This book is a unique volume that brings a variety of psychoanalytic perspectives to the study of sport. It highlights the importance of sports for different individuals and how the function and use of sports can be brought into the consulting room. "This wonderful book is a gift to us all. The editors have done a superb job of bringing together a collection of articles on a fascinating and much neglected topic that are as informative as they are delightful. By exploring the psychological aspects of sports, this book breaks new ground and does so in a way that enriches our understanding of both fields. For sports enthusiasts and all those in the mental health field who have an interest in sports, this is a book to savor and enjoy." - Theodore Jacobs M.D., Training and Supervising Analyst, New York Psychoanalytic Institute "At long last, psychoanalysts take a serious and respectful look at sports and sports devotees, both as participants and fans. This long overdue book, authored by sophisticated and experienced psychoanalysts acknowledges sports (play?) as an integral part of life, and a bellwether for understanding gender assembly, group and mob dynamics, and, above all, passion-that irrational impulse that makes our lives meaningful. As contemporary psychoanalytic inquiries tend to do, it conflates the teller with the tale so one also gets a glimpse of the authors' own experience in sports. It is an original, readable and informative volume and I would heartily recommend it to colleagues and a general audience alike. - Edgar Levenson, M.D., Fellow Emeritus, Training; Supervisory Analyst and Faculty, William Alanson White Institute "In a refreshing move outside the consulting room, Hirsch, Blumberg, and Watson invite us to contemplate the dynamic element embedded in the physical-and the observing of the physical. Essays written by eminent male and female analysts ask us to consider sports from an analytic point of entrée: What do sports do for us? Why do we play? Why do we watch and cheer? Engaging for the avid player, fan and those not involved with sports at all, this book addresses the intersection of psychodynamics and the passionate involvements we use to get away from our ordinary selves." -Joyce Slochower, Ph.D., Adjunct Professor of Psychology and Supervisor,NYU Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis