{"407811":{"#nid":"407811","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Demise of Sports Dynasties Often Widely Celebrated","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.hts.gatech.edu\/people\/faculty\/smith_1\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EJohnny Smith\u003C\/a\u003E, assistant professor for the \u003Cstrong\u003ESchool of History, Technology, and Society\u003C\/strong\u003E and the undergraduate advisor for the Sports, Society, and Technology (SST) program, discussed the phenomenon of sports dynasties and how fans celebrate their downfall.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESpecifically, the controversy surrounding partially deflated footballs, the New England Patriots, and Tom Brady has fans relishing in their demise. After Tom Brady went from being an undesirable player to multimillionaire, he became viewed as the epitome of sucess.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cHe\u2019s no longer the underdog, no longer the golden boy,\u0022 said Dr. Smith. He\u2019s the boy with all the advantages.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhat Brady wasn\u2019t considered until recently was a breaker of rules, unlike the team he plays for.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cEver since Spygate, fans from outside New England have looked at Bill Belichick and the Patriots with suspicion,\u201d said Smith. \u201cThey\u2019re always looking for an advantage, not only bending the rules but breaking the rules.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFrom a fan\u0027s perspective, having a team with a perfectly clean record can become dull.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cGoing into 1974 there were columnists who said that there were other coaches who were tired of Wooden being held up as a paragon, being on a pedestal,\u201d said Smith, who wrote a book about the UCLA dynasty. \u201cThe game had become boring.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESmith is an historian of the twentieth century United States, specializing in race, sports, and popular culture. He teaches a range of courses, including: American History since 1877; History of Sports in America; Boxing, Race, and American Culture; and a seminar on Sports and Modern America.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.hts.gatech.edu\/people\/faculty\/smith_1\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EJohnny Smith\u003C\/a\u003E, assistant professor for the \u003Cstrong\u003ESchool of History, Technology, and Society\u003C\/strong\u003E and the undergraduate advisor for the Sports, Society, and Technology (SST) program, discussed the phenomenon of sports dynasties and how fans celebrate their downfall.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Johnny Smith, assistant professor for the School of History, Technology, and Society and the undergraduate advisor for the Sports, Society, and Technology (SST) program, discussed the phenomenon of sports dynasties."}],"uid":"27498","created_gmt":"2015-05-28 11:07:11","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:18:21","author":"Rachel Miles","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2015-05-28T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2015-05-28T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"416751":{"id":"416751","type":"image","title":"Johnny Smith","body":null,"created":"1449254258","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 18:37:38","changed":"1475895155","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:52:35","alt":"Johnny Smith","file":{"fid":"202560","name":"johnsmithweb_1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/johnsmithweb_1_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/johnsmithweb_1_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":6610,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/johnsmithweb_1_0.jpg?itok=p2NgIegl"}}},"media_ids":["416751"],"groups":[{"id":"1288","name":"School of History and Sociology"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"167014","name":"Sports"},{"id":"169032","name":"sports and technology"},{"id":"169033","name":"sports dynasties"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohnny Smith\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404-385-0244\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:john.smith@hts.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejohn.smith@hts.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["john.smith@hts.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}