The Psychology of Sports  

On The Couch: An Analysis of Current Topics and Issues in Sport Sports

By Dr. Richard Lustberg

Our Need For Sports Stars

Astronomers tell us that stars are born at the rate of a nano second. Newly anointed sports stars are birthed at the same rate; the only difference between the two is that the terrestrial stars sometimes take millions of years to form, while sports stars take only seconds.

One case in point (although there are hundreds to choose from) is Eli Manning, the pubescent quarterback of the New York Giants; star Manning has played seventeen games to date in his budding NFL career with mixed individual results. Yet the amount of air time and media coverage he has gotten is nothing short of extraordinary, and he is treated like royalty. To Manning’s credit, he clearly has not embraced his ascendancy, but that has not stopped us from embracing him.

Only a population starved for immediacy and unappreciative of deserved accomplishment could compare Manning to his older brother Payton. Or is it that there is only so much we can say or write about established stars before boredom begins and a “been there done that syndrome sets in”? There would be nothing left to read, write or watch.

It is interesting to see the comparative ascendancy of movie stars as well, who suddenly burst upon the silver screen in one film, only to become the new love of the writers of the many magazines and televisions programs. No previous film work, no distinguished resume, but a star is born. And so it is with pubescent sport stars; borne to the front of sports pages in that nano second.

It has been reported and documented that we are a populace with a short attention span. Clinical observation has suggested that we need the next big story or star to deflect us from our own uncomfortable internal state and the media obliges us. Our escapist needs are fulfilled, and we scream, cheer, hoot, holler and debate.

I have always felt that sports provides for us a wide range of our psychological needs. However, most recently it has been disturbing to see how many more of us know the names of sports stars than our political leaders in Washington. A most recent television commercial even touts and encourages this fact.

Whatever happened to experience and, “Let’s wait and see”? I guess we have to wait and see.
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