SPORTS: Pro and Con
Back to the Roman times, so much admired by America's founding fathers. Circuses featured
fights to the death and the devouring of Christians. The crowds roared their approval. So much
sports mania. The question is this. Many of the victime were not Romans, and in many cases not
even Roman citizens; they came from other parts of the empire. Did these spectacles increase
understanding with the territories which were later to become independent, or did they contribute
to the empire's breakup. I suspect the latter, but I have no evidence. I will consult a classics
scholar, Susan Treggiari.
Ronald Hilton - 2/16/01
The wild enthusiasm for sports is obvious. That is not the subject of our conference session on
sports. The question is: "Do sports contribute to global understanding?" The further back one
goes in time, the more cruel and corrupt the sports. My favorite sport, competetive gardening, is
above reproach. Cricker is cricket, Soccer is not violent, but it has become corrupt; it is even used
for money laundering. The Economist (2/10/01) has an article subtitled "Soccer is a rotten
business." American football is much more violent, and bullfighting is cruel. Cock-fighting still
exists in places like Mexico, and dog fights and bear baiting have not disappeared.
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