On the Subject of Michigan Sports, and Competition

           

            This week I found myself immersed in the beautiful realm of college sports, and (of course) in particular, Michigan sports. I write this in the painful hours following the loss to Ohio State but with the desire of dissecting a broader phenomenon of human behavior – competition.

            We read Locke’s, Rousseau’s, and Hobbes’s paralleling discussions of social contracts – which they explained to be necessary to invoke in curing humanity from certain natural human phenomenon, and as an escape from the state of nature. But the “official” social contracts we make with and amongst ourselves on a national scale are only one level of the complex society that we have created away and apart from our original state of nature.

            Despite the plethora of perspectives that we may prescribe to, it is inevitable that there do exist people functioning on a competitive mindset. It’s the foundation of the capitalist economy, the dynamic of the creation and upholding to centuries-old nations and empires, and the basis of Theory 1 proponents of education as described by Menand’s “Live and Learn”. So it seems only reasonable that humans, in the often-unintentional complexity of their ways, would emulate this fundamental principle in the recreational arena.

            It seems that many of us in blog posts thus far, and indeed many of the literary works we have read, have recognized that competition is an important and inevitable feature of innate human interaction. It’s a facet that spans almost all of the topics we’ve covered thus far – but I’ll focus on one that we all hold close to our hearts – the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry.

(Image from the cover of Michigan vs. Ohio State - The Rivalry DVD, Available at http://c3.cduniverse.ws/resized/250x500/movie/694/7731694.jpg)

As we discussed in lecture, many things we create in our lives can be categorized as either “game” or “play”. The Michigan-Ohio State rivalry – “The Game” – encapsulates, in a modern, recreational way, many of our desires for competition.

It seems that, in our attempts to quantify ideal human behavior, we reach dead-ends at unattainable objectives – unreachable because of our individual limits and qualities that we regret make us “only human”. So, though we might like to create a world functioning on philanthropy, collaboration, and equality – this is just not possible. The ability to create surplus is a positive human and special advantage – and one that will not, in my opinion, be relegated for the purposes of moral high ground anytime in the near future – as Rousseau implores us to do. We can, however, take advantage of these human flaws and take advantage of these societal “second-tiers” – utilizing our implementations of “play” to better protect and invest in the society we create for ourselves.

The Michigan-OSU Blood Battle, started in 1982, has implemented a competitive tone and has successfully encouraged students and fans on each side to donate blood. (Image from University of Michigan, available at http://www.plantops.umich.edu/director/info/news/stories/201110/bloodbattle_782x466.jpg)

Locke makes the argument that, “The great and chief end, therefore, of men’s uniting into commonwealths, and putting themselves under government, is the preservation of their property.” Even if, for example, we were to hold this to be the fundamental element of society, these are strengthened in many ways through the seemingly less important “second-tiers”. A community held together by a like-minded approach to property can achieve great ends – but a community held together by something greater and universally more personal is an undeniably stronger community altogether.

For example, The crowd at Madison Square Garden cheering "BEAT OHIO" after the Kansas State basketball game. (This video was taken by and is the owner of the author of this post, Farone Rasheed.)

And though it is how we “play” in a leisure-sense, “The Game” has, for a very long time, invoked very real emotions and gestures from people on a large-scale. Families, rivalries, and life-long friendships have been shaped by this game.

In the prime of their day, Bo (left) and Woody (right) were rivaling coaches of Michigan and OSU, respectively, throughout their bitter fights to the Rose Bowl – a struggle known as “The Ten Year War”. In the tranquility of retirement, they formed a unique and understanding friendship. (Image from SportsFanLive, available at http://www.sportsfanlive.com/roller/lordstantheman/resource/BoAndWoody.jpg)

So whether we like it or not, the truth is this: This is how we interact. This is how we play. And in much this way, these are our opportunities to showcase the best of ourselves.