Grano’s Book Could Lead New Scholarship

In his new book, Dr. Dan Grano examines the (un)holy relationship of sports and religion. As per the book description for, The Eternal Present of Sport: Rethinking Sport and Religion (Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 2017), Dr. Grano “rethinks the sport-religion relationship by positioning sport as a source of theological trouble. Focusing on bodies, time, movement, and memory, he demonstrates how negative theology can be practically and theoretically useful as a critique of elite televised sport.”

Among the topics Dr. Grano takes on: issues of transcendence, legacy, witnessing, and religious and social conflict.

“Elite sport is in a period of profound crisis,” the description concludes. “It is through the ideals Grano analyzes that we can imagine a radically alternative future for elite sport.”

Congratulations to Dr. Grano! His book, as one of his blurb writers states, “will have an immediate and significant impact on numerous literatures.” Sort of like a tackle, perhaps, or a one-two punch on old ways of thinking.