Inherited Fixation on Athletics in Elite Circles

There are things we learn in school that we overestimate the importance of, like knowing how to do specific math equations, or how to identify specific forms of writing; I think this goes for any school. At elite institutions, for example, we learn how to maintain both rigorous academic and athletic schedules, which is not something that we have to do once outside of these institutions. Both at Colby and at Everdeen, I’ve observed that students value their athletic achievements to the same degree that they do their academic achievements. But if many of us are never going to compete in professional circles, what are we exhausting ourselves for? 

Pierre Bourdieu, a sociological theorist, suggests that in each field, there are particular rules and expectations that agents are required to hold themselves to. It seems to me as if athletic participation is one of those unspoken rules. Everdeen goes as far as to regulate athletic participation; there is no way to be an Everdeen student without being an athlete. Students there cite the large role that sports play in creating community, but is it not true that other activities could also create bonds? I wonder if something else is going on here. 

Elites being elites, I wondered if sports served some convoluted role in class reproduction. Obviously team members at the same school will get to be close friends, reproducing their class through the social circles they create. Something that struck me was one of the interviewees, Violet, saying that she did sports, because she came from a very active family. There was no question in her mind as to whether or not she should involve herself in competitive sports programs at school. The focus on fitness is part of elite culture; it is passed down. I have come to think of it as part of the embodied cultural capital that elites inherit at birth. 

Something I had not thought of before was the role of competition between elite schools. Rivalries between schools often play out in sports games–the real indication of superiority. Reflecting on my own experience playing in the NESCAC, I got to know the people who I played against. This summer, someone who I played my first year walked into the store where I was working, and recognized me. Part of me is beginning to recognize these sports leagues at Colby and Everdeen as elite social networks that transcend school affiliation. If even something as normal as sports participation is used here to reinforce elite identity, is there any interaction between elites that doesn’t produce more eliteness? Does the cycle ever end???