The Colosseum is iconic in Rome. Thousands of years old, parts
of it are still standing.
The Colosseum is an amphitheater—a name that actually comes
from Greek. It is unique in that is was freestanding and permanent—made of
stone and concrete. Amphitheaters before the Colosseum were made out of weaker
material, like wood. These structures would sometimes break under the weight of
spectators. The Colosseum could fit over 50,000 spectators, who sat circled
around the arena by social class.
We know the gist of what happened in the Colosseum, so I’m
not going to go into that. (But did you guys know they probably did mock naval
battles, too? I just recently learned that.)
But here is my comparison.
We have a Colosseum of sorts. It is built (a bit differently) with strong
material to withstand the weight of fans. It seats over 50,000 spectators who
sit by class (well, kind of . . . students v. non-students) in a big circle
around the action. Many of us may have spent our Friday night in it watching
competition.
And that’s where I will stop the comparison between the
Colosseum and the LaVell Edwards Stadium.
I’m not one for gore and violence so in my research I
skimmed/skipped the parts outlining the details of Colosseum events. I don’t
like watching violence. Watching football players battle it out is about my
violence limit. I’m glad we no longer have bloodbaths and fight-’til-the-death
spectacles.
I think one final connection (though this is probably more
universal) is that we as humans enjoy entertainment. For the Romans, it was
gladiators. For us, it’s football.
It’s competition (a concept we talked about with the Greeks
too). And we like it.
I’m just glad our competition is more friendly.
Maren, I agree with you about the more friendly competition we see today. When it comes down to it though, I wonder if the reason why we do have sports like rugby and football is because we have the same blood lust that the Romans did?
ReplyDeleteI love the comment about social class! I've also noticed an interesting phenomenon about the class system within the student section. The last few games I've arrived late, and have thus been relegated to the nosebleeds. I've made an interesting discovery; people are less excited about the game up there! You'll see people who actually sit down most of the game! I think that's an interesting commentary on how we do class in America. Those sitting at the front are the ones who WANT it, the people who are camping out to get those coveted front-row seats. They put in the work, they get the rewards, and that is our ideal in America.
ReplyDeleteStadiums on game day definitely remind me of what the Colosseum must have felt like. I'm also just glad that the players all have the opportunity to play again in the next game, or at least watch from the sidelines.
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