Navigating the Trials of Life through the Games we Love
October 9, 2023
“Sports are our new religion,” according to this muddled meditation. Documentary filmmaker Chopra (Walking Wisdom) reflects on his love of professional sports to illustrate how they have supplanted religion in fostering community and connecting “people to something larger than themselves.” As the Boston-born son of Indian immigrants (his father is bestseller Deepak Chopra), the author rooted for the Celtics, a pastime that “helped me feel like I belonged in America.” Chopra’s recollections of trailing famous athletes while shooting documentaries yield some fascinating insights into how they approach their profession, as when he discusses attending Tom Brady’s off-season training sessions while filming the 2021 docuseries Man in the Arena and notes how the quarterback worked tirelessly to fine-tune the accuracy of his passes by adjustments as minuscule as “frog hairs.” Unfortunately, the parallels Chopra draws between religion and sports are often superficial or flimsy, as when he suggests that attending the Daytona 500 counts as a pilgrimage and that LeBron James feeling “absolutely nothing” during a particularly impressive performance in a 2012 game was equivalent to spiritual “transcendence.” A few intriguing anecdotes aside, Chopra drops the ball on this one.
November 15, 2023
A celebration of sports as a vehicle for enlightenment, moral education, and spiritual satisfaction. The son of New Age pioneer Deepak Chopra, Gotham Chopra, an Emmy-winning filmmaker, admits to not having much in the way of connection with "classical religion." The author shares that mentality with most Americans, fewer than half of whom are church members, the number of believers growing even smaller among younger people. For Chopra, Sunday football on a soft couch beats sermons on a hard bench. "Sports inspire, taking on meanings far beyond the scoreboard," he writes, assisted by Levin. "Sports give us a place where we can see dreams come true. They help us heal. They show us how to get the absolute most out of our talents." It's a reasonable point, but the author belabors it in these pages. Commendably, the range of athlete profiles extends well beyond the usual male football, baseball, and basketball stalwarts. One of the most affecting stories concerns Paralympic track star Scout Bassett, who had a leg amputated as a child; after receiving an artificial limb, she found remarkable success--but not without considerable pain and difficulty, so much so that one of her transcendental moments was struggling to place third in an event. "Everybody always thinks about the record-breaking moments or the gold medal moments, but for me, winning that bronze medal is one of the things that I'm the most proud of," she recalls. A better-known subject is Kobe Bryant, whom Chopra portrays as a seeker who was always trying to extend his understanding; another is Steph Curry, a traditional Christian who balked, initially, when Chopra told him, "Steph, when you take a three-pointer, you're praying." The author closes with a series of exercises to prompt reflection on what sports mean, what sorts of community they build, and the like. A thought-provoking pleasure for spiritually minded sports fans.
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Starred review from November 1, 2023
Gotham Chopra, cocreator of the popular podcast, Emmy Award-winning documentary series, and now book, Religion of Sports, delivers exactly what his numerous fans have come to expect: in-depth, knowledgeable coverage and analysis of all kinds of professional athletic endeavors. The son of legendary New Age alternative health guru Deepak Chopra, the author is known both for his insightful commentaries on sports as social construct and for his revelatory profiles of legendary superstars like Simone Biles, Tom Brady, Kobe Bryant, and Serena Williams. Using religion as a loose framework, Chopra is a terrific storyteller, weaving together accounts of unforgettable plays, championships, and upsets with excerpts from interviews and behind-the-scenes anecdotes. Through it all, he casts sports as the common bond that ties people together, whether experiencing that first initiation into superfandom (baptism), unquestioning loyalty to teams with terrible records (true believers), temporary setbacks (reformation), or GOATs (myths). From legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar to NASCAR champion Bill Elliott, and Katherine Switzer, who broke the gender barrier in the 1967 Boston Marathon, Chopra delivers fresh perspectives. This is an entertaining and thought-provoking offering sure to have wide audience appeal.
COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
December 1, 2023
Chopra, an Emmy Award-winning sports documentarian, and writer Levin, hypothesize that the process of becoming a superstar fan or player in a sport is similar to the process of conversion to a faith or religion. This book outlines and describes how nearly all the steps toward improvement and mastery in a sport are those that may also occur in a spiritual-type conversion. The comparison is fascinating, and among the book's chapters are "Baptism," "Transcendence," "Reformation," and "Afterlife." As the son of spiritualist Deepak Chopra, Gotham Chopra has many delightful personal experiences to share. He also recounts several interviews that led to personal friendships with some sports stars, including Tom Brady and Kobe Bryant. VERDICT Fans of most sports and readers of varied interests and levels of spirituality will find humor, insight, and wisdom in Chopra and Levin's book. It's very readable and highly recommended.--Steve Dixon
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