American National Pastimes: The Genealogy of an Idea

Kobe: Guardian of an American Cultural Institution

“…We maintain in this article that basketball is a rather uniquely American cultural institution with luminaries that serve as vanguards of the cultural institution as part of the American national pastime. Dyreson (2014) argues that the label "… 'national pastime' to one pursuit or another have usually claimed that the endeavor in question somehow embodies aspects of a 'national' character, whether positive (in the case of baseball), negative (in the case of lynching), or both (in the case of the disciplined, strategic violence of football)" (Grundy et al, 2014, pp. 134-135;Dyreson, 2014).…”

“…Dyreson (2014) argues that the label "… 'national pastime' to one pursuit or another have usually claimed that the endeavor in question somehow embodies aspects of a 'national' character, whether positive (in the case of baseball), negative (in the case of lynching), or both (in the case of the disciplined, strategic violence of football)" (Grundy et al, 2014, pp. 134-135;Dyreson, 2014). Embodied in the cultural expression of basketball are the implicit and explicit expressions of teamwork, grit, tenacity, hard work, and sacrifice as aspirational ideals and impulses of the American spirit.…”