If you can, read this: The hidden wisdom of bumper stickers
Reading Time: 4 minutes In my years researching and writing “If You Can Read This: The Philosophy of Bumper Stickers,” I discovered one thing to be true: bumper stickers have the potential to really rile people up. And it should be no surprise. These…
Life isn’t fair, so why should sports be?
Reading Time: 5 minutes To help us cope with life’s inevitable setbacks and injustices, we have developed certain aphoristic tidbits. Displayed often on bumper stickers and t-shirts, these include such sayings as, “It is what it is,” or the French version, “C’est la vie.”…
Sports are for losers: On unavoidable suffering and learning to flourish
Reading Time: 5 minutes The recent Olympic Games, the ensuing NCAA March Madness Tournaments, and all other competitions produce an exorbitant amount of one category of athlete: losers. All told, the 2022 Winter Olympic Games alone sent home more than 2,000 losers. Sports and competition…
In defense of fair-weather fans
Reading Time: 6 minutes The Fair-Weather Fan (FWF) is considered one of the most morally depraved individuals in (and out of) the sporting realm. They shift from team to team, demonstrating no sense of loyalty or allegiance, supporting whoever’s winning at the time, and…
Hey curling, it’s not you, it’s us: The silliness and seriousness of sports
Reading Time: 4 minutes One of my favorite diversions during the Winter Olympics involves tracking the popular opinion of curling…in the United States. The overriding conception seems to be that it’s just plain silly. A New York Post article deems curling the “weirdest” Olympic sport…
No room at the inn for Djokovic: On rules, sports, and exceptions
Reading Time: 4 minutes There’s an old adage of a traveler seeking a room at an inn. The innkeeper informs him they’re booked for the evening. The traveler responds, “But if I were the king, would you be able to find a room for…
