I know that necessity is the mother of invention. I would also suggest that boredom plays a significant role. I’m not sure that anyone changed the world because they had nothing else to do, but given our current situation, it’s an interesting theory.
Both of those constructs are in play as some of my old college friends are dealing with the possibility that the Boston Marathon could be cancelled. Now it’s already been delayed from its original April 20 date to September 14. But there is obvious concern that holding an event like the Boston Marathon that brings tens of thousands of runners together in close proximity – not to mention the throngs of fans crowded along the route – is likely implausible in September barring some kind of medical miracle.
Which means that one friend who qualified for the race will have to figure out what to do with all that perspiration and aspiration. Fortunately, over the course of a two-hour Zoom get together, we’ve come up with a solution. On September 14, he will get on a treadmill and place a couple of iPhone cameras in view – one on him, and one on the treadmill dashboard. We’ve convinced another person in the group to do the same, and we’ll stagger their starts so it might end in something of a sprint finish. And of course, a couple of us will do play-by-play (or step by step, I suppose) and turn this into something of a sports broadcast, all done on Zoom, aired live on Facebook.
That’s the plan at least, which seems to have a reasonably good chance of coming to fruition. And as awful as running 26.2 miles on a stationary device for the viewing please of others may sound, oddly enough, it’s about the most exciting thing we’ve got going right about now.
Our idea is in no way unique. There’s already been a whole lot of virtual endurance events, everything from online cycling races to digital triathlons to ultramarathons aired online. One ultramarathon ran for over 60 hours on Zoom, live from people’s basements and neighborhoods. Beyond endurance sports, kids have been posting videos of juggling soccer balls, shooting three-pointers, and pretty much any other athletic skill set that can be taped and quantified, limited only by the imagination of club coaches across the country. So while pretty much every sporting event has been cancelled, there’s still a whole lot of live sports happening, just one person at a time.
Personally, I haven’t yet signed up for anything virtual. I’m fully aware that there’s almost no chance I’ll do an actual triathlon this summer, as I usually do. I’m guessing no 5K’s in the fall either, depending on how this all goes down. Which has made it a bit more difficult to stay motivated to ride a stationary bicycle in the basement these days. I have taken to Les Mills online fitness videos, even though the thought of group workouts used to make me cringe. Now, it’s pretty much the most human interaction I get.
I do not believe that virtual sport will fully replace real sport. At least I hope it doesn’t. Part of the appeal of doing a triathlon isn’t simply to get a better time or finish closer to the top, especially as I recognize the impact of aging. It’s racing with and against fellow human beings, actual people that you then slap on the back at the finish line and go grab some Gatorade together while talking about how it went. And typically thanking them for making you go faster because you were going back and forth. That’s the appeal of real, live endurance sports, which might seem like a solitary activity, but really is all about comradery. I’m not entirely sure if that translates over an Internet connection, as much as we’re all trying.
Of course, this all gets to the heart of why we do sports in the first place. It might be about competition, but in the end, it’s rarely about winning and losing. And it’s even less about the sport itself, or the machinery of its constitution. Those things – running, throwing, whatever – those are simply tools to get us to the good stuff. In the end, we play sports, or at least we should play sports, because it’s perhaps one of the most communal activities we have. Where we work with teammates and opponents towards a common goal, one built on physical proximity and a specific social contract. That is the joy of sport – and why you love your rivals nearly as much as your own teammates. And why perhaps Zoom sports, even against other people, just might not mean the same.
Which is why 26.2 miles in a basement might not be the same as 26.2 in Boston.
Keith Strudler is the director of the School of Communication and Media at Montclair State University. You can follow him on twitter at @KeithStrudler
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