Paris in the Springtime

I am sure there are many fans of college sports out there who were excited to hear from an athlete who is willing to put her (scholarship) money where her mouth is. Courtney Paris, the standout center for the University of Oklahoma, has all but guaranteed a national championship. If the Sooners fail, she pledges to return the value of her scholarship--roughly $64,000--to the university.

I read about this on ESPN.com, which led me to the original story in The Oklahoman. There, Jake Trotter reports that Paris insists her pledge is reasonable:

"I really want to get this done," she said, adding, "I have a passion for our fans and university, and I want to do something special. That’s why I put my scholarship on the table. I meant what I said."

Ok...

More from Paris: "I feel like we’re not missing pieces. If we play hard, we execute, we are a great team that can win a national championship. If we don’t do that, it won’t be because we’re not good enough. So when you’re good enough and don’t do something, then you have to take accountability for that and that’s your own fault. We can win a national championship. If we don’t, I’ll feel like I didn’t earn my scholarship."

On one level, Paris' commitment is admirable. On the whole, however, I find it unsettling. It's a reflection of how the size and scope of college sports continue to warp perspectives and redefine what is "normal." Although many sports fans will focus on her assertion that Oklahoma is really the best team in the nation, I'm more interested in the final part of her statement--that the only way for her to have earned her scholarship is by winning a national title. Let's review:

• All-American as a freshman, sophomore, and junior


• AP National Player of the Year as a sophomore


• Big 12 Player of the Year as a sophomore and senior


• Journalism major/Big 12 Academic All-American

Regardless of what honors she receives after this, her senior, season, Paris has definitively earned her scholarship. In particular, that she has achieved so much as an athlete and been named an Academic All-American suggests she has earned it much more so than the majority of comparably accomplished players.

What concerns me most about this kind of language--thinking rhetorically, after all--is that it extends the all-or-nothing thinking that now pervades so much of sports, including at the collegiate level. And when a high-profile athlete gives voice to this kind of thinking, it only legitimizes it in the minds of fans--i.e., constant repetition of phrases like, "Anything less than a championship is a disappointment" or "Not winning a national title means I don't deserve a scholarship" consitutes an attitude toward sports that further diminishes the benefits of athletic competiton that have nothing to do with the contest's outcome.

Part of the creed of the Olympic Games is that competition is about "not the triumph but the struggle." In our hyper-mediated, overly commercialized sports culture, it is difficult to take such a philosophy seriously. But we really should try. As for Courtney Paris and the Oklahoma Sooners, the odds are against them winning a title (#1 and undefeated Connecticut annihilated them earlier in the season). So should they lose, I hope Paris learns that athletic grace and glory are about more than the final result on the scoreboard.