls, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

When you come across the word “bowl,” what comes to mind?

World Series, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

The last few weeks has offered some very good and exciting baseball. The new format of the playoffs has not noticeably damaged the playoff process. As in the case of most playoffs, some good teams are eliminated; some very hot teams move forward; and some very good teams advance. This is generally the case in most playoff schemes in most sports. A short series, five to seven games, does not always reward the best team. The Philadelphia Phillies, the hot team, and the Houston Astros, the very good team, have advanced to the World Series. It looks like a very …

Overdosing On Sports, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

We have arrived at that moment in the U.S. sports calendar when there is a high risk of overdosing. The NFL has started its season; college football is already deep into its schedule; the NHL starts regular season play next week; the NBA is less than two weeks away from opening night; and, baseball has begun its playoff march to the World Series. And, this is just the major sports.

Tennis In Transition, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Over the past few months, I have written this column only a few times, the last being late July. This has not been because I have had nothing to comment upon. Rather the summer has been filled with travel, some to escape the heat of Florida. Over the past few days, I have been trying to decide how to restart. Many topics have shot by over the past three months, any number of which could now be subjects for this column. Not the least of these are the passing of two giants of contemporary American sport: Bill Russell in basketball …

Are You Ready For Some Football?, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

For the past two weeks, the temperatures have been near 100 degrees Fahrenheit across much of the United States. Clearly, it is time for football to take center stage in Sportsworld. Heat, humidity, and football are in the air. The internet, social media, print media, radio, and television are full of little else. American sports fans seemingly cannot get enough football. Every season is now football season.

Winning And Losing, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

“Winning Isn’t Everything, it’s the Only Thing” and “Just Win Baby!” are two of the most familiar slogans in competitive sport. To be called a “Winner” is considered a high compliment, while being called a “Loser” is generally considered an insult.

The Nfl Draft, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Some of you may remember when the word “draft” referred to a movement of cold air through a warm room from an outside source. Others will remember the Draft as that device controlling compulsory military service. Some will think “Draft lottery” the device designed to make the military draft fair, although the young may think of the NBA Draft Lottery. Others will think “draft” beer.

Sport And The Russian War, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Two months into the Russian invasion of Ukraine, criticism of Russia continues to mount across the world. The world of sport also has been impacted by the invasion. Countries and sports organizations have raised objections to the invasion, and calls for a boycott of Russians and Belarusians in sport increase daily. Generally these are of two types: calls for bans on Russian national participation in international competition and calls for the banning of individual Russians competing in sporting events.

Two Issues For The Nfl, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

As is generally the case, the Super Bowl served as a distraction from more serious issues and problems in the NFL. One exception was the issue of Race, particularly the hiring of African-American coaches in the League. The firing of Brian Flores as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins and the subsequent filing of a lawsuit by Flores against the Dolphins pushed the issue back out of the shadows.

Winter Olympics Part L, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

At times during the past two years of Covidlife, it has seemed difficult to keep track of the time or the days of the week. Life could occasionally become a blur. For the fans of Sportsworld, the problem could sometimes be alleviated by reference to the patterns of the sports schedule. Days of the week could be tied down by knowing that professional football generally meant it was Sunday, or a preponderance of college football indicated it was Saturday. Monday Night Football, of course, was self-evident. Then there are the seasons: football meant fall, basketball or hockey meant winter, baseball …

The Valieva Case, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

When it comes to the Olympics, it is the Winter Games that hold most of my interest, and among the various sports, it is figure skating, ski jumping, and hockey that are must viewing for me. The fact that I grew up in Minnesota may account for this. During the current Winter Games, with its time differences and the scrambled NBC schedule, it has been primarily figure skating that has captured most of my interest. Then, with controversy surrounding a doping issue, more attention was given to women’s figure skating.

Pearl Harbor Anniversary, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

As was predicted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt December 7, 1941 was a day that has lived in infamy. Fifty years ago tomorrow the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor drew the United States into World War II.

Tis The Season, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

‘Tis the season. . .for? Money, Money, Money.

A Great Month Plus, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

The month of October for sports fans in the United States presents a feast of events that makes October the best of all possible months. With baseball’s regular season at an end the playoffs and World Series carry the baseball fan through the early fall.

