Student of the Game

People love a scapegoat. In the wake of Liverpool's failed title chase in 2013-14, many fans and pundits pointed to their captain's infamous gaffe in their match against Chelsea as the reason for their demise. He's been blamed nearly exclusively ever since, by both friend and enemy alike. History and psychology, however, would recommend against that approach.

Sometimes thing happen in sports that look highly questionable, and sometimes those things happen at the most pivotal moment possible. In Fall 2005, Matt Leinart scored a game-winning touchdown that initially seemed fine, but upon further review, it became clear that he'd gotten some significant (and at the time illegal) help. In this new segment, we look at how and why calls like this don't get made, and how it impacts the way the view sports.

From 2008 to 2011, the Phillies enjoyed one of the most fruitful periods in their franchise's history, and their pitching staff was largely responsible. In this Team Building Exercise, we look back at how the Phillies built their dominant rotation, and how the famed "Four Aces" came together for a memorably dominant 2011 season. 

Athletic Bilbao has maintained a Basque-only policy for recruitment for decades. That stance, however, got pushed to its limits when the club wanted to sign French (read: not Basque) starlet Aymeric Laporte.  This episode of SotG explores the baffling, ambiguous dance that Laporte and the policy have done around each other over the years, and what it can tell us about what it really means to be "from" somewhere. 

This episode will make you want to twist and shout for sure. In an SotG first, we venture across the pond to talk to Dr. Simon Warner about music, soccer, and the deepest roots of England's biggest rivalry. And we provide a theory of how with music, no matter how deep the divide between fanbases, ultimately, we can work it out (get it?). 

Dr. Warner's Paper: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14660970.2011.530468

YouTube videos incorporated:

Luis Suarez Your Teeth are Offside - Misha Cherchinyan

Harry Kane Chant - The12thMan

"You only sing when you're winning" - BVB Borussia Dortmund Manchester City CL 2012 Fans - Borrusen.TV

Hate is a strong word, but we still use it for sports teams! In this inaugural episode, SotG interviews Dr. Joe Cobbs, a sports marketing professor at Northern Kentucky who's at the forefront of rivalry research and theory. And while you may think you know why you don't like that one team, this episode may convince you that there's actually a lot more to it. 

You have a team that you love dearly....which also means you probably have a team that you hate. Season one of SotG looks into the history and mechanics of the most important and entertaining rivalries in sports.