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Book Cover
E-book
Author Gerdy, John R

Title Sports : the all-American addiction / John R. Gerdy
Published Jackson : University Press of Mississippi, ©2002

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Description 1 online resource (xxiii, 265 pages)
Contents Acknowledgments; Introduction; 1. The Essence of the Game; 2. Buying In; 3. The All-American Addiction; 4. Sport and a Civil Society; 5. Dumb Jocks in the Global Economy; 6. The Athlete as Couch Potato; 7. Give Me Your Money!; 8. Sport and Upward Mobility; 9. "Get over It!"; 10. Mind over Body in the Information Age; 11. What If?; References; Index
Summary This book argues that our society's huge investment in organized sports is unjustified. Ardent boosters say that sports embody the "American Way, " developing winners by teaching lessons in sportsmanship, teamwork, and discipline. In fact, Gerdy writes, modern sports are eroding American life and undermining traditional American values essential to the well-being of the nation and its people. Like a drug, this obsession allows Americans to escape problems and ignore issues. Gerdy asks tough questions. Have sports lost their relevance? Is it just mindless entertainment? Is our enormous investment in sports as educational tools appropriate for a nation that needs graduates to compete in the information-based, global economy of the twenty-first century? Do organized sports continue to promote positive ideals? Or, do sports, in the age of television, corporate sky boxes, and sneaker deals, represent something far different? Boldly making his case, Gerdy detects five causes for alarm. A violent, win-at-all-cost mentality exists. A greater number of spectators are idly watching the few elite athletes. An athletic culture that is anti-intellectual systematically creates "dumb jocks." While bridges, inner-cities, and schools are crumbling, tremendous sums of tax dollars vanish to wealthy owners, millionaire players, and to college athletic programs. Studies show that sports are no more effective in promoting equality than any other American institution. Can organized sports be restructured? The author concludes with a series of daring suggestions for change
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 253-258) and index
Notes Print version record
Subject Sports -- United States
Sports and state -- United States
Sports -- Social aspects -- United States
SPORTS & RECREATION -- Sociology of Sports.
Sports
Sports and state
Sports -- Social aspects
United States
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9781604739541
1604739541
Other Titles All-American addiction