Another Harassment Story, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

“The breakdown of authority is often cited as a primary cause of the disorders and maladies of society. The loss of respect for authority is seen as a major problem among the young. Many of the symbols of authority have lost their luster and seem no longer capable of evoking deference.

The Nwsl Soccer Scandal, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

As bad as Jon (not John) Gruden’s email revelations were, the news coming out of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) was worse. The principal player in this disaster is Paul Riley, who is now the poster boy for sexual harassment. His activity took place across two teams over six years while coaching NWSL teams in Portland and North Carolina. Riley had been one of the most respected and successful coaches in women’s soccer, in both the NWSL and with the United States National and Olympic teams. Over the past six years, he built this reputation and public image, although …

Coaches Behaving Badly, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Since the beginning of this month the news from the world of sport in the United States has been dominated by coaches behaving badly. More accurately perhaps, the behaviors could be classified as bad, worse, and worst. I will not try to classify these, but feel free to do so.

Long Summer Of Sport, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

It has been quite some time since I have written one of these columns. It also has been a time of some wonderful sporting events, the continued disruption of events by the pandemic, and a continuation of troubling issues and chronic problems in the darker corners of sport. Where to begin?

The Olympics Look Back Part Ii, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

As the 2008 Games approached, there was fear that air pollution in Beijing would cast a pall over the games. Essentially what happened was the rulers of the People’s Republic ordered the pollution to go away.

The Olympics - A Look Back Part One, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

August 7, 2021 This is a look back at how in these Sport and Society essays I have characterized the Summer Olympic Games beginning in 1992. It is not meant to be a history of each Olympics but simply a look at how I reacted to them. It is in two parts with this being Part One

Catching Up Part Ii, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Major League baseball once again found itself among the inhabitants of the obtuse and sinister, not to mention the silly. Baseball Commissioner, Rob Manfred, having spent much of the off-season seeking the destruction of large parts of the minor league baseball system, turned his attention to more important matters as mid-season approached.

Catching Up Part I, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

In this time of disruption in our lives and in the sports calendar, there are annoyances, irritations, and the occasional gift. The past few months were loaded with top-level sporting events, with some surprising developments, and with more than the usual quota of madness. So fasten your seat belt for an overlong and overblown two editions of Sport and Society.

Good News And Bad News, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

This weekend, there was some good news, and there was some bad news in sport, a high and low, and both of considerable significance. The good news came from hockey. The bad news, in some ways bigger than the good news, came from horse racing. Both cases involved one of the biggest names in each of the sports: Connor McDavid and Bob Baffert.

Super Madness, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

A little over a month ago, the rocket scientists at the NCAA once again showed just how dense they can be. During the event known as March Madness, the NCAA, as it is prone to do, produced some madness of their own.

The Trans Issue, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

The first time that I remember the issue of gender and sport being raised was sometime in the 1960s when charges surfaced at the Olympics concerning the East German women’s track and field team. Their success led some in the west, especially the Americans, to charge that some female athletes from East Germany and the Soviet Union were, in fact, males. For the most part, I dismissed these claims as the complaints of bad losers. Others treated the charges more seriously, and sex tests came to the European Games in 1966 and the Olympic Games in 1968.

March Madness With A Twist, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

After a year with no “March Madness” that turned into one of the maddest years of our lifetime, the calendar has rolled through twelve months and the lure of television money has resurrected “March Madness.” Some things look very familiar.

Super Bowl Lv, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Super Bowl LV has come and gone and it will forever occupy a unique place in the History of the NFL. The game itself was a throwback to many earlier games that simply did not live up to the hype. What was billed as a great matchup that was likely to be won by whomever had the last possession of the game, turned out to be a lop-sided contest decided by halftime, or at the latest, the middle of the third quarter.

Henry Aaron, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

I was looking at email late this morning when there was a small notice at the top right on the screen from AJC (the Atlanta Journal Constitution). At first the title of the message didn’t register with me as I saw it out of the corner of my eye. After several seconds it did register. The message was about Hank Aaron, and when I looked, I saw it was an announcement of the great man’s death. This was the third such notice of the death of a member of the Atlanta Braves family that I received in the past four …

Tommy Lasorda, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

It was announced today that longtime Dodger manager and even longer fixture and face of the Dodgers has died. In July of 1997 he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. At that time, I wrote this piece which I send now without alteration.

Richard Crepeau