Democracy at the Ballpark: Sport, Spectatorship, and Politics

Description

What is the relationship between sports and politics? Often, politics are thought to be serious, whereas sports are diversionary and apolitical. Using baseball as a case study, Democracy at the Ballpark challenges this understanding, examining politics as they emerge at the ballpark around spectatorship, community, equality, virtue, and technology. Thomas David Bunting argues that because spectators invest time and meaning in baseball, the game has power as a metaphor for understanding and shaping politics. The stories people see in baseball mirror how they see the country, politics, and themselves. As a result, democracy resides not only in exclusive halls tread by elites but also in a stadium full of average people together under an open sky. Democracy at the Ballpark bridges political theory and sport, providing a new way of thinking about baseball. It also demonstrates the democratic potential of spectatorship and rethinks the role of everyday institutions like sport in shaping our political lives, offering an expanded view of democracy. Contents Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1 Why Sport Spectatorship Matters Sport and Political Theory Critics of Spectatorship Reexamining Spectatorship Baseball as a Political Venue Chapter 2 Communities of Spectatorship and Fandom Theories of Community Spectatorship and Community Being at the Ballpark and the Nature of Sports Spectatorship Spectatorship beyond the Ballpark The Business of Baseball and Community Community Concerns at the Ballpark Practical Politics and Stadiums Fleeting Community: Baseball Then and Now Chapter 3 The Politics of Equality and Exclusion at the Ballpark Equality from Political Theory to Baseball Praxis Brief History of Baseball and Racial Exclusion Jackie Robinson and Changing Politics “Scrappy White Players” and Other Racial Norms Playing an Invisible Game: Women and Baseball Challenging Gender Inequality in Baseball Looking Forward: Baseball and Sexuality Politics Conclusion: Adam Jones in Boston Chapter 4 From Little League Virtues to Big League Spectacles Arête in the Ancient World Virtue in the Modern World Little League Education Eras of Morality: Heroes, Villains, and the Politics of Virtue in Major League Baseball Contemporary Virtue on Display: Patriotism at the Park Conclusion: Cheating Scandals and the Absence of Virtue Chapter 5 Technology, Sabermetrics, and Democratic Minds Understanding Democratic Epistemology Problems with Technological Thinking The “Sabermetric Revolution” Sabermetrics and Technological Thinking The Fog and Meaning beyond Numbers Conclusion: Baseball as an Oasis Conclusion: Baseball and Everyday Politics Meaning Making and Narrative Thinking about Other Sports Sport and Democratic Theory Notes Works Cited Index