cover image The Theater of Sport

The Theater of Sport

. Johns Hopkins University Press, $19.95 (480pp) ISBN 978-0-8018-4909-1

In this erudite study, University of Kentucky geography professor Raitz and his fellow contributors assert that the physical theater of the sporting arena is as important to players' and spectators' enjoyment as the game itself. Brian J. Neilson traces the baseball field from the original ``park'' to Toronto's Skydome, which the author views more as a shopping center where baseball is the main attraction. Robert L.A. Adams gives a colorful glimpse at the nuances, some calculated, some aesthetic, of the famous golf courses throughout the world. ``In golf, the participant is simultaneously engaged in contests against fellow competitors and against the course itself. The course is thus at once a stage and an adversary.'' In his essay on stock-car racing, Richard Pillsbury offers convincing insight on why fans travel extensive highway hours not to learn the outcome of the race, but for the tailgate parties and the grandstand shenanigans. Perhaps the highlights of the collection are John F. Rooney Jr. and Audrey B. Davidson's chapter on football, and Robert L. Janiskee's narrative on climbing. These authors truly adhere to the thesis of the collection, focusing on the distinguishing factors of place in these respective sports. Other pieces sometimes go astray from the original intent while others are sometimes burdened by didactic prose defining conventions and regulations. Still and all, The Theater of Sport offers a wealth of facts and anecdotes for a generalist's view into the history of 13 sports. (Oct.)