Create a Culture

Rodney Jones, in his poem "The End of Practice," reveals his craving to be in power over others. Unfortunately, he immediately confirms that this dream did not become reality. Jones is struck with the "male dream" curse, the feeling males get that they must possess some degree of authority over others. While this is common among males, the reality of this happening in Jones' life has diminished. As his dream of becoming a power source progressed, he "marked with shortening breath the dwindling likelihood of [his] flight." He says that if he does "not rise above the field," or accomplish this goal, he would be eaten. His self-esteem and ego would be crushed and he would "burn alive for peace" within himself for the remainder of his life.

Klosterman's "33" is a critical description of the 1980's rivalry between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics. Apparently, blacks favor the Lakers while whites favor the Celtics. Klosterman very quickly expresses that this rivalry represents everything, as it symbolizes all other rivalries we encounter in life, including religion, politics, and race. He claims that "we are all unconsciously racist," and that the argument between the whites and blacks will become a metaphor for all of America. To better understand this rivalry, which he says is more about black and white philosophies rather than simply black and white people, he claims you must study NBA playoff games from twenty years ago. Today's professional basketball games are not sufficient because the players are "nothing more than good basketball players."Klosterman admits they are "mechanically awesome, but they don't represent anything beyond themselves." They run through the motions and plays like they are taught and programmed to do, but they don't whole-heartedly perform their abilities and love for the sport.

This writing very quickly describes how sport and community can create a culture: a Democratic culture vs. a Republican culture, a white vs. a black culture. At a young age, we are indirectly taught the common stereotypes of different races and the general views of each political party. For example, blacks are better athletes and Republicans want less government involvement. The Celtics started with three white people, while the Lakers never had a white player who mattered. This clearly set a racial difference between the two rival teams, and Jones was the only kid at his basketball camp that rooted for the Celtics. "If you liked the Celtics, it meant you like your dad's team. And this is when I came to understand that I was actually rooting for the Republican party." His support of the Celtics became something much more. Much deeper, he represented the Republican culture. The Celtics fans in this community now relate in other ways aside from their love of the Celtics team. It is safe to assume that most of the Celtics fans are Republicans, appreciating K.C. Jones' (Celtics coach) republican approach to coaching his team. He did not believe in a strong central government, much like Republicans, and continued his belief, or disbelief, in his coaching method. Because of this, the Celtic players mostly coached themselves. Conversely, Pat Riley (Lakers coach), was viewed as a tyrant and controlled the whole game. "There were no state's rights within the locker room of the Fabulous Forum," much like the limited state's rights favored by the Democratic party. Because of this, the combination of sport and community eventually starts defining a culture. The team you like is a way to describe your own self-identity, your political affiliation, and other views you might have. The way we identify ourselves starts becoming more relevant to our culture. For example, Klosterman says "I am not a white person.. I am a Celtic Person. Thats my identity." We become so involved in the sports we love and our community, we begin identifying ourselves as a part of it without even knowing, much like Klosterman did. "I am a Seminole" would be an example relevant to me.

Stereotypes are engrave into our minds at a young age, and while they are often true to some degree, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird were raised with paradoxical pathologies. They are contradictory to the normal views we have towards white and blacks. The black Johnson's middle-class upbringing was a "traditional white experience,"while the white Bird's "impoverished, screwed up childhood was more stereotypically black." These variations of the norm prove that other factors contribute to our identity, and that our culture only defines part of who we are. Interesting enough, sports can define us at a certain point in our life, but as we age and gain more knowledge and experience, sports may not be a defining factor of our culture. Perhaps a spouse and children may interfere and change what defines us as a person.

In the poem, the combination of sport and community also creates a culture. The men, women, and children of a community come together at sporting events and this habitual support system eventually comes to define a culture. We often base our goals, ideals, morals, etc on what is accepted by our culture. Men (and women) have a defining culture among them... we all tend to crave that power and authority over others. Jones explains this "man dream" vividly, and all of his efforts to reach his goal. Jones describes the different ways people react to failure (Jerry Reeder is vermillion, Charles Sandlin is dark green, Richard Foot dapples).  The things we determine as acceptable behaviors are greatly influenced by our culture. While we all might be fighting to reach one goal, the fashion is which we do so is greatly different from person to person. Its amazing how a community can come together and form a culture, that in turn, affects our beliefs and actions for the rest of our lives.