American Sport in Film, Television and History: Introduction

What an appropriate time for an issue of Film & History dealing with sport and film. Advocates of youth sport maintain that the games teach children the lessons of teamwork, fair play, hard work, and, yes, even patriotism. But for those who insist that sport mirrors the larger culture and reflects the American character, the fall and winter 2004-2005 major sport seasons in the United States have raised serious questions about American society.

Many Americans rejoiced when the Boston Red Sox battled back from a three game deficit to defeat the Evil Empire of George Steinbrenner's New York Yankees. Then the boys from "Beantown" lifted the infamous "curse of the Bambino" by winning the World Series for the first time since 1917. Yet, even this achievement was marred by the exuberant celebrations of young fans culminating in the shooting death of a Simmons College coed by the Boston police.

And violence continues to plague American sport in this winter of athletic discontent. The usual mayhem of the National Hockey League is missing due to a labor dispute that may cancel the season. But the National Basketball Association picked up the slack with a brawl between Detroit Pistons' fans and players from the Indiana Pacers. The intersection between race and class in this altercation contributed another disturbing element to our sporting culture. Basketball Commissioner David Stern reacted with major suspensions for the players involved, and the authorities in the affluent Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills filed charges against both fans and athletes.

Perhaps drawing their inspiration from the professional sporting ranks, football players from Clemson and South Carolina concluded their game the next day with a fight, which state troopers struggled to control. Unlike the Basketball Players' Association, which appealed the fines levied by Commissioner Stern, the Presidents of Clemson and South Carolina refused to accept lucrative bowl invitations for their schools. However, universities rarely display such restraint. The actions of Notre Dame in dismissing football coach Tyrone Willingham indicate that the school has no other priority than winning. The first African-American coach at Notre Dame, Willingham increased graduation rates for his players, but he failed to place the Irish in the Bowl Championship Series.

And now we have the steroids allegations implicating such athletes as track's Marion Jones and baseball's Jason Giambi and Barry Bonds. After the health problems and poor performance of Giambi in 2004, the New York Yankees will probably use his drug confession to void the athlete's contract. But what of Barry Bonds, who maintains that he never knowingly used steroids? Bonds remains baseball's best player and is closing in on the homerun marks of Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron. Will the sport discipline its greatest box office attraction?

The reflection our sporting culture casts this winter is not a positive one. Rather than opportunity and fair play, we see winning at any cost exemplified. It is the type of behavior that led to the Enron scandal in the corporate world. Of course, cheating is not something new in the world of American sport. In the 1950s, we had the point shaving scandal in college basketball and violations of the honor code with the football program at West Point. And sport has long exemplified the nation's struggle with issues of race and class. Certainly, sport violence is hardly unique to the United States. Soccer riots have plagued Latin America, Europe, and Asia. Nevertheless, the sporting events of this fall and winter should remove any notions of American exceptionalism.

The bottom line is that, for better or worse, American sport is big business and a major component of the culture. In America's Obsession: Sports and Society Since 1945, Richard O. Davies concludes that American sport "is unquestionably big business in terms of dollars generated: it is also of major importance in a social sense. For many Americans, 'winning is the only thing,' as football coach Vine Lombardi once pronounced; for them sports has become an obsession of dubious worth. For the great majority, however, sports provide a wholesome and positive means of enriching their lives."¹

Accordingly, sport in...