The Spirit of Play: Fun and Freedom in the Professional Age of Sport.

In Johan Huizinga's most prolific study of play, Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play Element in Culture he states that for play to be considered authentic, genuine and real it must be fun, free, spontaneous and creative. Huizinga believed that play ought to be separate from ordinary and real life with the outcomes of play baring little to no consequences beyond the play contest (1950, 7–13). While Huizinga acknowledged that play could be utterly absorbing it should only be serious within the contest itself and not thereafter. Yet given the serious, structured, commercialised nature of the professional sports industry how can Huizinga's discussion of play be useful today? This paper will highlight that even in the professional world of sport, Huizinga's play characteristics still have an important role to play in ensuring professional athletes and teams can reach their full potential. Indeed, the confrontation between Huizinga and professional sport leads us to re-think Huizinga's account of play. Using the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) as a case study, this paper will highlight how making the club environment and playing the game as fun and free as possible assisted the Tigers in winning their first AFL Premiership for 37 years in 2017. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]