Open Court: Context is everything

What is it that makes sports so compelling?

Some would say it’s because sports fans are in a unique position to watch history as it is being made.

Unless you’re Sonny Liston or Jake LaMotta or the 1919 Black Sox, that history rarely follows a fixed outcome. The framework follows a consistent pattern, but the end result depends on an endless number of circumstances along the way.

Anything — and I mean anything ?— can happen.

But is this spontaniety the sole reason for sports’ allure?

It might be a large part of the equation, but it doesn’t tell the entire story.

Sports can’t elevate itself beyond the the surface level unless the spontaneity occurs within a familiar context.

In other words, the public at large doesn’t truly latch onto a sporting event without a compelling storyline.

When the Ottawa Senators and Anaheim Ducks battled for Lord Stanley’s Cup last June, it didn’t mean anything beyond two good hockey teams playing in 20-minute intervals.

But when the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins squared off this season, the significance jumped through the roof. Not only did the high level of play help the NHL reclaim some lost credibility, it brought back memories of Gordie Howe, Stevie Yzerman, Mario Lemiux, Jaromir Jagr.

This wasn’t just hockey. This was better.

The Super Bowl almost always fails to live up to the hype, but Spygate, the black-sheep Manning and the Boston-New York rivlary brought in a much-needed dimension of subtext to the proceedings.

We’ll always remember the “helmet catch,” and not just because it was a remarkable athletic feat.

If Paul Pierce twists his knee and has his teammates carry him off the floor in any other game, it doesn’t even create a blip on the radar. But it happened within the Celtics-Lakers paradigm, which means sports fans will debate the injury’s severity and Pierce’s sincerity for as long as basketball continues to exist.

Montana to Clark. The shot heard ‘round the world. Babe Ruth points beyond the left fielder. Michael Jordan’s shoulder shrug. These moments withstand time, but not just because they were great feats of athleticism.

But as we all know, context is everything.

It’s the same reason why George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford teamed up to make a fourth Indiana Jones film. It’s why Bruce Springsteen keeps making albums with the E Street Band.

Sports gives people the opportunity to feel surprised and nostalgic at the same time.

We don’t want to know the ending, but in order to care beyond a superficial level, we better have a thorough understanding of how we got there.

nprevenas@gvnews.com | 547-9747