Stick and Puck
By Michael Conti
• From the time of the ancient Greeks to present day, sports function as a “safe” form of stylized warfare with rules and boundaries.
• Hockey is the only sport where the game is stopped to let the players duke it out with bare knuckles.
• I think there must be a primitive human need for conflict, as old as the need for art.
• To play, to compete, to dominate, to perform, to watch.
• This gladiator culture takes its toll.
• Just as in theater, the audience experiences a cathartic release during the contest.
• Fans bask in reflected glory and feel the pain of defeat.
• For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
• As the demographic changes, the narrative shifts.
• The most interesting thing to me about sports are the stories; on the ice and off the ice.
• Ambition. Desire. Myth. Masculine. Feminine. Conflict. Narrative. Strength. Frailty. Cause. Effect. Adrenaline. Grace.