I would be remiss in leaving Alan Dundes’s “Into the Endzone for a Touchdown” out of this conversation. Psychoanalytical theory always merits a critical eye, but I do believe his stuff is worth a look.

Quote Originally Posted by TheCurmudgeon View Post
Thanks, this is right on target but dated. It came out in 1973 before the advent of evolutionary psychology (or at least before it became widely accepted).
I accept the reality of evolution and I accept the utility of the discipline of psychology. I look askance at most work carrying the evolutionary psych imprimatur, however.

Also not sure of his coding methods as he did not consider wrestling or bow and arrow compititions as being "combative" sports when conducted by simple socieites.
It’s a difficult line to draw. Buzkashi is unambiguously a combative sport, as is rugby. I think Americans want to equate the presence of contact and weapons with combativeness. But does that mean chess, a war game, is not combative? And is biathlon combative simply because firearms are part of the sport?