Evening star., 1926-10-12
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

Or it was the other way around.
Americans must take sides.
All those who predict the outcome
of sporting events, either for money
or for the love of the thing. thus un-
consciously take sides. The desire for
one man or one side to win over the
other man or side sways the subcon-
scious mind, as it were. There is
scarcely any other way to account for
the failure of the experts.
Y * v
With reflective minds 1t Is ever a
question whether the sporting world
| would not be the gamer If spectators
could regard the events in a more
philosophic frame of mind. The ella
| ton Of spirit which comes to one
when his selection wins is counter
balanced by the deep gloom that per-
| vades whole cities when the home
team loses.
Why should intelligent men, in
this day and age, allow themselves to
be made glad or the reverse by the
success or failure of nine men play
| ing a game off there hundreds of
miles away?
The answer is that sports. as we
know them, are not to be viewed
| from the standpoint of the intellect.
| but largely from the viewpoint of
| the emotions. They give safe and
| sane vent for the emotions of men,
once engaged in high hopes in con-
quest Of the border. now turned to
| less elemental things, sports, yet re-
| tanning distinctly elemental features.
Our inescapable conclusion must be
that the great vogue for sports is
natural, and good, and that it pro-
vides unconscious outlets for the
working of the human emotions,
which, too much repressed, are likely
to spring out in evil ways.
Perhaps America, with her accent
on athletics, is the wisest Nation in
the world today.
| 1t is the very charm OF the un-
known the unknown which the ''eX-
perts" try so hard to make knownD
! that intrigues us in watching a sport
| ing event, whether it be base ball,
| foot ball. speedboats, boxing, or what
| have you.
Ruth is at bat--will he knock a
home run? Why, Ruth himself doesn't
| know! He hopes so; so do all the
members of his team; so do all the
| Yank rooters, no matter where To-
Gated. The opposing pitcher fervently
| hopes he will not; so do all his team
| mates; so do all the supporters Of the
| Cards.
| Here we are, hundreds of miles
away, listening to the game being
| broadcast. Here we have our ears
pinned on sound coming to us across
| Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia
| Virginia, Maryland, the District of
| Columbia.
1t is the very voice Of fate, of
chance, the mysterious, the unknow-
able, whether the Babe will hit it or
not. There are too many factors in.
volved
| 1t suddenly strikes us as the
strangest thing in the world that we
should be sitting here, tense, eager for
the happening that is about to hap
| pen. If he hits it for a home run
| something in our nature will expand
We will turn to our companions, smile
broadly and say: did you hear the
crack of that bat? Alta boy, another
home rum If he is given a base on
| baus we will groan.
| And our elatiOn and our depres.
sion are largely unintelligible to us.
| We are the children of our age and
are playing with our latest scientific
! playthings, with Drawn, and skill and
the human mind working for our
amusement as Of old.
| They sat thus, with bated breaths
in the Roman arenas 1000 years ago
| But in this life. the turn of events
| shall hardly be known until the turn
cOO1aS