"The reason men like sports so much is because it is the manly way to
be intimate in our society.  Is the NFL a cure for a man's fear of
intimacy?"

Is there anything out there on the web to support or deny this?  I'm
not looking for a written paper, just some research...thx.

---

Clarification of Question by statestraveller-ga on 03 Oct 2004 19:10 PDT

Pink, would you please post your responses thus far to this question
as an answer, so you can get paid?  I ended up buying both the book
and one of the articles you recommended, and came up with a good
essay.  I'll be posting a question shortly in the homework help
section on The Faerie Queene if you're interested - I believe it falls
within one of your many areas of expertise...

I am delighted to have been able to help! Thanks for accepting my
suggestions as your answer. I've reposted the links below.

Canadian Journal of Sociology Online: Review of "The Rites of Men:
Manhood, Politics, and the Culture of Sport"
http://www.ualberta.ca/~cjscopy/reviews/rites.html

Abstract from Caliber: "The Sanctity of Sunday Football: Why Men Love Sports"
http://caliber.ucpress.net/doi/abs/10.1525/ctx.2003.2.4.13

Abstract from Journal of Consumer Psychology: "Gendered Behavior in a
Male Preserve: Role Playing at ESPN Zone" Chicago
http://www.leaonline.com/doi/abs/10.1207/s15327663jcp1401&2_17

Normally I would post my Google search strategy, but it has been
several weeks since I did the searching, and I honestly cannot
remember which combinations of search terms yielded the most promising
results.

I'm going to have to pass on "The Faerie Queen." I graduated from
college 35 years ago, and all I remember about Spenser is that I
couldn't stand him. ;-)

Best regards,
pinkfreud

Here's a description of a book that might interest you:

http://www.ualberta.ca/~cjscopy/reviews/rites.html

Thanks, Pinkfreud.  Your comments/answers to my questions are always
insightful.  Is there any more along these lines on the web?

This sounds good, but it's not free. Perhaps you could find this
article in a library:

http://caliber.ucpress.net/doi/abs/10.1525/ctx.2003.2.4.13

Another article that isn't free, but might be useful:

http://www.leaonline.com/doi/abs/10.1207/s15327663jcp1401&2_17