ABSTRACT

In Johan Huizinga’s most prolific study of play, Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play Element in Culture he states that for play to be considered authentic, genuine and real it must be fun, free, spontaneous and creative. Huizinga believed that play ought to be separate from ordinary and real life with the outcomes of play baring little to no consequences beyond the play contest (1950, 7–13). While Huizinga acknowledged that play could be utterly absorbing it should only be serious within the contest itself and not thereafter.

Yet given the serious, structured, commercialised nature of the professional sports industry how can Huizinga’s discussion of play be useful today?

This paper will highlight that even in the professional world of sport, Huizinga’s play characteristics still have an important role to play in ensuring professional athletes and teams can reach their full potential. Indeed, the confrontation between Huizinga and professional sport leads us to re-think Huizinga’s account of play. Using the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) as a case study, this paper will highlight how making the club environment and playing the game as fun and free as possible assisted the Tigers in winning their first AFL Premiership for 37 years in 2017.

摘要

在 Johan Huizinga 最多产的游戏研究《Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play Element in Culture》中，他指出游戏要被认为是真实的、真实的和真实的，它必须是有趣的、自由的、自发的和创造性的。Huizinga 认为游戏应该与普通和现实生活分开，游戏的结果除了游戏竞赛之外几乎没有后果（1950, 7-13）。虽然 Huizinga 承认比赛可以完全吸引人，但它应该只在比赛本身而不是之后才是严肃的。

然而，鉴于职业体育产业严肃、结构化、商业化的性质，Huizinga 对比赛的讨论如何在今天有用？

本文将强调，即使在职业体育界，Huizinga 的比赛特点在确保职业运动员和团队充分发挥潜力方面仍然发挥着重要作用。事实上，Huizinga 与职业运动之间的对抗让我们重新思考了 Huizinga 对比赛的描述。本文以澳大利亚橄榄球联盟 (AFL) 的里士满足球俱乐部为案例研究，重点介绍如何使俱乐部环境和比赛尽可能有趣和免费，帮助老虎队赢得了 37 年来的首个 AFL 超级联赛冠军。 2017 年。