The Dunking Syndrome

Dunking is one of the most well known methods of scoring in basketball. It is often idealized for the amount of athleticism and/or natural abilities it takes to be achieved. This action, however, does not provide the team with an additional rewards other than the standard two points. A three point shot is defiantly cheered, and despite it's increased worth to the team, it is not praised or celebrated like dunking. So, why is dunking made out to be such a big deal? In a competition for the most impressive dunk, it is understandable for players to achieve the most skilled looking dunk. It is a time when an athlete can show of his skill, strength, and even intelligence without the pressure of an opposing team interfering. But, we live in a time when almost everything has been done already. There are not very many NEW ways to dunk a ball into a hoop, and most of the new ones are just re-configurations of past styles. An article posted on  ESPN's website made an interesting argument as to why dunk contests remain one of the most interesting completions in sports. According to them, the dunks are not the most interesting part of the show. Rather, it is everyone reactions to the dunks that make the contest so entertaining, The article even goes into details on how to create the best reactions before, during and after a dunk. Some include the pre-Dunk Freakout, The Dumbfounded Stare, The Shock and Terror, the Grabbing Those Nearby for Comfort, and many more. Dunking is basically like music at a party. The dance music isn't what makes the party awesome. Rather, it is one person seeing another reacting positively, and so they join in. After a while, people are only dancing, because they see other people dancing. The same is true for dunking. One person reacts strongly to an "Amazing" dunk, and so they do. It is now just in our culture to have that reaction when we lay our eyes upon a sweet slam dunk. I think this is true for many aspects of sports. Things that are impressive are blown up into a much bigger deal than they should be and we have just been conditioned to overreact. This reaction syndrome can also be seen when a quarterback is sacked. While it is impressive for a player to break through the defensive line, it does not define a players skill or lack thereof. I think it is something that everyone should look at in their every day life. Why do we enjoy the things that we do? Is it because everyone else "loves" them and we feel we should to due to the pressure our culture puts on fitting in? Or, is it because it something that we actually enjoy doing or watching? While credit is due to the talent of  others, we need to make sure that we are placing the right amount of praise on the actions of others and ourselves.