Sports are an often discussed and greatly beloved part of society. The visibility of sports comes from the conversations it enables. Conversations take place about the athletes, the owners, and the apparel, not to mention the actual sporting event. Storylines drive the public’s fascination with sports. Questions concerning fairness and equality, stories of triumph and tragedy, and feelings of intrigue and mystery bring eyes to viewing screens every week. The storyline topics take place with respect to both on field competition and society at large. Questions concerning Ray Rice and domestic violence quickly transition from if he should be allowed to play to the analysis of trends of domestic violence.
Sports are considered the purest form of competition. People compete with the same rules, using the same equipment, on the same field. It becomes a test of skill, one person’s will and ability against another person’s will and ability. The best person will win, and his win will be well deserved after all, he was better. This person either worked to be better or was born with more skill and was innately better regardless, he performed better and his win is unquestioned. Players get old, retire, and die, rules change, the game changes, but the sport remains the same. The objective all the while is ever clear, win.
In practice, things become more complicated. There is cheating and rules are not equally enforced on the field. Additionally, off the field concerns of what makes a person ineligible to play arise. People take great exception when participating in an event is no longer fair. It is in this way sports becomes a symbolic representation of society. Within society there is an expectation of fair pursuit to a goal, when that pursuit becomes unfair people protest. This protest occurs because people with an unfair advantage pursue and achieve things they normally would not. Essentially people with unfair advantages are able to take things that do not “rightfully” belong to them.
As sports is a byproduct of the members of society they retain and reflect some of the characteristics of society. Professional sports are first and foremost a business and so, the priority is making money. In the interest of making money and as a response to changes within society at large, the owners in sports will adjust their practices. When looking at the parallels between integration of nonwhite players into leagues and integration as a result of Civil Rights movements of the greater society, their trajectories closely follow one another. Similarly when looking at society’s tolerance for certain practices the product represented in sports is always close behind. It is in this way that sports become a literal representation of practices within society.
In sports people see their aspirations and hopes for themselves. They cheer with every win and agonize in defeat. The passion and fervor people approach sports and life in general comes about because of the desire for fairness and equal competition. The development of sports comes from within society as such the members are reflected within the product. Sports are a literal and figurative manifestation of trends in society.
Sports as a literal and figurative representation of trends in society is reflected in the design of the website. The website was modeled after a fantasy sports website. The design of the fantasy sports website was chosen because it allows regular people to mimic general managers of professional teams. The participants assemble and compete in leagues based on information gathered from various sources. The ‘About’ tab contains the introduction, the ‘League Notes’ tab contains the description papers, the ‘League News’ tab contains the close reading papers, and the ‘Mission Statements’ tab contains the scholarly analysis papers. The ‘Forums’ tab contains the creative imitation piece, the ‘Blog’ tab contains the further readings, the ‘Founders’ tab contains the reflections and lastly, the ‘FAQ’ tab contains the works cited. The contributors of the site include Benjamin Bakshiyev (with a description paper, close reading paper, reflection contribution, and an annotated bibliography contribution), Usman Farooqi (with a description paper, close reading paper, reflection contribution, and an annotated bibliography contribution), Elijah Harden (with a with a description paper, scholarly analysis paper, creative piece, reflection contribution, and an annotated bibliography contribution), and Arturo Kim (with a description paper, scholarly analysis paper, reflection contribution, and an annotated bibliography contribution).
The media provides the lens for people to track the relationship between sports and society. Attitudes toward mental health, drug abuse, domestic abuse, racism and technology are constantly grappled with. These issues change what it is to be a functioning member of society and what it is to lead a meaningful life. There is a constant struggle of identity as a result of what it is to fit in with these, at times, abstract ideas of equality. The friction present from these struggles permeates into sports. Demands of the ordinary men and women quickly become demands of the athlete, and as quickly as society changes so too does sports. The trends that develop in sports closely follow the trends present in society. The media becomes a frame that places into perspective the correlation between attitudes of society and the product presented on the field in sports.
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