David Macfarlane is a journalist, playwright and novelist. His family memoir, The Danger Tree, was described by Christopher Hitchens as “one of the finest and most intriguing miniature elegies that I have read in many a year.” Macfarlane’s novel, Summer Gone, was shortlisted for the Giller Prize. Based on The Danger Tree, “The Door You Came In,” a two-man show (co-written and performed with Douglas Cameron) has been produced, to acclaim, from St. John’s, Newfoundland, to Stratford, Ontario. Macfarlane lives in Toronto with his wife, the designer Janice Lindsay. In this interview, we discuss his latest book On Sports and the appeal of sports over time and across generations.
Greg: What inspired you to write a book about the spirit of sports?
David: It began with several conversations with Kyle Wyatt, editor of the Literary Review of Canada, about my writing a piece about baseball and baseball books for the LRC. I’d written sports stories before, for various magazines, and had usually enjoyed the experience. The story for LRC never came to be, for reasons that had more to do with my schedule than Kyle’s support. My fault. But I was disappointed. I realized that I was really looking forward to doing a sports story. And I suppose that led to thinking about sports more generally. The Biblioasis Field Notes series seemed a perfect home for the book that was taking shape in my imagination.
Greg: At its essence, what is a sport, and what is the appeal of sports?
David: Good question. For some reason my mind goes immediately to Shakespearean usage: “there was good sport at his making” etc. So, sport meaning sex, but not just sex. Good sex. Taking that as a starting point, I’ll say: sport is a game played for pleasure. And that can mean the pleasure of playing or the pleasure of watching a game well played. I don’t wish to offer too simple an answer to your very complex question, but I think the reason sports have such broad appeal is that they give us pleasure.
Greg: What is it about moving our bodies with some competitive end in mind (or watching others do so) that we find pleasing?
David: I think it’s as simple as amazement. Most people know the pleasure of improving. I’m not much of a guitar player, for instance, but I take pleasure in getting better. So when people are trying to be better, to be the best, in a sport—whether amateur or pro—we watch with amazement, partly because we understand the trajectory. And competition is how we find out who is best.
Greg: I think my purest moment of sports fandom was in my pre-teen years. I have changed a lot since then, as has my relationship with sports and the way sports are presented to me. Is it possible for any of us to go back to the relationship we had with sports in our youth?
David: I don’t think so. God knows we try. But I always cringe a little when I see a senior citizen going off to a Leafs game in his Auston Matthews jersey. Kind of like wearing a sleeveless t-shirt on a tennis court. After a certain age, men shouldn’t be allowed. But I do think the memory of the fandom you mention stays with us. And I think that memory is often what fuels a real (meaning informed) interest in a sport. Not to get too spiritual about it, but it must be like the way an older priest looks back on the intensity of his days as a devoted acolyte.
Greg: What are some ways sports have changed for the better in recent years?
David: Well, most generally, sports have improved because the athletes have. They’re bigger, stronger, faster, better coached, better trained. At their peak, the great Montreal Canadiens of the seventies—the era of stars such as Dryden, Lafleur, Gainey, Cournoyer—would be creamed by last year’s Florida Panthers. Serena Williams would clobber Virginia Wade.
And slightly less generally: I’d say sports have improved because, finally, female athletes, especially female pros, are getting the attention they deserve.
Greg: What most surprised you as you were researching and writing this book?
David: I was surprised to find how attached I am to sports—a subject I ignore more than a truly dedicated sports fan would. But once I started down the path of On Sports, I discovered the subject is very tied up with my sense of self. God knows why, but sports are important to me.
Check out David’s book On Sports for more on the appeal of sports through the ages. And for more interviews like this one, visit The KineSophy Library.