Assignment 6 - Kyle Hosey

Prompt 1: Why do we study history? Do things that happened in the past still have meaning and resonance today, or does nothing matter but the present?

Prompt 2: Humor is very prevalent in our society. Is it just a method of comic relief from daily life, or does it have other uses - acceptance into various social groups, political uses, and other less obvious purposes?

Prompt 3: Why are sports so incredibly important to so many of us? Some would say they have just as much significance in our daily lives as one of the many TV dramas - that is, none at all. Yet one's team, or sport in general, is almost a religion more often that not. Football in the US, Soccer in South America and Brazil, and of course Kentucky basketball are supremely important to their followers. What do you think is the reason for this phenomenon, and is it a good thing?

Prompt 3: January, 2016. My entire family huddles around our TV screen in the living room, even the young ones, whose bedtimes came and went hours ago. Yellow Terrible Towels are out, but at our sides - the Bengals have surely put the game away with an interception deep in Steeler's territory. Eyes downcast, the collective feeling is one of gloom. Wait- they fumbled it?! Unbelievably, there is hope, which grows into outright euphoria as Rothleisberger and Brown connect several times, marching towards field goal range. Two penalties on Cincinnati, a Boswell field goal, and in the space of five minutes all six of us have experienced an extreme change in mood; there is jumping, hugging, and celebrating. Nine hundred miles away, in both Vermont and Florida, the scene is much the same as my uncles, aunts, and cousins celebrate as well. The prevailing feeling, even days after, is one of unity, not only with those we know, but also with the broader Steeler's community as a whole. The feeling is the exact same after every Kentucky win (rare though they are in football), and even in sports that I do not care much for, like when the Penguins won the Stanley Cup. In the end, that is what the wide following of sports comes down to; its unrivaled ability to unify a community. Think of the scenes here in Lexington after the 2012 National Championship victory, or the images from Reykjavik as Iceland pulled off the most improbable upset in soccer's history. Random strangers, dancing and celebrating in the streets because of an event that, to be honest, had little bearing on any of their lives. That is not to say that it doesn't matter - clearly it matters to the revelers in the streets, so sports cannot be unimportant. Rather, their draw must come from that feeling of unity and belonging, of being a part of something much bigger than yourself. Very few aspects of our society can bring any number of people together behind a common purpose; sports can do that with whole countries.