45 Reasons to Support The Allrounder

By now, most of you must know that I’m co-founding and co-editing a new online forum for thoughtful observers of sport: The Allrounder. If so, you also know that to raise funds for our launch and first year of operation, we’re in the midst of a Kickstarter campaign that will run until May 20. We are asking for $55,000 in donations. As usual for Kickstarter, if we don’t get it all, we get nothing. And if we get nothing, the world doesn’t get The Allrounder. So the stakes are high. Over the next month I’ll be using Between the Lines to hector, harass, badger, cajole, coax, persuade, boss, plead, beg, wheedle, entice, sweet-talk and otherwise try to force my readers and friends to kick in a few bucks to help us go live. If everybody does just a little bit, we can make it.
In case you’re already convinced: go to our Kickstarter page now.
Today, I offer a visual indicator of the caliber of content we’ll be running: a virtual library of selected works written by those who’ve already signed on to contribute their thoughtful, accessible perspectives, from a broad range of disciplinary angles, on the whole world of sport and its attendant culture. They are not just intelligent and informed thinkers, but superb storytellers eager to share their work with other scholars and, especially with a broader audience. How great would it be to have a single, free place online where you could go to read brief, accessible essays on topical issues in sports culture around the globe by the world’s leading sports culture intellectuals? So peep this dazzling array and, if you care about sport and its role in shaping our world, you will surely feel as I do, that this is an exciting venture worthy of your support as well as that of your friends.
To make things easier, as you peruse the titles below, clicking on any of the book cover images will take you to our Kickstarter page.

4
Amy Bass
Not the Triumph but the Struggle
The 1968 Olympics and the Making of the Black Athlete

8
N. Jeremi Duru
Advancing the Ball:
Race, Reformation, and the Quest for Equal Coaching Opportunity in the NFL

21
Peter Millward
The Global Football League:
Transnational Networks, Social Movements and Sport in the New Media Age

33
Christopher Gaffney
Temples of the Earthbound Gods:
Stadiums in the Cultural Landscapes of Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires

38
Brett Hutchins
Sport Beyond Television:
The Internet, Digital Media and the Rise of Networked Media Sport

41
Travis Vogan
Keepers of the Flame:
NFL Films, Pro Football, and the Rise of Sports Media in America