Daily Nebraskan
Page 5
Wednesday, November 14, 1984
Joys of watchin
Continued from Pege 4
"Pro football is like nuclear war
fare. There are no winners, only
survivors."
Frank Gifford
in Sports Illustrated
Survival is important in Amer
ican ideology. The American
Dream is based on survival:
America gives you every oppor
tunity you could want. If you
don't make it, if you don't survive,
it's your own fault.
The world of the sports fan i.3
not a world of learning and beauty,
then: it i3 a world where the wily
and strong survive and the weak
do not. This is the world of the
gladiators' arena.
As one reporter here said, "There
is something wrong with a society
that encourages people to go out
and play a game even though
they could die for a game.
"The human spirit sublimates
the impulses it thwarts;
A healthy sex life mitigates the
lust for other sports."
Piet Hein
Ccntiased fircn Pegs 1
$380,000 a year, pays for recrea
tion programs and facilities.
Beyke said policy set by the NU
Board of Regents designates what
student organizations receive
student fees. A referendum must
be placed annually on the ASUN
ballot for ASUN, State Student
Association, the Daily Nebraskan
and UPC. The referendums ask
students whether they want to
continue supporting these organ
izations with student fees.
Beyke said she expects student
fees to rise next year from the
present $05.28 a semester, but
Grooks
The notion of sports-watching
as a sexual outlet for frustrated
libidos is probably one of the
most utilitarian uses we've come
up with.
"We are inclined to think that if
we watch a football game or a
baseball game, we have taken
part in it."
John F. Kennedy
Kennedy, I think, hit3 on one of
the most important aspects of
watching sports: the human need
for ritual Humans are unified by
rituals of every kind. National
rituals untie us with strong feel
ings of patriotism Fourth of
July celebrations, for example.
Religious rituals unify us with a
sense of our human imperfections
and mortality. Personal rituals
like weddings and birthdays unify
families and friends with a sense
of belonging to a loving group of
people.
Who has not felt a catch in his
throat as the Star Spangled Ban
ner echoed through a packed
stadium? What true, red-blooded
American did not exalt with the
1 9S0 U.S. hockey team when they
defeated the Soviet team at Lake
Placid?
"Do you believe in miracles?
Yes!" cried ABC announcer Al
Micheals.
Some office theorists have sug
gested that when interest in reli
gion declined in the 1060s social
revolution, the popularity of
spcrtswatching rose in import
ance. They point to the boom in
mass media broadcast that began
in 1B60 with the first broadcast
of ABCs Wide World of Sports
the Penn Relays.
Perhaps sportswatching as a
ritual of unification replaces or
supplements religious, national
and personal ritual where they
are lacking in individuals' lives. If
so, thi3 may be one of the few
utilitarian reasons non-sports-watchers
will accept.
But opponents are not easily
swayed, and their voices number
many. Other office debaters said
that sports unifies the human
psyche in its basest form: blood
lust, competition, violence. They
point to thinkers like Orwell and
Swift:
"Most sorts of diversion in men,
children, and other animals, are
an imitation of fighting."
Jonathan Swift
"Serious sport has nothing to
do with fair play. It is bound up
with hatred, jealousy, boastful
ness, disregard of all rules and
sadistic pleasure in witnessing
violence: in other words it is war
minus the shooting."
George Orwell
So there you have it. Some rea
sons, some refutations. Before you
walk into Memorial Stadium Sat
urday for the Nebraska-Oklahoma
game, think about why you're
going: for the social aspect, to
forget your problems for awhile?
To watch the American Dream in
action? To liven up a dull sex life?
To join in a ritual of loyalty to
team, college and university? Or a
ritual of "hatred, jealousy, boast
fulness . . . and sadistic pleasure."
Think about it. Then write.
nonnnnn nonn
Buy 1 Pitcher Get 2nd for 1
every Wednesday Me
MSBFaflHnnsn.e.'B
1228 "P"St.
n
UFA
she said the size of the increase
won't be known until the organi
zations bring their budget requests
to CFA in January.
The nmaber of Fund A refcndj
given this year and a proposal to
change ths reftsd process will
be discussed in a story in Fri
day's Daily Nebrsiskcn.
Help us cover you.
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