Our ancestors believed that sports were a gift of the gods--that they were potent rituals, which, if performed correctly, would placate unseen powers, honor departed heroes, or improve the harvests.This book explores this inner dimension of sports, drawing from mythology, the history of religion, observations on popular culture, and a wonderful array of anecdotes about the world's most accomplished athletes.
" Playing in the Zone is most entertaining in bringing together descriptions offered by professional athletes such as Bill Russell, Billie Jean King, and Pelé of their playing experiences. But Cooper also synthesizes an astonishing array of psychological and historical research into the playing of sports, and successfully demonstrates that most criticism of sports is not aimed at the inner essence of sports but at the surrounding society of which it is part. Playing in the Zone goes a long way towards a deeper comprehension of the diverse meanings of sports, and hopefully will inspire more explorations into this under-researched dimension of our lives."--Michael Emerson, Independent Publisher
