How basketball might save the world

 Basketball was the result of a request to find an activity for "incorrigible " men during the winter with limited space.  It wasn't thought it might solve all the world's problems, but the author David Hollander feels it sets a model the rest of us would profit to follow.  He offers a mix of politics, psychology and sociology well reasoned that I cannot do justice to with this post.  I will cover a number of points raised and suggest it is worth reading even for non basketball fans.

Within a week of its invention women were invited to watch and shortly after Naismith himself encouraged them to take part.  Within a very few years through the YMCA network it spread to China, India, France, Australia, Brazil and all over North America.   In some quarters some men would not play the game as women also played it.  Times have changed  and some credit must be given to women themselves.

 A goal was to make the game affordable and accessible.  Naismith noted that many sports used small balls such as cricket, hockey, lacrosse and tennis, but required another piece of equipment to maneuver that ball, so opted for a ball to be handled by hand.  The sport could be played in a gym with a basket nailed at each end.  Apparently he was aware of a Mayan game using a hoop turned on its side.

The ease of accessibility allowed many to play basketball who had felt excluded from other sports.  Jews, Catholics and a wide variety of immigrants flocked to the game.  Naismith is credited with mentoring two successful basketball coaches, Phog Allen and a black man, John McLendon.  In the U.S. many blacks found basketball as an outlet.  

Balance of individual  and collective with each player having the same opportunities and responsibilities.

Play has been discarded by many, but is essential for human happiness and even productivity.  Johan Huizinga is referred to.  Basketball being accessible and affordable is one significant source.

Wynton Marsalis when asked to explain affinity between basketball and jazz (two activities associated with African Americans); "<when> improvisation meets form in the context between a groove and rhythm ... done well all players in the ensemble transmute, creating something and being something none could be without the others".

PeacePlayers International  was formed after Stanley Tuohey went to Belfast, Northern Ireland to play professional basketball and run clinics for Protestants and Catholics.  A local policeman was so impressed with how the two factions played together and suggested this might work in South Africa.  Together with his brother they formed PeacePlayers International in 2001 and went to South Africa where they found similar results.  They have also set up clinics in Cyprus, Israel/West Bank and the United States with over 70,000 participants.  They have learned that diverse groups can learn to get along and respect each other with basketball as an important tool. 

Giannis Antetokounmpo personifies an interesting phenomena.  His parents left Nigeria for Greece and were in reality non documented.  Giannis was limited in his freedom but found solace in basketball.  He proved to be of great talent sought by the N.B.A.  To facilitate his family were declared Greek citizens.  Recently he played for the Greek national team at the recent Olympics.  

During the COVID pandemic the 2020 election appeared to be very difficult to manage.  Mail in voting was perfectly legal, but Trump had commanded the postmaster general to remove postal boxes and declared mail voter fraud to be guarded against.  LeBron James launched a non profit organization, "More than a Vote" to find ways to make it more comfortable to vote.  He helped set up arenas and stadiums as safe places to vote.  He also signed up over 10,000 volunteer poll workers.

Somalia has a scary reputation with violent gangs who do not believe in the rights of women.  Sports in general and basketball in particular were regarded as illegal and sacrilegious.  Some women defy death threats to play basketball.  Ilwad Ellman, daughter of peace activist Ellman Ali, has formed the Ellman Peace Centre that concentrates on helping women who had suffered from gender abuse.  Basketball plays a significant role.  A clinic attended by 500 females was partnered by Giants of Africa, a group formed by Masai Ujiri, president of the Toronto Raptors.  His support for the Nigerian women's basketball team that surprised their opponents at the recent Olympics.  Basketball is having a rippling effect in Africa.  

Mao Zedong- when in power in 1949 expelled everything western except basketball.  Basketball was a key component in the Chinese military.  NBA programs are shared by about 640 million Chinese, more than the entire American population.  In 2019 Daryl Morey offended the Chinese government by supporting the Hong Kong protesters, a major dispute resulted.   A lot of heads rolled, but the author thought an opportunity was lost.  The game was in the middle of struggles regarding freedom, but was loved by all parties.

Larry Bird and Magic Johnson were one of the NBA's rivalries that spurred tv. ratings.  Larry Bird was white and raised in a poor rural area.  Magic Johnson was from a poor urban background.  As rivals they avoided knowing each other.  A tv. project brought them together and encouraged them to see each other  and even become friends.  Of course what they had in common was a great love of basketball and talent that let them rise to the top.  It is easy to understand poor blacks would pursue something as accessible as basketball, but poor whites had similar ambitions.

Jonestown is remembered as the site where religious fanaticism resulted in mass suicidal death.  However a few escaped drinking the Kool-Aid in Guyana.  One group formed a basketball pickup game to escape the insanity.  Traveling for a game, they refused to return and tried to persuade others not to participate.

The author ends with this; "Yes we know gravity is part of our earthly condition.  Yes we must jump in order to fly.  It is high time for us to jump".

One example of adaptability not mentioned was to allow a wide variety of handicapped players a classified system developed to maintain competitive balance.  If a player or players were substituted it was necessary to replace with a player or players with the same classification or lower.  A professional league tried to use a total team height restriction so that tall players could be balanced with shorter players. 

