The Characterization in Sports

In all sports there are "superstars". Athletes that are well known for their talents on the field, court, etc. The Lebron James' and the Aaron Rodgers' are both known as the leaders and superstars of their respective teams. Earlier this week, we took notes in class on characterization where it was defined as: the process of conveying info about characters in fiction. But if I were to connect characterization to sports I think that the definition would be changed a little bit and say: the process of conveying information about athletes based on their talents.

In the notes I collected from class, we defined words such as; round and flat characters, dynamic and static characters, and direct and indirect characterization. As related to sports I think these same words apply also. But I really just want to focus on two of those 6 above: round and flat characters.

Usually the round characters are the superstars. Everyone knows everything about them. We as spectators know how many points per game they average or even how many yards per game they throw for. An example of a round character would be Lebron James who has been a phenomenon of the media since he was in high school. Now 10-12 years later, he's considered by many NBA greats and analysts as the best player in the game right now.

The flat characters can be compared to those of the bench players. Nobody really knows who they are, except that they are on the team. For instance, I'm sure nobody has truly heard of Brian Scalabrine. He was drafted in 2001 by the New Jersey Nets in the 2nd round. He won a NBA championship in 2008 sitting on the bench with the Celtics. To be honest, I didn't even know what team he was drafted by or where he went to college until I 'Googled' him while writing this blog, therefore proving my point that he can be considered a flat character because little detail/information is really known about him.