Men at Play

by Robidoux, Michael A.

• ISBN13: 9780773522206
• ISBN10: 0773522204
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-05-01
• Publisher: McGill Queens Univ

Summary

Players dedicate their lives to the goal of playing professional hockey and teams demand total commitment from their players, giving them complete control over almost all aspects of the players' lives. With the enormous labour turnover in the AHL and the surplus labour pool, players are extremely vulnerable: they must perform well or be replaced by the scores of other men willing to do the same job. With limited education and limited life skills, players seldom meet people who are not connected to the game and, when they do, they do so with trepidation. The constructed universe of the game consumes the players so that, in spite of any wealth they may accumulate, they often know nothing other than the game and have invested everything in an occupation where their services quickly become obsolete. Far from the sensational memoirs of those few players who make it to the top, Robidoux's Men at Play offers a bracing inside look at the dynamics of the fastest game on earth.

Author Biography

Michael A. Robidoux is assistant professor of kinesiology, The University of Lethbridge.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	vii
Introduction	3	(13)
Producing the ``Self'' in Professional Hockey	16	(16)
Repression, Incorporation, and Segregation: The Evolution of Sport in Canada	32	(18)
The Meaningful Universe of Professional Hockey: The Ethnography	50	(15)
The Game	65	(20)
The Practice on Off-Days	85	(15)
Entering into the Trade of Professional Hockey	100	(27)
Homogenizing Men in Professional Hockey	127	(24)
Power, Play, and Powerlessness	151	(37)
Conclusion	188	(7)
Appendix A Profiles	195	(3)
Appendix B Players' Salaries: Calculations for the 1999-2000 NHL Hockey Season	198	(1)
Notes	199	(10)
Bibliography	209	(10)
Index	219