SPORT AND SOCIETY FOR ARETE
by Richard C. Crepeau
DECEMBER 27, 2018 archive
As the year comes to an end, the media is full of evaluations of the previous twelve months from any number of criteria. In sports, there are the Best Games, Top Plays, or Best Players. These listings seem endless. So, I will not add to the clutter by trying to identify the best sports stories of the year. Instead, I will add to the clutter by looking back on the subjects that caught my attention and, therefore, became subjects for the Sport and Society columns.
The first column of the year dealt with the concept of the National Football Championship and the various controversies that bubbled up around it. Remarkably, or maybe not, the same subject is under discussion as this year comes to an end. The controversy this time centers on the selection of the fourth playoff team, Oklahoma rather than Georgia. The other similarity from a year ago is that the University of Central Florida remains undefeated. Twenty-five games without a loss and still not a whiff from the cartel the runs the FBS.
At end of January, the trial of Larry Nasser dominated the world of sport, implicating the U.S.O.C., USA Gymnastics, and Michigan State University. This was a story that continued to unravel throughout the year and may have been the most important story of 2018, revealing the dark side of sport. This was as ugly a scandal from the world of sport as there can be, exposing the abuse of power, the betrayal of trust, the exploitation of athletes, and the breakdown of institutions.
By mid-November, much more of the scandal had been investigated and revealed. The depravity of the adults who had been entrusted with protecting the athletes from abuse at USA Gymnastics and at the USOC was spelled out in considerable and ugly detail. Larry Nasser may have been the abuser, but there were considerable numbers of adult enablers working to allow Larry Nasser to continue his abusive behavior on over 150 women, in several different venues, over multiple years. The Larry Nasser case revealed once again just how ugly abuse in sport can be.
Sexual abuse was also found in the NFL, where cheerleaders and team dancers were being exploited by team owners and insiders.
The year 2018, also, witnessed its usual quota of corruption in intercollegiate athletics spread across the NCAA landscape. Certainly this surprised no one. Three essays dealt with these manifestations.
As is always the case, the Super Bowl was the subject of Sport and Society essays in early February. In 2018, the event returned to the frozen tundra, well not exactly frozen given the indoor stadium in Minneapolis. Fans were willingly and happily subjected to the usual price gouging at this mid-winter national holiday celebrating excess. Football is incidental at the Super Bowl. Fans were introduced to "Minnesota Nice," and the national media was dazzled by it, none more so than those from the "City of Brotherly Love."
The Winter Olympics is one of my favorite sporting spectacles, and that led to four essays in February on the Winter Games in South Korea. As is always the case, figure skating dominated my interest and my observations. The women's competition featured a very high performance level in both the short program and the free skate. There were great moments in skiing, hockey, curling, bobsled and luge. Records were set, and, in delightful turn, the host nation collected seventeen medals. Perhaps the most remarkable achievement was the double gold medals won by Ester Ladecka of the Czech Republic. In a twenty-four hour period she won the Giant Slalom in skiing and the Parallel Giant Slalom in snowboarding.
From early June to early July, the World Cup was contested in Russia. I am not normally drawn to this sport, but this World Cup changed that, maybe permanently. Those who thought that Russia was a bad choice for the World Cup were proven wrong on nearly all counts. The month long festival was marked by friendly hosts (Russia Nice) and happy spectators who saw one of the most competitive World Cup competitions ever. There were very few mismatches and the French performance to win the Cup was memorable.
Early summer in the United States featured two great teams claiming championships in their respective sports. In the NBA. the Golden State Warriors won their third title in four years. The Warriors have changed the look of the NBA game and have been very entertaining with their fast-paced style, three-point shooting, and harassing defense. In the NHL, the Washington Capitals won their first Stanley Cup after a 43-year quest. Their leader, Alexander Ovechkin, showed why he is considered by many as the best player of his generation.
Also in June, yet another Triple Crown winner was crowned, the second in four years. Justify was trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Mike Smith, arguably the best trainer and best jockey in the racing business today.
The death of the poet Donald Hall in June prompted a piece on his work on sport. His beloved Red Sox tortured him through much of his life, but finally achieved their first World Series win in nearly a century. That they won another World Series this year would have delighted him. Hall's "Father's Playing Catch With Sons" has acquired special status among baseball fans. He also had a very interesting relationship with "Doc" Ellis and the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The NFL and National Anthem issue continued to fester. When Roger Goodell issued the new NFL edict requiring players to either stand for the anthem or remain in the locker room, more hot air on the issue was let loose. Another Sport and Society on the issue appeared in June to recapitulate the course of the controversy.
The return of college football in August meant that there would be any number of major and minor scandals. Urban Meyer did his best to embarrass himself and his university. The University of Maryland collapsed in upon itself. And just so football didn't totally dominate the media, the basketball wizards, both on and off the court, conspired with the shoe peddlers to smear yet another ring in the NCAA's multi-ringed circus.
In September, the worlds of tennis and golf provided more evidence of why sport is so compelling to so many people. The U.S. Open Tennis tournament produced a stunning women's final with Naomi Osaka, age 20, handily defeating Serena Williams, the best woman's tennis player ever. It was a match filled with great tennis and huge controversy.
Later in the month, Tiger Woods won the Tour Championship completing a comeback from the self-destruction of his career and a series of back surgeries from which few mere mortals would recover. This completed a slow march of improvement during the course of the year and was, perhaps, the most amazing episode in sport during 2018.
On Sport and Society this is Dick Crepeau wishing you Happy New Year, while reminding you that you don't have to be a good sport to be a bad loser.