Yes I am very biased and I do believe basketball is an activity to encourage, but a few other things will have to be done to fix the mess we are in.   David Hollander is a very intelligent man who has gathered a lot of politics, psychology and sociology and tied to basketball.that is very interesting http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2019/06/my-60-year-love-affair-with-basketball.html

Olympics 2024

One of the great things about the Olympics is that it is the greatest three ring circus ever made and the not so  great thing about the Olympics is that a three ring circus can be wearing on the soul.   The CBC went overboard with their coverage offering 22 hours each day on the main network, an unprecedented podcast offering, plus an alliance with two sports networks.   The following are a few impressions to help me remember.

I started following the Olympics in 1960 at age 12.  At that time news clips were flown to North America from Rome and we could read details in our newspaper the next day.  Things have changed since then and not all necessarily good.   

 This year my first awareness before the official opening was a report that the Canadian women's soccer staff spied on the opposition team from New Zealand, not something for Canadians to be proud of.  For awhile us Canadians rallied behind the women realizing the drone decision was above their awareness of the players.  They were handed a very stiff penalty that required them to win all their remaining group games without a tie.  They won some tense games, and did qualify for the knockout phase where they lost.

The Opening Ceremony was unique and reflected French culture.  Boat rides on the Seine.  Lady Gaga in singing in French with lots of other entertainment along the riverbank.  French historical characters were displayed.   Women leaders were hi-lighted with statues to help balance the preponderance of male statues.  Hot air balloon was the location for the Olympic flame.  Celine Dion with a well known vocal concern sang an Edith Piaf classic "Hymne a l'amour" with rain coming down on her and a pianist from the Eiffel Tower that also provided a light show.

The Olympics at one time was for amateurs only that might make it seem more pure, but in effect it was-gentleman's club.  Those who had the money and social backing got to compete.  Jim Thorpe, an   amateurs lost his medals after previous payments uncovered.  Nowadays hypocrisy has been set aside and replaced by professionals that are more entertaining.

Olympic status has increased popularity, but to me increases the circus aspect. .Admittedly  I enjoy some of the additions such as synchronized diving.  Judgement to me make some events more of an artistic endeavor.  it must be aggravating to have rehearsed thousands of  times and be judged by a second or so on stage

Men's basketball was my main interest.  The Canadian team did good for awhile.   Their first game was  against.Greece with Giannis Antetokounmpo (he will be referred to in future blog) provided a tough opposition.   They didn't get far but were competitive.  I was very pleased with local hero Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Canadian men lost fo France with Victor Wembayama .

Women's basketball, was another disappointment.  Made it to the the knockout round before exiting.  Another major disappointment was the exclusion of Caitlin Clark who has made women's basketball exciting to watch.  An upcoming visitor watched the women;s semi final.   See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2019/06/my-60-year-love-affair-with-basketball.html 

It was upsetting to see that sports betting was among the adverstiers.  To me excessive gamblsing is -a disease.  Like other pleasures a little bit may be fun, but dangerous when it becomes habitual.  

The French crowd support does play a role which was very noticeable in the team sports.

Another almost mandatory focus was on Simone Biles.  She is likable as well as a joy to watch.  This was the first time I saw her fall which reminded she is mortal.

Water Polo was something I paid little attention until my daughter became captain of champion high school team.  There is skill and strategy involved with a lot going on below the water.  c

Wrestling was an event once considered for discarding.   I grew up frowning on televised wrestling, but got a different perspective when I attended the University of Guelph where they had a champion wrestling team including one top wrestler who lived on the same residence floor.  Wrestling is a foundaton of the original Olympics.

The French organizing committee made an effort for greater gender equity. The events were split evenly between male and female.

Climate change  was another theme.   Paris was conscious of the Seine being polluted and made efforts to clean up.

For the third summer Olympics,  a refugee team exemplifies the international peace theme    This time they won their first medal, a bronze in women's boxing.

Andre De Gras had at first a bad Olympics.  He failed to qualify for the finals in either the 100 or 200 meter run.  In fact none of the relay team members made the finals, but they had practiced together and won the gold medal illustrating that team work does make a difference. All relays are fun to watch.  Botswana won silver in 4 x 400 men's men;s relay.

Break dancing was a big surprise.  A Canadian won a gold and was mind numbing impressive.

Tahiti provided  an exotic setting several time zones away from Paris. Surfing is fun to watch, but not too much was shown in my tv. coverage.

The Closing Ceremonies were not as interesting as the opening, but the Los Angeles delegates provided something different, especially Tom Cruise who performed a stunt that saw him fall from a high spot, pick up the Olympic flag and supposedly transport it to L.A.  Some American entertainers, some ceremony. filled out the evening.  One new feature was to present the medals for the women's marathon.  .

France showed off its tourism attractions.  Earlier I had read they are one of the best organized tourist destinies.    http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2014/02/overbooked-and-thoughts-on-tourism.html

Each Olympics tries to set itself as unique.  Some sports will be dropped while others will be added.  I understand break dancing will be dropped and I suspect baseball will be added.  My son plays on the New Zealand dodge ball team.  At an international tournament my wife and I talked to an American enthusiast who thought dodge ball had a lot to offer, but didn't need the Olympics to validate itself,  just a joy to play.  Check it out as it is also a joy to watch.   http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2022/09/dodge-ball.html

Other viewers would have emphasized different points as there was so much to check out.  The Olympics are still for me the most exciting event of the year and I am looking forward to the  Paralympics, Winter Olympics and the 2028 Los Angeles Games.