Comments on: Leg Before Democracy

By: Saurav

Saurav — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

I read both, and while their sunny tone is much nicer to read, there’s nothing like a good takedown. I don’t have the background to evaluate the partciular arguments, but I did almost laugh when I saw them throw in “top down democracy” at the end of their op-ed. I have a sense that things like sport or fashion can be introduced in a top-down way since they rely on people buying into the tastes of the elite, but democracy–to the extent that the term has any meaning–relies on a very different (one might say “opposite” for sake of simplicity) process.

It’s elites recognizing the power of the people underneath them or because of other circumstances (like having their military and economic strength sapped by war so they can no longer maintain a global empire). Since when has any elite willingly given up its power without external conditions forcing it to?

By: Badmash

Badmash — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

What? No mention of the Bollywood narrative (Lagaan)?

By: Ikram

Ikram — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Ok. I read both. Of course, I love the chapati. Lagaan and all that.

But before you write your letter, note that cricket is a marginal sport, at best, in Canada. We do have an internatioanl team, but we do not have a robust national tour. Curling is far more popular. Lawn Bowling is played more widely. Cricket is reserved for immigrants from Britain, South Asia, and the West Indies.

By: Sin

Sin — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

I personally find cricket immensely boring, but baseball even more so. Methinks that a dialectic is in place, with the onus of everything placed on the desperation of academics to write (right?) wrongs…

By: wanderer

wanderer — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

sometimes snark is good.

By: Rob

Rob — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Great post, Sepoy, although I wince a little because Jason Kaufman is a friend. My own ill-informed take on the matter is here.

By: sepoy

sepoy — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Rob: Thanks for the link to your post. I remain steamed with no personal animus towards your friend or sociology as a discipline.

By: Rob

Rob — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

That’s entirely fair. Colonialism is almost as touchy a subject, it seems, as sports.

By: Abdul-Walid

Abdul-Walid — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Rob, I object to your reference to colonialism as a “subject.” Who are you subjecting, eh?

OK, I’m joking.

But I’m not joking when I say both baseball and cricket are undercooked, and the real flavor is in association football.

The people of the world have spoken, and there is only one real sport.

Actually I’m joking again. But in a serious sort of way.

By: Roblog

Roblog — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

A Zooter from a Googly

Way back in September, the very second post in this weblog was an account of lunch with Jason Kaufman, a smart young sociologist at Harvard who wanted to talk to me about the comparative history of Canada and the United…