ABSTRACT
In the 1984 Olympics, the Women's marathon was won easily by Joan Benoit, but many of the 90,000 who witnessed the final lap were more impressed and absorbed by one contestant who finished far back from the leaders. This Danish runner entered the Coliseum in visible pain, staggering, obviously weakened and possibly delirious. The analogy between Yeats' airman and the Danish runner is undoubtedly overly melodramatic yet in other arenas and at other times the stories of both are repeated manyfold in the daily lives of the audience. Sociologists have often played the role of foreigner in literary and artistic analysis. An analysis of sports as a cultural object seeks to find the meanings of the action itself as perceived by its audiences. Sociologists have used the concept of 'role' as a way of designating the expectations, duties, and privileges that accrue to the holder of a position in the social organization.
