Organized team sports in America, particularly football and basketball, undeniably have some sort of minstrel dynamic going on. Black athletes' physical abilities are being used to make ungodly sums of money for primarily white team owners. However I think the team vs. fans interaction is even more telling. Teams are held up as representations of their region. Now this is generally accepted as irrational, however the fan-base continues to indulge in this concept. As this attachment continues, the fans form a fraudulent emotional bond to the team. Suddenly the success of the team and its players reflect the success of the individual, despite the fan likely having no actual relationship with the athletes. Eventually this concept of "I succeed if you succeed" can lead (not saying this is always the case) the fan to feeling that the team/player owes their loyalty to them; they are the fan's property. When combined with the long history of slavery and the even longer history of racism in America, this dynamic cannot be overlooked. Like I pointed out in class, this dynamic is what makes Gunnar and Scoby so uncomfortable as basketball stars. The crowd views them as well-functioning tools, and have no appreciation for them as human beings, and probably not even as skilled basketball players. They see them merely as some ridiculous manifestation of their success.
However in individual sports, most of these problems are fairly absent. Take tennis for instance. Pro tennis used to be similar to the NBA or NFL where players were owned by syndicates that governed the schedule and paychecks of the individual. Tennis was not especially mainstream during this time period however, so that large-scale dynamic of fans associating themselves with the tennis teams was not present. But before it could happen, the players rebelled and formed the ATP. Now players are independent and work with tournament organizers to discuss prize money and season schedule. This point is pretty tangental, but I wonder what modern day NFL and NBA would be like if the players had rebelled and co-owned their teams. Would it at least reduce the presence of the minstrel dynamic?
I don't know if it would reduce any sort of minstrel dynamic. Part of the reason the fans associate with a team in the same region is because of the affect that a stadium has on a community. A stadium is something like a public attraction, and so the people want good things to happen near them so the area prospers. Because of this the large teams sports would still probably garner extremely large fan bases and the games would turn into something like a performance.
ReplyDeleteSports are about supporting a team, and while there may not be any tangible connection between professional athletes and the people in the cities that they supposedly play for, this dynamic is more beneficial than harmful. When teams get big wins, it can bring a city together. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, citizens of New Orleans sought shelter in the remains of the Superdome (football stadium). Four years later, the Saints brought a championship to the city, and this helps bring the people of New Orleans closer together.
ReplyDeleteI don't think there really is a minstrel dynamic, granted most of the good basketball players are black, and large majorities of basketball teams are composed dominantly of black athletes. I feel that the fact the most of the good basketball players are black somehow twists their image. Rather than appreciating an athlete for his talent his race also gets dragged in which just completely distorts.Yes the fact that majority of team owners are white kind of brings back an almost "master and slave" dynamic. And the fact that these black athletes are making money for the owners adds to that image. But it's not like these athletes are subservient to the owners and follows their wishes. Especially considering Lebrons move back to the Cavaliers.
ReplyDeleteI think that if NFL or NBA players co-owned their teams it wouldn't diminish the minstrel dynamic you discuss, because that is between the fans and the players, and who owns the team does not effect that. There would be less of it between the owners/coaches and the players though. And I don't think that the dynamic with the fans is a blatantly minstrel situation.
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