Sociogenesis of Slamball

Slamball is a sport that many people may have never heard of.  Oftentimes viewed as a combination of basketball, football and gymnastics, the game involves two teams who play full contact basketball in a walled court which replaced its wood floors with high intensity trampolines.  Mason Gordon, the man responsible for creating Slamball in ~2001, was recorded saying he "wanted to create a combination of sports that approximated a real-life video game".  The next step for Gordon was finding players.  He wanted to find players that were proficient in basketball, athletic enough to use the trampolines to their advantage, and tough enough to play in a full contact environment where crashing into other players in mid-air was part of the game.  He decided to turn to the sport called "Street Basketball" to recruit players.  Gordon recruited 6 Street Basketball players, taught them the game, and created its first two teams: the Los Angeles Rumble, and the Chicago Mob.  The first exhibition game between these two teams took place in 2001, with the Chicago Mob winning.  Soon after this game, Gordon was able to recruit more players for more teams. Within a year, over 400 players had been enlisted as potential Slamball players.
Rules have not changed drastically since its genesis in 2001, yet the games marketing has.  Early on, Gordon connected with Mike Tollin, a TV and film producer; his goal was to showcase the new sport on channels similar to Spike and Versus.
The uniforms for the sport really evolved quickly.  The picture at the top of the page shows a training session in 2002.  At the time, there were no official uniforms, but only colored pennies and some pads.  Looking at the sport in the next few years, you can see the uniforms have evolved into eye-catching spectacles.
Since its genesis, the sport has hit some rough patches.  Since the 2008 season, Slamball has been on a moratorium.  The sport is hoping to make an official comeback in the next few years.

  

Sport in the Ancient World

Sport was perceived very differently by the Ancient Greek world and the Romans.  The first Olympics, hosted by the Greeks in 776 BCE were an organized event where Greek men only could compete in a sprinting competition, to see who was the fastest.  These men spend months training and sculpting their bodies to emulate the statues of the Gods.  The Olympics, as they created them, were just as much about winning as they were paying respect to the Gods; it was an honor to be crowned victor.  Later of course, the Greeks added many track and field events to the olympics, including a precursor to the shot put and weight lifting.
In Ancient Rome, of course, Gladiators were viewed as athletes of the region.  Gladiators and the sport behind their name were very different in character than the Olympics.  Gladiators were not idolised similar to the olympic athletes, yet they were used solely as entertainment.  Instead of bathing them in specific oils and dust as ritual, they were housed in dirty, smelly chambers, only brought out to fight to their death.  The whole scene of gladiators was built behind entertainment.  Their fighting was entertainment for the king, and entertainment for the people.  Winning did not reward some gold medal or sense of pride, yet it only allowed the gladiator to keep his life.  While olympic athletes would train in specific facilities and in an organized fashion, the gladiators were trained as soldiers.  They were given swords, armour, and told to fight.

The Sports Ethic

According to Hughes and Coakley, the Sport Ethic is defined as "the criteria for defining what it means to be a real athlete" (Hughes and Coakley 1991). To meet this criteria, Hughes and Coakley state that there are four primary aspects that must be completed to be considered a 'real athlete'.  
The four points are as follows:
1. The athlete must make sacrifices for the game
2. The athlete must strive for distinction
3. The athlete should play through pain and accept risks
4. The athlete should refuse to accept limits that get in their path of victory
When looking at professional sports in the US, it is clear that these four points are closely followed by many of our athletes.  Football and hockey players are sacrificing their bodies for the rest of their lives, just for the chance of winning a championship and supporting their families.  If you look at the best athletes in any sport, it is clear that they have been striving for distinction; you cannot be the best if you are trying to conform to everyone else on the field.  Playing through pain and accepting risks is a huge factor.  We have all seen the best athletes play through pain, and that is what makes them the best athletes in the world - Michael Jordan putting on an all star performance in the finals with a fever over 101 degrees...Curt Schilling winning the ALCS while his ankle was pouring blood from a previous surgery,and one of my favorites, Byron Leftwich brought his team back from 17 points down to beat Akron in 2002, all while having a broken leg - his offensive line carried him down the field.  These are all examples of All Star athletes making sacrifices, striving for distinction, playing through pain, accepting risks, and refusing to accept limits.  I believe if any athlete want to be the best, or even compete on the professional level most places throughout the world, these four points should reflect in their play.  

