What are Athletics for?

By Jeremy Richter

I’ve been asking myself that question for a long time. At my cliché public high school, they were the ultimate sign of status. Playing a Fall, Winter, and Spring sport virtually assured you a spot in the upper echelon of jocks and competitors. Yet there was always a kind of unrealness to it—a perception, at least in my mind, that sports were played almost exclusively for that very purpose. Sure, the health benefits, teamwork, and mindset skills that they taught were appreciated by many, but the “final cause” of athletics always seemed to lie on the social ladder. When I played high school tennis and competed on our mock trial team, I saw this firsthand. There was a kind of veneer to sports, just as there was with many other things our high school did, that thinly concealed jockeying for who could “get ahead” the furthest. Honestly, it was exhausting and something I could never bring myself to fully partake in.

Now at the end of my Freshman year at St. John’s, my experience with the Crew Team, Tennis Club, and Intramurals has been different. These present a collective effort to grow in mind and body without the rigors of a popularity competition. Here, everyone who seeks this growth has practically limitless options. From ping pong and pre-seminar badminton to pick-up volleyball and Kunai, opportunities to play for fun are positively abundant. Some go so far as to consider athletics an integral part of our program here—as fundamental to what we do as Plato and Ptolemey. 

That assertion is one I’ve spent a lot of time considering throughout the year. As a novice rower on our Crew Team, I first felt like one of Odysseus’ doomed rowers during his wanderings across Hellas and the Mediterranean. Then I became one of Socrates’ guardians of the city, learning the gymnastic art in conjunction with the musical and philosophical practices cherished by the program. During second semester, I was striving towards the virtuous man outlined in Aristotle’s Ethics—seeking bravery and glory without becoming rash or vain. Reflecting on these images while rowing and playing other sports this year, I’ve come to view athletics as an expression of the “spirited” part of my tripartite soul. I think that an expression of this spiritedness is important to living a free and examined life. This expression goes far beyond a desire to win or be the best, although I won’t deny how important those are for me. Rather, I see athletics as a positive expression of my nature, and I’m grateful to St. John’s for facilitating that expression in so many ways.

I’m especially encouraged by how many Johnnies get into new sports. Ours is largely a school of nerds who did not play many sports during high school and, either implicitly or explicitly, rejected the hyper-competitive environment that they fostered. But here, there’s nothing wrong with walking onto a soccer field having hardly kicked a ball or—as I know all too well—joining crew having never even touched a shell. And the immense progress that people make in sports they’ve never played is testament to the quality of the athletic program and our character as Johnnies who aren’t afraid of trying new and uncomfortable things. 

At most colleges, sports are spectator-dominated. Only a select few are on the football, basketball, or baseball teams. The rest of the student body, including many high school athletes, must be content to sit and watch. Too often, club-level athletics and intramurals are difficult to find or poorly attended. In the long run, this sedentary lifestyle atrophies the vigor and strength of youth. But at St. John’s, the ease of playing sports, coupled with a philosophical understanding of their value, has set me up for a lifetime of fitness and a commitment to this crucial form of self-expression.