Category Archives: Performance of Sports

I hope you enjoyed the Performance of Sports series. It’s something that I’ve been thinking about for a while and I really enjoyed writing it.

That time of year is upon us again. In high school I saw people hiding phones under their desks to watch. During lunch period the TVs in the cafeteria were on multiple channels showing it. When I worked in an office setting during my undergrad years we were allowed to have it on our computers occasionally as long as we had the sound off and closed it if a customer called. Yes folks, I’m talking about the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, otherwise known as March Madness.

This week’s performance in sports observation is going to be short, sweet, and to the point. Flopping. What is it? Why do they do it? And for crying out loud, can we make it stop? Please!

For many Americans it is the biggest sports day of the year. My aunt even calls it Football Christmas. You guessed it, I’m talking about the Super Bowl. Every year on the first Sunday of February people from all walks of life gather to watch the Super Bowl. Some come for the game (since that is the main event), some come for the musical performance(s), some come for the commercials, and some come for the food. Depending on who is playing and who is performing at half time that year, I am some combination of all four.

Mascots do a lot of work to keep the fans happy (especially if their team may be falling short in that area). Shoutout to those mascots who keep us smiling when we can’t even see theirs.

With the change of the season comes the change of the sports. I am moving on to the performance of basketball!

Playing sports isn’t just walking out on the field and doing the thing. There’s a lot of thought that goes into designing the experience so that everyone involved (players, fans, coaches, commentators, etc.) gets the best experience possible.

If performance manifests itself in many different ways, does there always have to be an audience? If so, how does that “audience” appear?

In as a performer in a stage performance there are two places you can be during a performance, you are either onstage or offstage. That’s pretty straight forward right? On or off? I think we can all follow that. Now that we have set the stage, let’s go ahead and start talking about the stage of football performance.

I’ve always thought and learned that performance is singing in a talent show, dancing in a parade, or acting in a play. Things like that. That’s performance. Have you ever considered how much performance happens during sporting events?