Opiate of the masses?

A very interesting interview with Chomsky about the role of sports in our society -- he argues (as does my lapsed-socialist friend Roddy) that interest in sports diverts energy from other areas over which we feel less control (e.g., politics, or a crummy job), teaches us about irrational loyalty, and is part of other social programming.

In fact, it’s hard to imagine anything that contributes more fundamentally to authoritarian attitudes than this does, in addition to the fact that it just engages a lot of intelligence and keeps people away from other things.

(via Medley)