Philosophy of Sport class

This class overall was somewhat interesting but also not always the most productive in discsussion because there is so much bias that comes with the subject of sports. The point was made in class that maybe there are not so many philosophers of sport because those who study sport work actively in the sports field, coaching, writing, commentating, being part of a program, or are athletes themselves. I would agree with this and add to this that everyone has grown up with their favorite sport and their dispositions and much of the philosophy of sport is just opinion based on experience. Learning about play in general and thinking about how people act in sports was interesting and hearing other people's opinions on basic things that never really get discussed (like cheating, spoilsports, athletes as heroes etc) was valuable. To be forced to think about something that is so much a part of everyday culture and take it apart was a good thing, but again many discussions ended up being circular because people had set opinions that were biased by their feelings about a sport (people said they did not believe race car driving was a sport because they didnt like it). All in all, I am glad I got to think about sport in a more detailed context and I feel it will help me as an athlete, a spectator, and a thinker along the way.