The ancient
Greeks had a word for ‘excellence’ that was very special to them: arete (said ah-ree-tee). One fellow, Dr. Mike Greenberg, describes it in
these words:
The idea of arete in
Greek philosophy is one that is difficult to translate for modern audiences. In
simple terms, it could be translated as excellence or superior virtue. . .
. For mankind, arete was
the pinnacle of virtue and achievement. Whether it was strength in battle or
loyalty to one’s spouse, arete was
associated with being at one’s best. But someone would not be a person of arete just through a few
favorable actions. True arete came
from a lifetime of excellence in all areas of life. . . . A single act of
virtue was not enough to be a person of excellence, but rather a lifetime of
achievement was needed. In early Greek philosophy particularly, only the most
truly exceptional people were described as having arete. These people were thought
to have reached their full potential. Their bodies, minds, and souls were as
close to perfect as was possible. The idea of excellence also depended on who
or what it was being applied to. The heroes were men of arete for their courage,
strength, and devotion to the gods, while Penelope was a woman of arete for her unwavering
devotion to Odysseus. . . . In all these cases, arete was achieved by
fulfilling a purpose and ideal not just once, but over the course of a
lifetime.
Dixie has
always been a place with a
special reverence for the classical inheritance of the ancient Greeks and
Romans. It is no great surprise, then,
that such a fiery passion for football has grown up here at the South. It represents, in part, our own desire for arete,
for excellence – in the conditioning and shaping of the body, in valor, in
skillful coaching, in overcoming adversity; in cheering, in loyalty, in
mascots, in the gameday cooking; and so on.
Southern arete
on the football field is unmistakable:
There can be little doubt that
college football in the 21st century has belonged to the West Division of the
SEC.
The Deep South’s corner of the
college football world has had a hand in a staggering 10 of the 23 national
titles given out since 2000—six for Alabama, three for LSU and one for Auburn. Each of the division’s other four members—Arkansas, Mississippi
State, Mississippi and Texas
A&M—has appeared in at least one New
Year’s Six-equivalent bowl game as well.
That’s what makes the statistic
shared by Josh Dubow of the Associated Press on Saturday evening so staggering: 2023 is the
first year since 2002 in which every SEC West team has incurred a loss before
October.
The division’s final remaining
unbeaten team, the No. 15 Rebels, lost 24-10 to the No. 13 Crimson Tide on
Saturday afternoon.
In 2002, the SEC West’s head coaches
included Nick Saban at LSU, future U.S. senator Tommy Tuberville at Auburn and
Dennis Franchione at Alabama. The Razorbacks won the division, but lost 30-3
to Georgia in the conference championship game.
But as we
are seeing with the rising
rates of criminality among athletes, from high school on up, athletic training
does not impart everything necessary for a virtuous life, which is the only
kind of life worth living:
With football action officially back, the NFL would love
nothing more than to sweep all the off-field issues of its players under the
rug and lure the focus of fans back to the gridiron. And frankly, after an
offseason full of mind-numbing Deflategate coverage, so would we.
However, if there was one thing Deflategate accomplished,
it was drawing the media’s attention away from the all the real legal
troubles NFL players ran into. And boy, was there a lot of that.
In 2015 alone, there have been 31 NFL players arrested,
including six instances of domestic violence, five DUIs, three guns/weapons
charges, and one shocking case of animal abuse, which featured former Falcons
linebacker Prince Shembo killing his
ex-girlfriend’s five-pound dog out of “self-defense.” Atlanta
released Shembo once the story broke, but now that he’s taken a plea deal, the
Falcons are considering bringing
him back. Keep in mind that when Shembo was a student at Notre
Dame, he also allegedly sexually
assaulted a student at nearby St. Mary’s College who killed
herself two weeks after the incident.
So, forgive us if we think that crime in the NFL hasn’t
quite gotten the coverage it’s deserved this year.
According to the USA Today database used
to create our interactive NFL Arrests topic,
132 NFL players have been arrested multiple times since 2000. Aldon Smith became
the latest player to add to his criminal record in late August, when he was
arrested on his third DUI charge.
While some of these are more serious than others, it’s
still difficult to comprehend why these millionaires would compromise their
lucrative careers by breaking the law multiple times. Then again, while the NFL
is worried about how inflated its balls are, many of these players go
unpunished by the league for their transgressions.
There is
something more that is needed to bring people to their fullest potential, to
the highest arete, the highest excellence. We find that intangible factor in religion,
particularly Christianity, and most particularly in the monks and nuns who have
given up everything earthly for the sake of union with God. Their striving for this spiritual arete
is even more arduous than the football player’s weekly practice routine. A recent Greek saint of the Orthodox Church, St. Joseph
the Hesychast, who reposed in 1959, offers a wonderful example:
. . .
The rest may
be read here
https://thehayride.com/2023/09/garlington-of-arete-football-and-monks/
Or here
https://identitydixie.com/2023/09/29/of-arete-football-and-monks/
--
Holy Ælfred the Great, King of England, South Patron, pray for us
sinners at the Souð, unworthy though we are!
Anathema to the Union!
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