On Olympians, Gladiators, and Quarterbacks—The Idealization of Athletes during a Civilization's Decay

Or why John Glubb is Right

Sports are incredibly important. The greatest of athletes demonstrate not only the peak perfection of Man’s body in motion but also demonstrate the power of Man’s mind, of the ability to maintain peak performance and absolute composure when the foulest and, even worse, truthful of insult is dished out. In this era of debates over words being literal violence, athletes not only withstand literal physical assaults as a matter of professional expectation but millions of verbal ones as well from coaches, teammates, opponents, fans on both sides of the stadium—in all manner of medium. Yet, the Greats among these Forged Few, these Chosen Champions, consistently score that knockout blow a la Ali, that game-winning drive a la Jordan, and that Super Bowl-winning pass a la Brady.

Through primacy of their physique, through totality of will, through the primarily objective nature of their profession, these Champions remain one of the last unvarnished examples of excellence in modern life. John Glubb says that at the end of a Civilization’s life Athletic Champions always rise to the status of Hero, the Olympian of Greece, the Gladiator of Rome, the Charioteer of Constantinople, the Quarterback of America. Why? I don’t think its a merely a locked-in historical inevitability but—by the time the end times come—Athletic Champions are the only members of an elite discharging their duties with courage, competence, and, often, destructive accountability. An accurate bellwether? We shall see. [1] [2]]

-MARKADONYUS

[1] As a civilization’s people become less acquainted with physical activity and violence their fascination with viewing physical and violent feats only increases. The famed Colosseum of Rome was built near the peak of the Roman Empire when the vast majority of all the territory it would ever hold was already conquered. When the bulk of the population had already seized serving as citizen soldiers for hundreds of years. It is no accident that as most Americans have become less physically capable the fasciation with a hyper physically capable elite has only grown. In sheer popularity, we have seen the transition away from the relative rigidity of Boxing to the more visually violent Mixed Martial Arts—just as less and less people encounter physical violence in their daily lives. In athletes across all sports, we have seen massive increases in power and speed just as the bulk of the population has become weaker and slower—in all capacities.