The Joy of Sport

            One of the main reasons to watch sporting events is to get enjoyment out of it, to take pleasure in the great plays and victories. In saying this, it is pretty rare for a game to cause an observer to laugh solely due to pleasure—but it does happen.Laughing in this sense represents a feeling of pure joy, joy that causes one to go past the point of smiling and reach laughter. This laughter appears as belly laughs that come from deep down inside, not some forced chuckle. They expose one’s true emotions and usually one’s passion for the team they are cheering for. If one is happy with the way a game is going it would be normal for them to smile but not to laugh. In order to laugh there is need for a sudden outstanding play. The element of surprise when a play comes “out of no where” causes the laughter and almost follows the incongruity theory of laughter. For this reason, game-winning plays make for the most probable laughing situations because it combines a great play with the result of winning.

            I have experienced many instances of laughing at sports due to delight, but my most vivid memory was from the Super Bowl in 2008 when the Giants beat the Patriots. Being from New York, many of my friends are Giants fans, including my best friend and her family, who hosted a Super Bowl party that year. Everyone there was rooting for the Giants and although I am a Jets fan, I had no problem rooting against the Patriots. When the Giants went on their late game run the excitement in the house really started to build. There were at least three plays on their last drive that definitely caused laughter from the group watching. My friend’s dad, Phil, was the leader of the laughs. I specifically remember him jumping out of seat laughing with excitement when David Tyree made that third down catch on his helmet. When the game ended in a Giants victory the hysteria that erupted included hugging, screaming, crying, jumping, and plenty of laughter. I know I was laughing, but for a different reason—Phil and his brother were crying about the big win. I think some of the reasons for the laugher included the long years of waiting for a Giants championship as well as the dramatic manner in which the game ended.

            For a great example of laughing from sports pleasure check out this video of U.S. fans celebrating Landon Donovan’s goal in the most recent World Cup that advanced the U.S. into the round of sixteen: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/flatpages/video/mediacenterbc3.html?bctid=/services/player/bcpid73315185001&bckey=AQ~~,AAAAAFn2Wfk~,QUqnr01qM6aNc5KpglT31Wg877NObyqI&bctid=101507741001

Suspended for Laughing

One commonplace for laughter in sporting events is the players themselves laughing. Sports can create many funny or laughing situations—shocking collisions, embarrassingly bad plays, or the joy of winning. However another less common but almost more hilarious instance of laughter by athletes is laughing at the referees. I know I find myself doing this out on the hockey field when an especially ludicrous call is made. I think athletes (including myself) have realized that this type of response is more acceptable and less likely to be punished than yelling or displaying negative body language. Refs tend to pile more and more bad calls on players that they have determined are disrespectful and laughing rather than yelling or cursing can keep athletes off a refs bad side. I also believe that finding a way to laugh at refs horrible calls helps to keep athletes calm during a match rather than getting frustrated.

There is quite an amusing video on YouTube of Spurs star forward Tim Duncan being ejected from a game against the Dallas Mavericks simply for laughing (http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=tim+duncan+ejected+for+laughing&aq=6). The best part is that Duncan was on the bench during the whole extravaganza. Apparently he was not happy with a call made against one of his teammates and decided to laugh it out while sitting on the bench with a towel over his head. The ref must have taken Duncan’s laughter as a mockery of his officiating and gave him a technical foul. The bizarre part of this is that something that occurred off the court had a major influence on the court. As a result of Duncan’s laughter, the Mavericks were given two foul shots and then possession of the ball. Reacting to the ensuing two missed foul shots by the Mavericks player, Duncan is seen again giggling to himself at the lame display of shooting. To Duncan’s and the rest of his team’s dismay, the referee issued him another technical foul, meaning he had to hit the showers. I just think the idea of being thrown out of a game for laughing is so ridiculous but it is true that officials reign supreme.

Maybe laughing at bad calls isn’t the best idea after all. Referees may see athletes laughing at their calls as demeaning and disrespecting their profession. 

What Should He Do?

People love laughing at professional athletes. And sometimes the best things to laugh at them about are things they do off the court. Many athletes have been mocked for terrible press conferences, bad dancing caught on tape, scandals and the likewise. YouTube has become a hot spot for embarrassing or ridiculing videos of pro athletes. Brett Favre: Rise - "What should I do?" is one that is absolutely hilarious. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POyFvDgV2cU]

For all you Brett Favre haters out there, this is the video for you. Everything (well almost everything—they failed to incorporate his past drug addictions) you could possibly laugh at Brett Favre about is woven into this video.  The video is a parody of an original Nike commercial entitled "Rise." [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdtejCR413c&feature=player_embedded] The original stars Lebron James asking, “What should I do?” after ditching his hometown of Cleveland for the Miami Heat.

The parody stars an actor who looks shockingly similar to Brett himself, even has his voice and facial expressions down quite well.

The extremely clever spoof follows the structure of the original commercial very closely. Just as Lebron said, “I am not a role model,” so did Favre. But he follows this by saying, “I am a jeans model.” This mocks Favre for his absurd Wrangler Jeans commercials, which are also portrayed in the video. The overriding theme of this video however is the ongoing joke that Brett Favre will not make a concrete decisions about whether to retire or not. And, that in constantly changing his mind he is ultimately trying to keep himself in the “spotlight” for as long as possible. In the original Lebron says maybe he should just disappear. Favre say the same thing but then contemplates reappearing and then disappearing and then reappearing and so on, clearly making fun of his false retirement announcements that have been going on the past few years.

