John Adams High School - Clipper Yearbook (Ozone Park, NY)

Page 16 text:

'-'- PLAY THAT GAME I BY ALBERT Rook Q ibm. f ll he past century has seen the de- velopment of many new ideas connected with the great task of equip- ping the future generations for the positions they will hold in later life. One of the foremost is the belief that participation in com- petitive sports tends to build up lasting physical and moral fiber. The truth of this statement becomes evident when we consider the fine examples of manhood that took part in the last Olympic games. Despite its benefits many people contend that we are placing too much emphasis on athletics instead of engaging in other more constructive enterprises. However, in my estimation this is not so. Anything that has lasted as long as the idea of sports cannot but cleserve a prominent part in our social system. Nevertheless, despite this new great use to which healthful activi- ties are being put, as I have said, the sports themselves are not new. There is absol-utely nothing modern about sports, or for that matter the so-called sports frenzy that is sweeping the world. More than 2,000 years ago the now famous sport of football was played in Greece. It was then called Harpastan and is translated by Greek students as meaning the forward pass. Then too, football was played in England for centuries despite the decrees of kings against it as being too mild for the rugged training of soldiers. It was brought to America by the colonists, who, in their hearty English manner gave it new p-opularity. The first Monday of the fall term at both Harvard and Yale came to be known as Bloody Monday, because it signified the start -of the football season. Even the most modern of sports games, golf, dates back to somewhere in the fourteenth century, with both Scotland and Holland lighting for the honor of having fostered this exciting game. Fenc- ing, which is like golf in that it promotes wonderful balance, rhythm, co-ordination and precision, must have begun as a sport in the early ll-L'I'l-:E iI...lI'l'lil-Q

Page 15 text:

Like most primitive people, who are in close league with nature, these Indians personify everything, not literally everything, but all things that have in some way a connection with their everyday life. This is easily illustrated by the simplicity of the names of their dances in such cases as the Rainbow, the Corn, the Fire, the Eagle, and the Doll dances. The symbolic idea that seems present in nearly all of their dances is the desire to please their gods. The dances are justly named by their significance, for example, the Rainbow Dance is a dance to please the Rain God. If it rains within a reasonable period of time after the dance, the Rain God was undoubtedly pleased. On the other hand, if it should not rain, the god was evidently not pleased, and the entire performance must be repeated. Two of the outstanding dances that are the most sacred to the Hopi, and that involve the most elaborate preparations, are the Bean Planting Ceremony and the traditional Snake Dance. The latter is a sixteen day ceremony of constant activity, during which hundreds of snakes are used. Rattlesnakes are used as frequently as any others. A feature of notable importance in the Hopi dances is the fantastic masks worn by the participants. These masks are somewhat terrifying to look upon, for they have huge snouts, bulging eyes, and sharp horns. Great care is taken of the masks, for they have been handed down from one generation to the next. A mask that is used today might just as well have been used three hundred years ago. Another important part of the dance that takes several days of preparation is the feast. This alone draws all of the neighboring tribes that can walk, ride, or crawl. Considering the fact that the participants fast the entire closing day of the dance, it is still amaz- ing the amount of food they gorge themselves with. When the dance is over, the dancers have first privilege and upon having had their fill, they stagger away to sleep. Immediately following their removal from the scene, the members of the visiting tribes proceed to consume the rest of the feast. White visitors to these tribal affairs are not forbidden, but the question is whether or not a trip across the hot, broiling desert from the nearest outpost of the white man, to a still hotter mesa, to witness a terrific exertion of human energy is worth it. I think it is . . . -I-I-42 i4Il'l'L-.!-QI3

Page 17 text:

16th century although it had been taught as a means of warfare for countless centuries. There is hardly any sport that possesses as long and as distin- guished a lineage as tennis. Truly, The Game of Kings, it was played enthusiastically by members of the French aristocracy. Even Napoleon himself in his leisure moments played tennis, as did his conqueror the Duke of Wellington. I would surely have liked to see the two play each other. Despite its popularity its origin baffles research. Some of the old abbeys in southern Europe seem to have had courtyards laid out as if for tennis. Some people even connect it with the game of handball that Mausicaa, the daughter of King Alcinous, played with her hand maidens. But such theories are far fetched and can be accepted with almost every type of game played with a racquet and ball. What would you do if you were an athletic instructor at a Y.M.C.A. College and between the baseball and football seasons your young men were nearly bored to death? You'd invent a new game for them to play, wouldn't you? That's what Dr. james Naesmith did. He called it basketball. In inventing this new sport the doctor used many of the elementary principles of football. Then he rigged up baskets, evolved a system of dribbling and passing the sphere from one player to another to get the ball into a safe shooting position. This became so popular a game at the school that soon after, schools all over the country began to play it. So we see that organized competitive play has developed into necessity for our social world. It is th-ought by many that sports competition on an international basis is one of the best guarantees of progressive civilization. - They sit there on the yellow benches With their tired, yellow faces. The train sways, tilting with its speed And slides along the slippery tracks. Above, the tinted ads are looked upon By rows of solemn yellow faces. George Bogin 'Vii-IE iliII'l'L1ldl5