Ok, I am definately a big dork! I really love the photographs in chapter 6 of the old sports teams. I love to see what the men are wearing, how their hair was done, and just all the differences of the time compared to today.
I can't believe all the changes that have been applied to football over the last hundred years to make it the game we know today. I am still actually a little bit confused about the differences in "football," "rugby," and the other forms of the sport played differently at various colleges. I loved reading how this was a game especially for gentlemen, especially those at Ivy League Colleges. This sport was a way to show manliness. I find that amusing considering how the football players of those days look compared to those men we know now. The men in the 1800's were so much stronger; they didn't work out like our men do today. I'd also like to add that I don't see very many "gentlemen-like" qualities in our professional or college athletes today. Just think of all the athletes who have been in trouble with the law; those characteristics would have definately been looked down upon in the old days.
Now, on to rowing. These "gentlemen" rowed only a few times before a contest "...for fear of blistering their hands" (page 85). They even ate diets of mostly meat and beer because this would make them perform better. Can you imagine if a baseball or football coach told his athletes that now? Wouldn't they be excited? We all know fruit and milk is a "soft diet" and will make less of an athlete during a race (page 86). I find this whole section to be kind of funny and also interesting because of the mind set a hundred years ago compared to today, especially in sports, diet, and personal training. I also can't imagine a college team dropping out of their league because they were defeated; sure it might be embarrassing, but you can't just leave! That is exacting what Yale and Harvard did in the 1870's because they were the intellectuals, beaten by the "bucolics" and they were pretty embarrassed. Instead, they decided to compete almost exclusively against each other (page 86).
Well, as you can see I found this chapter pretty amusing. I hope I learn more crazy facts in chapter 7.
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I could not agree more. In todays society athletes are on strict diets and are relient on a strict personal training regiment. I was shocked to see that they relied on beer and rarely practiced before each rowing match. I would be interested to see how rowers back then would match up against the elite rowers of today.
ReplyDeleteI had a similar reaction to the statement about Harvard and Yale dropping out of the league because they lost to the "bucolics." On the other hand, I am equally amazed at Yale's dominance in college football during the early years of its history. That must have been an entirely different sport from what we know of today. It is difficult to envision graduates and even faculty members playing on teams. Not only that but there were sometimes "tramp athletes" who went from one college to another to play on different teams, and they were paid to do so. That would definitely not be allowed under today's NCAA rules. I am glad you can appreciate the contrasts.
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