The most obscene aspect of the video is the topic of nude pictures (sorry for the vulgarity but the video as a whole was just too funny). Brett Favre’s most recent scandal involved a sexual harassment claim made by Jenn Sterger, a sideline reporter for the Jets at the time when Favre played for New York. He was accused of sending Sterger suggestive voicemails and pictures of himself more than once. The video mocks him by making him look as though he could not even make up his mind in rewards to what pictures to send or what to say on the phone. The numerous play on words at the end of the video play into this theme as well.

Being able to laugh at a rich, interception-throwing, sexting, jean-modeling, celebrity quarterback—and this video sure does that—makes the Average Joe feel good about himself. The superiority theory of laughter works for most cases in which people laugh at athletes. For once they feel as though they are not so far away from the pedestal that professional athletes are placed on.

Wipeout!

Many people find humor in others getting hurt. Whether it is a stranger walking down the sidewalk and slipping on ice or a friend getting pelted in the face during dodge ball, a common reaction to these sights is laughter. Yet why are these painful experiences so funny for an observer? First off, incidents like falling usually happen out of the blue and tend to catch people off guard. Therefor it can be said that people laugh at injury because it is incongruous and unexpected. The other reason why people laugh at injury can be explained by the superiority theory. Those watching a fall occur feel superior to the person on the ground and are glad to still be standing on their feet.  This type of laughter is the reason why shows like ABC’s Wipeout have had such success.

The American reality show Wipeout comes from a long history of Japanese television shows in which the competitors take part in difficult and hazardous physical tasks. Two of the most popular Japanese ones are Takeshi’s Castle and Most Extreme Elimination Challenge. In all these shows the participants go through a number of different obstacle courses, complete with swinging beams, spraying water, and slippery platforms. As the contestants try to make it to the finish line, it is almost inevitable that they will take a couple of bad spills or get hit really hard by some barrier. Some of the tasks take skill, strength, and smarts, but some are just pure luck.  And not only are the courses set up for the competitors to fail and get hurt, sometimes they must start off in these situations, being projected 20 feet into the air by a catapult and landing in muddy water, for example.

People watching these shows find enjoyment in them for two reasons. It’s really fun to think about trying the course yourself and wondering whether you could make it or not, yet the main reason to watch these shows is to laugh at the contestants. The wipeouts they endure can be hilarious and are made funnier by getting to know a little something about each contestant through mini interviews beforehand. They all seem to take on a different personality, some acting over confident, some really girly, or just plain bizarre. Thinking that you know a little something about them makes it easier to laugh at them when they fail. It is also hysterical because many of the contestants act as if they are serious athletes partaking in a hugely important competition.

When someone gets hurt in the real world there is usually a short period of time between the injury and the reaction of the person who sustained the injury, when no one laughs because the seriousness of the situation is still unknown. Yet, if the fallen person gets up and laughs, observers are likely to join in. These television shows eliminate that waiting time. Viewers do not care about the well being of the participants but instead thrive on their wipeouts. The more extreme the fall the more one is likely to laugh. The more flips and wails the better.

The commentary that takes place on the shows makes you laugh even more.

Wipeout pretends to be all serious and sport-like, using common sporting phrases but in its own context. They even have a real ESPN analyst work as one of the commentators. The commentators build up the excitement and then crack jokes when the participants finally go down.

The recent popularity of these shows, specifically Wipeout, is an indictment of today’s society. It has become more and more acceptable to laugh at someone getting hurt, without any regard to the safety or health of the injured person. 

Check out the latest episode of Wipeout:  http://abc.go.com/shows/wipeout

Not Top 10

For the most part, people watch sporting events for entertainment. They get enjoyment out of watching skillful athletes make great plays and cheering their team on to victory. Fans laugh when goals are scored, saves are made, ridiculous stunts are pulled off, and even when even when refs make horrendous calls. However, oftentimes viewers laugh for a different reason: failure.

ESPN’s most popular show, SportsCenter has made a living out of exposing these bad plays. Every Friday instead of counting down the ten best plays from the night before, they air their Not Top 10. They air what they think were the worst ten plays of the week. This list of increasingly awful plays from 10 to 1 is intended to make its viewers laugh. And it is very successful in this task.

Whether it’s Amare Stoudemire clanking a dunk off the rim or David Beckham blasting a penalty kick over the crossbar, there’s a reason why people laugh. They laugh because they expect to see these famous athletes perform at such a high level and when they don’t it’s hysterical. This incongruity between what is expected and what happens is the main cause of laughter.

Furthermore, seeing professional athletes mess up and ultimately look stupid makes the average joe feel better about himself. He feels as though there is less of a gap between him and lets say Alex Rodriguez than he had thought. Making extremely bad plays momentarily lowers athletes from their pedestal. If an athlete misses a wide-open goal, an on looking fan thinks to themself, “even I could have scored that.” Athletes can also make themselves look like fools. For example, if a football player starts his celebration before getting into the end zone and someone ends up tackling him from behind he just looks stupid and viewers react in laughter.

It is clear then, that when people laugh while watching SportsCenter’s Not Top 10, they are laughing at the athletes. Yet despite how funny a failed play may appear, viewers should have a bit of restrain recognizing how well these athletes perform the rest of the time.

Here’s the most recent edition of SportsCenter Not Top 10. Enjoy!

SportsCenter's Not Top Ten