IN A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN - MENTAL LEVELING AND THE CREATION OF SOCIALCOMPARABILITY IN SPORT

Social measurement involves comparison across highly varying subjects, possible only when a degree of similarity is perceived among disparat e events. Assuming sport as a prototype, this paper argues that such c omparability derives from a three-pronged process of mental leveling. By (1) matching opponents according to characteristics thought to infl uence the object or trait in question, (2) standardizing their perform ances, and (3) scaling the resulting competitive leagues against one a nother leveling yields a stratified meaning system through which indiv idual performances can be ranked. This examination reveals that creati ng comparability among discrete objects is not without its price; the same mental gridwork that secures comparability within leagues preclud es comparison across them, leading to a stratified system whose classe s are separated by formidable mental and institutional boundaries. Thi s point becomes particularly salient when one considers the invocation of this model in realms other than sport.