This webpage has explored the ways through which young men at the University of Notre Dame play with masculinity on the basketball court. Ultimately, my findings are not entirely conclusive, which means that more research can be done and that the activity is complex. While it seems that what occurs on the court potentially affects individual prestige off the court, I also found that informants do not see the games as a "big deal" and that it is not part of "ordinary life." The social relations established and configured on the court do not extend past it's the spatial and temporal boundaries. One informant explained that "if you're really bad, no one cares, it's just that they're not gonna go out of their way to invite you to play or anything." But on the other hand, players are very much invested in their game and spend hours refining their skills and their ability to perform on the court. One informant explained that he "lifts (weights) so that (he) can play skins." The games provide young men the opportunity to display their body, and assert masculinity through this display. There is also variation in the games. For instance, there seems to be substantial ethnic segregation in the games. Further research is needed to explore the ways ethnicity and masculinity intersect with each other on the basketball court.
One recurring motif of the "Ritual, Sport, and Play" class for this website was created has been the paradox of the seriousness and non-seriousness of play. Like the Balinese cockfight, the Gisaro, and soccer hooliganism, the pickup basketball activity exhibits this paradox. It is very serious in that it is a space for the construction and assertion of masculine identity, yet still non-serious for it is viewed by the informants as just a game, as "something fun for after class." Something about this seems to make play meaningful and can speak to its universality as an essential component to the human condition.
One recurring motif of the "Ritual, Sport, and Play" class for this website was created has been the paradox of the seriousness and non-seriousness of play. Like the Balinese cockfight, the Gisaro, and soccer hooliganism, the pickup basketball activity exhibits this paradox. It is very serious in that it is a space for the construction and assertion of masculine identity, yet still non-serious for it is viewed by the informants as just a game, as "something fun for after class." Something about this seems to make play meaningful and can speak to its universality as an essential component to the human condition.