There's something very interesting about the connections between sports and the new president. For decades, Americans have heard politicians use the language of baseball to invoke themes of national innocence and virtue and the language of football to affirm themes of national strength and conviction. We have not, however, heard much about basketball. With Barack Obama, that appears to be changing.
First, there were the multiple stories about whether or not then-Senator Obama had game. You may recall last spring, when I wrote about Obama taking the ball to the rim during a North Carolina practice. Then came the intrigue over the prospect of the new administration tearing out the White House bowling alley to replace it with a basketball court.
These stories all seemed to be suggesting that there was something about basketball--aesthetics, strategy, or something--that contributed to Obama's political skill. Oh, and the "race thing." Yes, it is significant that the "first black president" favors hoops over the gridiron or the diamond.
All of this leads me to last night's NBA All-Star Game. During halftime, the charity arm of the league--NBA Cares--presented its call to national community service. The highlight most certainly was the video of President Obama. After a bunch of cute kids (read: paid actors) told us that basketball was more than just a game, our Baller-in Chief (?) hailed the lessons basketball "teaches us about life." Fair enough, I think, as it is evident that there are moments when sports really do help us create better conditions for living in a complex world.
What strikes me most here is the decided shift--away from baseball and football--to basketball. I'm not yet sure what this signifies in rhetorical terms, but I think it's safe to say it signifies something. Looks like I know what research project is next.
4 comments:
A few things that strike me:
1. Whether intentionally crafted or not by Obama's camp, this surely seems to align with "the race thing" as in this seems to be a major part of his performance of black identity. (Of course, since I'm currently working on a project involving Obama and performance of black identity, I _would_ see that ...)
2. Something this definitely means: Thank God, given our candidates this election cycle, that it's basketball. We could have ended up with hockey and, while this is meant as no slight at all on hockey (which I enjoy), we all know which candidate was associated with that this past fall.
3. "Baller-in-Chief" is way too loaded with sexual connotations. (I mean, after all, Bill Clinton already, in a sense, claimed this one ... and Kennedy long before him ...) Surely, there's something better -- Dribbler? Maybe Cager?
Yeah, I think the most interesting part of this is the articulation with African American identity and the idea that basketball invokes a similar set of aesthetics to jazz, and that these aesthetics might be mapped onto political identity.
What strikes me as important about this is that it is one thing for Americans to watch African American performances in an entertainment venue--i.e., sports or music--but it is quite another when these performances are part of political leadership. It should be interesting to see if the Obama-basketball connection continues to develop and how people respond to it.
Does this mean we should expect to see Barack throwing the first jump ball next season?
It's a complete aside, but SNL has already poked fun at Obama's cool demeanor in a jazz montage reminiscent of John Coltrane or Miles Davis: http://www.hulu.com/watch/47605/saturday-night-live-obama-plays-it-cool.
In all, the NBA advertisement (and Obama's seeming distance to baseball) certainly lends credence to your idea -- but it will definitely be interesting to see the particular *ways* in which Obama's basketball/jazz aesthetic is played out politically (you already mention the response).
Are there any "political point guard" analogies in our future?
Stephen, thanks for the link. I hadn't see that. And, I don't think it's an aside at all; instead, it articulates nicely with these other themes.
And yes, I think a "first jump ball" or any point guard reference would be great. If it happens, then I guess I'm really on to something. :)
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