Sport, Society, and Me

     Sports have always played a large role in my life.  Starting from childhood our family was split by rivalry - my father was a University of Michigan grad and my mother attended the Ohio State University, and both being huge football fans didn't help.  They would separately dress us up, either in all Michigan gear or all OSU gear...it never seemed to end.  Sports brought us together, though; Sunday's in our family was like a religious holiday where we met a few other families at the same bar to watch all the games; it was as every Sunday was Super Bowl Sunday.
     Besides making my family closer, sports was key in my childhood and developing friends.  From an early age my parents signed me up for just about every sport they could; some of my best friends to this day are past teammates.  Sports were my ice-breaker, they helped me make friends at a young age.  When I reflect back on my life, and look at my connection to sports, it makes me realize how thankful I was to play on so many teams.  I feel it has shaped who I am as a person and given me the ability to make friends with all sorts of people.
     Just as Sports played a key role in my life, they also play a huge role in society and the world we live in today.  I believe sports are nothing but a positive influence in our world.  Sure, there is violence, trash talk, fighting, allegations, controversies, and many negative aspects that have come out of sports, but we must remember the positives too.  At a young age, we use sports to teach sportsmanship, kindness and teamwork.  We shake hands at the end of games, say 'good game', we learn how to be a respectful winner and we learn how to accept losing.  Sports give children a drive and an outlet.  They provide a safe environment and positive role models for kids everywhere.  Eitzen even mentions that parents want to involve their children in sports because it "teaches them the basic values of American Society and builds character".
     
 

Sport(s) in America I

Sport has unarguably had a huge impact on society in our world.  Just about every person in every country has somehow at one point related to a sport; whether that be soccer, jogging, playing catch, or even a friendly game of tag.  We all understand what sport is, but can it be properly defined in today’s day and age?  In chapter 1 of Coakley, he states, “there is no single definition that precisely identifies sports in all cultures at all times.”  Our world is very diverse; it makes sense that not one definition could fit such a broad word.  Yet, moving forward in the chapter, Coakley shares the definition that many scholars choose to pair with ‘sport’.  This precise definition defines sports as “well-established, officially governed competitive physical activities in which participants are motivated by internal and external rewards.”

By looking at these two definitions, it is clear that sports are most likely different in many places, but share many of the same characteristics.  For instance, when looking at professional sports in the United States, football, baseball and basketball seem to dominate, while the rest of the world associates more with soccer.  Not only are the sports different, but the ultimate goals for the athletes seem different as well.  In the United States the ultimate goal is to win your leagues title, like the MLB World Series, NFL Super Bowl, or NBA Championships.  Other countries put more an emphasis on worldwide winning.  Soccer for instance is very competitive in its leagues, but becomes one of the most powerful, most watched, and most anticipated sport series when the World Cup comes around, mostly because it is one country competing against another.  The Olympics are another example of this.  Yes, the United States has always participated in the Olympics, but it is clear that it has not always been our top priority.  Basketball for example is a huge sport in America and it is clear that the best players from around the world come to America to play. Yet, for most of the Olympics history, we did not send our best players. Instead, we sent young, inexperienced, college athletes, who often failed to bring home a medal.  Other countries, however, would send their best, top paid athletes to compete.  This is slowly changing though; basketball in the Olympics has ever changed once the DreamTeam was announced in ’92. Yet, every four years, we continue to see NBA stars declining the invitation to join the US Olympic basketball team, even though the Olympics is the biggest sporting event in history – shows where many US athletes ambitions are.