As the game enters its glorious final weeks, the chill of fall signals the reality of defeat for all but one team. The fields of play will turn brown and harden, the snow will fall, but in the heart of the fan sprouts a sprig of green. John Thorn brownchilldefeat share on social
The caliber of play suffered and attendance declined year by year. Interest in college football was exploding, and there was this new game called basketball. John Thorn attendancebasketballcaliber Change image and share on social
For many in baseball September is a month of stark contrast with April, when everyone had dared to hope. If baseball is a lot like life, as pundits declare, it is because life is more about losing than winning. John Thorn aprilbaseballcontrast share on social
We are fans because the game also appeals to our local pride, our pleasure in thinking of ourselves as, yes, Americans but nonetheless different from residents of other towns, other states, other regions. John Thorn americanappealfan share on social
But the citizens of Cincinnati loved their Reds because they won, no matter what their addresses had been the year before. They rooted for the Old-English 'C' on the players' shirts. John Thorn addresscincinnaticitizen Change image and share on social
In response to the challenge of strangers, sport arose as a sublimated representation of a community's armed might as well as its pride of place and clan. John Thorn arisearmchallenge Change image and share on social
Award trophies, as opposed to letting the players define and claim their own. Ultimately, pay them to play so that their activity not only resembles work but is work. John Thorn activityawardclaim Change image and share on social
We know these men are professionals whose services are up for bid and whose bags are packed, and yet we call them our own and take personal, even civic pride in their accomplishments. John Thorn accomplishmentbagbid Change image and share on social
For many of us, sport has provided the continuity in our lives, the alternative family to the one we left behind. It gives us something to talk about, to preen about, to care about. John Thorn alternativecarecontinuity Change image and share on social
If I haven't made myself clear, this worrisome chain of events describes the game of the nineteenth century. John Thorn centurychainclear Change image and share on social
