Ohio State Football as a Religion?

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As the sunrises over the crisp fall horizon, followers begin to surround the sacred space in anticipation for what is about to take place. The sacred space is soon surrounded by people who are dressed in the sacred colors, some wearing necklaces of their totem, while others wear headdresses that adorn with their sacred symbol. People begin to drink, play music, and prepare a banquet feast for each other, creating a festival atmosphere in hope that today’s ritual will be a success. As the ritual gets set to begin followers begin to crowd into the sacred space, surrounded with pictures and names of those who have reached greatness. As the ritual begins, music is played in order to bring everyone together and prepare for the events that are about to unfold. It is now that the followers have a very simple focus, to aid in the success of the ritual. Those who celebrate the ritual take there places in the middle of the sacred space, with the followers surrounding them; now that the ritual has begun the celebrants begin to perform and focus on certain actions in order connect themselves with the transcendent sacred. The followers who look on begin to aid by chanting, allowing themselves to also transcend. In hopes that the ritual was a success, everyone does their part until the last second of the ritual is completed, it is only then that it can be decided if the ritual was a success and they can either celebrate or grieve by signing in their most sacred song, bonding them once again with each other. What is described above may very well seem like a rite that could be celebrated in some traditions of religion. However, it is arguably, what essentially happens at an Ohio State Football game on nearly every Saturday in Columbus, ... ... middle of paper ... ... Sacred and The Profane: The Nature of Religion. New York: Harvest Books, 1968. Print. Hoffman, Shirl J.. Sport and Religion. Champaign, ILHuman Kinetics Publishers: Human Kinetics Publishers, 1992. Print Hoover, Stewart M. and Lynn Schofield Clark, Eds. Practicing Religion in the Age of Media (Columbus, 2002) Lundby, Knut ed. Mediatization: Concept, Changes, Consequences (Peter Lang, 2009) Partridge, Christopher. The Reenchantment of the West: Alternative Spiritualities, Sacralization, Popular Culture, and Occulture (2005) Prebish, Charles S. Religion and Sport: The Meeting of Sacred and Profane (Contributions to the Study of Popular Culture). Westport: Greenwood Press, 1993. Print. Xifra, Jordi. "Soccer, civil religion, and public relations: Devotional–promotional communication and Barcelona Football Club." Public Relations Review 34.2 (2008), 192-198.

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