Religion of Sports. Gothram Chopra and Joe Levin.
Navigating the Trials of Life Through the Games We Love.
Can a person claim to be spiritual by proxy of their favorite sports team or by rabidly following a sports team game in and game out year after year? Maybe, and that is what esteemed filmmaker and noted Boston sports fan Gotham Chopra argues in his book, Religion of Sports. Chopra is known for creating and producing some influential documentaries throughout his career. The concept of religion and sports is not new to him. His social media account contains a link with the same title, and he admits throughout the book of attempts to collaborate about this topic with several key contributors. However, he has recently put together a manuscript with plenty of persuasive anecdotes to help support his claim.
The book likely takes stories and experiences from some of his documentaries and neatly segregates them into interesting chapters. Inside, the reader will learn to consider the links between moral codes, transformation, tribes, reformation and pilgrimage among sports fans and otherwise. Now, the author does not break down various scripture and make a direct comparison with, for instance, the governance of sports and its culture. What he does include, though, are stories of many of the concepts such as pilgrimage and makes connections with how sports fans arguably do on their own, conscience or not, and how that behavior could be construed as a religious act.
Chopra uses his strong contacts with such sports luminaries as Tom Brady, Kobe Bryant, Serena Williams and Simone Biles to augment his assertions. Each has at least one chapter devoted to their contributions to the book and their likely connection between sports and religion. It is a nice feature of the book since most will never have that kind of relationship with these celebrities. Even more interesting was experiencing the insightful position portrayed for each in their respective chapters. On one hand, Brady was depicted as thoughtful and considerate. Yet, on the other hand, the author reports how driven, perhaps overly so, that he was, especially during his playing days. While the book hints at some disinterest from Serena Williams, at least initially in their relationship, and some doubts and insecurity on Simone Biles’ part as described through the author’s relationship with the famed gymnast, the last chapter, titled “Afterlife”, describes the relentless, brilliant, artistic, and perhaps, surprisingly at times, lonely soul of Kobe Bryant.
The author, now a southern California resident, shows some range by introducing the reader to such lesser-known athletes, although perhaps equally as interesting, such as Indian cricket player Sachin Tendulkar, NASCAR driver Bill Elliott, marathon runner Katherine Switzer as well as non-athletes Zen Buddhist Bodhidharma, social scientist Emile Durkheim and theologian Martin Luther. Honestly this was the surprising strength and experience of the book since it was an opportunity to learn more about each of their accomplishments. We found the connections to religion more apparent via the more obtuse subjects rather than those whose accomplishments were steeped in the realm of sports.
While we found the book interesting enough and the opportunity for the reader to grow by learning of historical and remote characters, the connections between sport and religion could easily get lost or quickly forgotten. Fans may very well take pilgrimages to the “holy land” once a year or once in their life. Sports culture may very well establish moral codes that are accepted and applied among the sports masses and related genres. Sports followers may even feel like they are part of a “tribe” through devoutly following a particular franchise or school and commiserating the trials and tribulations of their team. In the end, sports are sports and not really a religion unto itself.
The authors attempt to connect these sacred institutions are not unworthy but just do not add up after all considerations are taken. The book is a very manageable 230 pages. It even includes a quick recap of the featured sports figure at the end of each chapter as well as a sagacious recap at the end of the book that Chopra refers to as the playbook. While this is not a bad read, especially for those familiar with his Chopra’s documentaries, we would not anticipate the readers having an epiphany of sorts upon finishing this book to suddenly adopt sports as their spiritual guide while abandoning any previously established faith.
· You might like to read this book if you are interested in reading about popular sports stars such as Tom Brady, Simone Biles or Kobe Bryant.
· You might like to read this book if you seek connections between celebrating sports and spirituality.
· You might like to read this book if you relish learning about lesser-known figures and their connection to both sports and faith.
Read more about the author on X: https://x.com/gothamchopra
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