It is noted in the opening 'acknowledgments' section of this book that it has taken the author over 15
years to complete this project. Furthermore, he acknowledges the help he has received from
sociologists, an industrial psychologist, and professional writers. This is, of course, a terrifying
opening for a reviewer. The book clearly represents a huge personal investment by the author, and it
dares the reader to be critical. In the event, it is the enormous scope of the book which is both its
strength its weakness.
The author sets out to answer some fundamental questions about American sport: 'Why do Americans
transform every conceivable type of play from shuffle-board to skate boarding into highly competitive
contests?...Why are professional athletes paid millions of dollars to perform?...Why is winning so
important to us?...In short, why do Americans take their sports and recreation so seriously?' (p.1). In
order to address these questions the work of Max Weber provides an analytical framework. Thus, the
connection between modern sport and the Protestant ethic is identified as a key focal point, the
prevalence of religious values in leisure (as much as work) is noted, and sport is identified as 'the
preeminent leisure institution in which religious values and physical culture meet' (p.5). The claim is
not made that sport is a form of religion in itself, but rather that sport is a vehicle for values 'which
have their origins in religion' (p.8). Unsurprisingly, perhaps, the analysis is functionalist in character,
although the author notes that conflict theories are to be used where they 'seem to have explanatory
value' (p.10).
In chapter two, the focus is upon the Protestant Reformation and its influence on sport. The chapter
provides a useful summary of the history of Calvinism. This will be of interest to those studying sport
who have little knowledge of this aspect of history and, for this reason, it is reviewed in some detail.
For example, it is pointed out that Calvin himself was less rigid than is sometimes realised, but that
his followers defined an increasingly demanding agenda for Protestants. Thus, Calvinists were 'doers'
with a 'constant striving to create a New Jerusalem' (p.16) and 'no slackers were tolerated' (p.17). It is
easy to see, from this account, how 'sloth' came to be viewed as the deadliest of deadly sins. The rise
of Puritanism is then detailed, with the term 'moral athleticism' characterising the demanding Puritan
mission. An exacting and somewhat dour philosophy, it is argued that Puritanism did have the virtue
of promoting courage, self-reliance, and sobriety. This leads the author to make a rather forced link at
this early stage - 'Such are the qualities of athletes - and of ascetics' (p.19). The section on Puritan
families, highlighting the absolute authority of the father and the monitoring role of church and
neighbours, is informative, as is the notion of enforcing social control through public humiliation
(which led me to make some obvious comparisons with current issues in American politics).
The focus then shifts to sport. It is noted that leisure activities, by their very nature, were a cause for
concern for Puritans who saw the seeds of enjoyment in recreation. For example, English Puritans saw
it as their duty to 'preserve health and strength and to make one fit for serving God' (p.24). Thus,
'sport and physical recreation put to good purpose were quite acceptable' (p.25). This evolved further
with the arrival of the early Puritan settlers in North America, who had 'a profound distrust of any
form of idleness', particularly pastimes that 'wasted time, tempted lust, or facilitated gambling' (p.29).
Nonetheless, sports and pastimes still took place - indeed, they managed to flourish once they were
viewed as a 'service to God' or were accepted as contributing to 'a higher end' (p.31). The author
concludes that puritans were able to accept 'worthy sport' which 'might complement military
preparedness, promote education or health, instill the values of discipline, socialisation, cooperation
and equitable competition, or reinforce the will to struggle' (p.31). It is argued that such a Puritan
view has pervaded much American sport; interestingly, it also bears striking similarities to the
philosophies underpinning the current National Curriculum for Physical Education in England. The
chapter provides helpful historical context and the reader will be able to draw comparisons with
modern sport in numerous countries. However, there is some unnecessary repetition, and this is a
weakness which recurs throughout the book.
In chapter 3, the Protestant ethic is outlined drawing upon the work of Max Weber. The author sees
value in Weber's work as having 'explanatory power for understanding social actions and social
institutions beyond strictly economic ones - including those within sport and recreation.' (P.35). At
this point, Overman provides a helpful signpost for the rest of the book: 'A line of argument will be
pursued in this book that the values in the Protestant Ethic, in tandem with the spirit of capitalism,
have shaped the major social and cultural institutions of the American people, most notably sport and
recreation' (p.36). Seven cardinal values of the Protestant ethic are detailed: worldly asceticism,
rationalization, goal directedness, individualism, achieved status, the work ethic, and the time ethic.
