Sociogenesis of Basketball

Sociogenesis of Basketball:

Basketball originated in Springfield Massachusetts on March 11^th, 1892.

James Naismith originally created it and then it was further developed and spread by the YMCAs and the US Army. The original 18 players of the game included John J. Thompson, Eugene S. Libby, Edwin P. Ruggles, William R. Chase, T. Duncan Patton, Frank Mahan, Finlay G. MacDonald, William H. Davis and Lyman Archibald, who defeated George Weller, Wilbert Carey, Ernest Hildner, Raymond Kaighn, Genzabaro Ishikawa, Benjamin S. French, Franklin Barnes, George Day and Henry Gelan.  All of these men were white men.  The YMCAs played a very big role in spreading the game across the US, into Canada, and also across the world to places such as China, India and Japan.  The initial rules were 9 players on a team, no dribbling the ball, and the baskets used for hoops didn’t have a hole in the bottom of them so they had to pause and get the ball out of the hoop each time someone scored.  Of course, the rules were changed and now the hoops are bottomless, there are more fouls, points and stats are monitored more, and you have to dribble the ball when you move.  

Uniforms then:

http://vimeo.com/15412952

Uniforms Now:

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/02/21/first-look-at-team-usa-olympic-basketball-uniforms/

Jerseys now fit a lot more loosely than they did when the sport was originally created, but both still have the fundamental aspects of a jersey, shorts, and shoes with a ball and a hoop.  Throughout history there have been struggles for equality for players of different races and genders.  Also, on of the more significant thing that has happened in recent basketball history was that there was a lockout because there needed to be negotiations on how to pay the players among other things.  This is an ongoing problem within the NBA.

Ancient Greece vs. Ancient Rome

Ancient Greece

The sports played in ancient Greece include Sports boxing, wrestling, discus, running, triple jump, javelin throwing, and four horse chariot racing.  The structure was highly organized and strictly regulated.  For example the penalty for a false start during a sprinting race would result in the whipping of the runner, which is a punishment that is usually reserved for slaves.  The participants themselves were very respected in the society and seen as sex figures to women.  All of the men that participated also had to undergo months and months of training and also maintain their dedication to Zeus during this process.  The function of these events I was for religious reasons and also entertainment for the crowd.  The winners also would be given very large amounts of money if they won.  As far as participation went, anyone no matter their social status was allowed to participate in the games.

Ancient Rome

With ancient Rome gladiators, the main goal of the participant was to fight and kill his opponent by use of swords or whatever type of weapon they specialize with.  The dueling to the death that these men would have would be very bloody and violent.  The role that this had was purely to entertain the audience in the sense that these men were pitted against one another and the armor given to these men would have certain weak spots that their opponent would try to capitalize on in aims to appease the crowd.  The participants that actually dueled against one another were prisoners (prisoners of war against the Romans or other types of criminals).

Sport Society & Me

Sport Society & Me

            Sports have always been a big part of my life.  My first sport I started playing as a kid was soccer but then I eventually moved on to playing basketball and football, which I played for all four years at my high school.  To me, sport means competition while making close relationships with your teammates and your coach.  My teammates eventually felt like brothers and all of my coaches became somewhat of father figures.

            To me, I think that sport plays a positive role for the most part because within a team, it unifies and gives the players, coaches and staff a sense of togetherness and unify everyone involved.  For the American society as a whole, I think that sport is a great spectacle and form of entertainment that should be upheld.  Although there can be opposing fans that may feel very strongly about their teams and potentially don’t see eye to eye, the sports culture still has an overall fun and competitive nature to it that almost anyone can participate in if they choose to.  Also, sports bring in a sizeable profit to the economy from buying merchandise to going to the actual games.

            The successful athletes themselves are held in significantly high regard and respect within the society mainly because of the entertainment that they bring to the viewer.  In addition to this, successful athletes serve as role models to younger athletes who aspire to peruse goals in their sporting career.  On the other hand athletes who are not successful or who do not carry themselves with a respectable demeanor can inversely disrespected but regardless if they are respected or disrespected, they are still social icons that are highly talked about in our society.    

The Sport Ethic

The Sport Ethic:

Sports ethic defines how a given athlete should be have in order to perform at the highest standard in order to sacrifice, take risks, and put it all on the line for the sake of “The Game”.  The four dimensions of this Sport Ethic concept is sacrificing for the game, striving for distinction, accepting risks and playing through pain, and refusing to accept the limit of possibilities.  Athletes choose to conform (and at times even over conform, which can potentially lead to deviance) to this set of values in order to stay as competitive as possible among one another and ensure that they are the best.  I personally have dealt with accepting risks and playing through pain when I played basketball and football in high school.  Most of my senior year of high school I was recovering from a fractured vertebrae but I was very hard headed and refused to stop playing in games even when the pain got bad mainly because of this aspect of the Sports Ethic.

Welcome to America

“Welcome to America”

Welcome to the United States! Let me introduce you to some of the popular sports this country has to offer.  The main popular sports here are football, basketball, baseball, and hockey for the most part.  One characteristic that all of these sports share is the strive for being the best by beating competitors.  Teams that win more games or matches tend to be held in higher esteem and are usually respected more throughout the society.  Another important characteristic that these popular sports have in common is physicality.  Fans love seeing a great show and the more physical the better.  Whether it be tackling, running, or jumping, whoever can be more physical and athletically superior in a sporting event is important in the United States sporting world.

A typical game day for a given sporting event is very energetic and lively.  The fans for a team will all rally together and either actually go to the sporting event or watch it together in one of their homes.  For the teams and coaches actually participating in the game, they take it very seriously.  They will spend weeks before the actual day in preparation to face their opponent.  The values that come out of all of this are a feeling of together by rooting for your favorite team.