These are explored further in chapter four which looks at America as a Protestant ethic society and
concludes that the 'spirit of capitalism' is responsible for reinforcing 'the national tendencies toward
achievement, competitiveness, and individualism'. Finally, in chapter 5, the discussion turns to the
central focus of the book - sport and recreation. The chapter is entitled 'The American work ethic and
its displacement to sport'. However, most of the chapter is devoted to a discourse on work and I found
myself becoming impatient to see the development of the argument in relation to sport. Towards the
end of the chapter, Overman argues that the Protestant Ethic was 'displaced' to sport in four stages -
initially work was needed for salvation, then work was viewed as a vocation leading to salvation, then
useful work was defined as that which has material ends and, finally, compensation for unrewarding
work was gained through participation in sport and recreation.
Chapter six examines sport as an institution in the Protestant Ethic society. Parts of this are
interesting but, perhaps because of the broad scope of the task, some of this material is very familiar
and rather lacking in analytical thrust. Also, the length of time taken to prepare the book becomes
increasingly apparent; for example, many of the references are dated and little of the information will
be new to the reader who has any background in sport sociology. Issues covered include the role of the
middle class in defining sport, the differences in the ways in which the upper, middle and working
classes experienced sport, and comment on the 'myth' of social mobility through sport. Much of this is
documented elsewhere. However, the main criticism of this chapter and those following is that the
author loses some credibility where he uses sweeping generalisations which have little supporting
evidence, and which seem to ignore recent work in sport sociology. For example, it would have been
interesting to have made links between the section on sport and institutionalised religion, and the late
19 century focus on achieving a union of mind, body and spirit, with the more recent work on the
sociology of the body (eg. Shilling, 1993). An argument about Catholic and Protestant approaches to
sport is interesting, but seems somewhat oversimplified in the way it is applied to nations and medals
tables.
In the next three chapters, Overman sets out to cover huge areas of literature which relate to 'The
American Sport Ethos'. This is helpful as an overview of the numerous aspects of social life which
impinge upon, and are affected by, sport. As was noted previously, however, the discussion relies on
rather generalised statements in places, and this is less helpful. For example, the author comments:
'Sport is a cauldron where culture is distilled, a laboratory in which cultural values can be observed in
their simplified form' and 'Sport became an intensely serious and joyless quest for victory' (p. 158).
Drawing upon the work of Eitzen and Sage (1982), Overman describes the 'American Sport Ethos' in
terms of seven components which link to the values of the Protestant Ethic described earlier:
rationalization, the work ethic, goal directedness, moral asceticism, individualism, achieved status,
competitiveness. The section on rationalisation covers the rise of 'scientism' in the late 19th century
and argues that its methods were 'imposed' on sport and PE. The increased number of experts in
human movement and professional coaching, is linked to the Protestant ethic which values work
(training) rather than natural ability. Overman describes this as a process to 'establish order and
control over play' (p.170). The discussion on the work ethic covers some of the well-worn debates on
sport/work, the meanings of work/play/sport and makes a link to the Protestant belief that 'play is
justified if it can accomplish something' (p.194). The discussion on individualism examines the
apparent contradiction in the popularity of team sports in America and the strong element of
individualism in the Protestant Ethic. Overman concludes, again perhaps a little oversimplistically,
that the influence of democracy has meant that 'American individualism has always been expressed
within the context of the group' (p. 209). This is also linked to the rise of capitalism and a corporate
model which views individuals as building blocks in organisations. Rather unnecessarily perhaps,
Overman points out: 'Actually, the structure of most American team sports is an amalgamation of
individual effort and teamwork' (p. 211). The discussion also covers the role of sport in enhancing
status, and finally arrives at the view that Americans have an intense need to win which has led to
'unbridled competitiveness'. Vince Lombardi is quoted several times.
.
In chapters ten and eleven, the focus moves to child rearing, youth sport and leisure. In chapter ten,
the author seeks to examine the relationship between 'American child rearing practices, and the play
life of children, in the context of the Protestant Ethic and the American sport ethos' (p.235).
Inevitably, perhaps, this section is also very wide ranging - covering the family as a socialising agent,
Protestant child rearing, parenting, youth culture, organised youth sport, and the ethos of youth sport.
This is useful as an overview but the size of the task results in little exciting analysis.
The same problem occurs in chapter eleven which seeks to cover leisure-work distinctions, the link to
the Protestant conception of leisure as 'useful' and the leisure/consumerism paradox.
Chapters twelve and thirteen switch to a more detailed examination of capitalism and its impact upon
amateur sport and finally professional sport. This entails an analysis of the Olympics, college sport,
participant sport, the commodification of sport, media and the shift in status of the American athlete
from 'wage labourer to entrepreneur'. The development of Baseball into the business it is today is
provided as an example. This was interesting, and students in different countries would find the case-
study fascinating and useful in their studies.
