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WORK TITLE: The Arena
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: https://www.rafikohan.com/
CITY: New York
STATE: NY
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:
https://www.rafikohan.com/about/
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Male.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Editor and author.
AVOCATIONS:Ivy grooming.
WRITINGS
Deputy editor of New York Observer; head of editorial of the Atlantic. Contributor to periodicals, including Rolling Stone, GQ, Town & Country, Wall Street Journal, and Men’s Journal.
SIDELIGHTS
Rafi Kohan has built a career for himself within the journalism industry. He has contributed writing to numerous periodicals, including Rolling Stone, GQ, Wall Street Journal, Men’s Journal, and others. Kohan is affiliated with the Atlantic, where he is the editorial leader.
The Arena: Inside the Tailgating, Ticket-Scalping, Mascot-Racing, Dubiously Funded, and Possibly Haunted Monuments of American Sport focuses on one of Kohan’s other interests: American stadiums. The book involves Kohan taking a national tour to some of the country’s largest and most famous stadiums. Each visit brings Kohan in the midst of events or otherwise presents him with the opportunity to get to know the relationship between each stadium and its home city. In the process of traveling, Kohan uncovers each stadium’s history and how deeply intertwined these edifices are with American culture, as well as information regarding some of the more unsavoury elements surrounding these stadiums.
One of the very first stadiums Kohan pays a visit to is Lambeau Field, which is situated in Green Bay, Wisconsin and is home to the Green Bay Packers. It is there that Kohan recites the special Lambeau Oath and begins delving into stadium culture firsthand. Some of the stadiums Kohan visits have darker histories than others. For instance, the Superdome became a site of horror during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, when it was used to temporarily house tens of thousands of displaced residents. While the Superdome was unable to escape Katrina unscathed, it eventually became a symbol of hope. Kohan takes the time to speak directly with New Orleans residents who took shelter in the Superdome during this period about what they witnessed and endured, while also recounting how the city’s involvement in the football industry helped to rejuvenate morale. Other stadiums, such as those in Cleveland and Boston, were notorious for the presence of scalpers.
Kohan expounds upon the history and culture of ticket scalping alongside his discussion of stadiums and sports. Many areas witnessed an ebb and flow in this type of activity. Cleveland, in particular, witnessed an increase in scalping during Lebron James’s career. Boston, however, saw their scalping activity fall to a standstill once the Red Sox won the World Series championship. Kohan also touches upon the impact of technology and the modern era upon the scalping world.
Kohan also discusses several other cultural and societal elements in relation to sporting stadiums, including governmental involvement in funding the creation of these structures. City governments actively use stadiums as leverage in order to evade their tax debts. Stadiums are built and renovated expressly because they cost more to create than they actually earn from year to year. At the same time, Kohan pays close attention to their mark on society not just through their architecture, but also in how they affect the citizens who visit and maintain them. Kohan speaks with an assortment of stadium staff for their opinion on their home arenas, from refreshment staff to groundskeepers to entertainers. Booklist reviewer Mark Levine remarked that Kohan’s “account is comprehensive, accurate, and often quite funny.” In an issue of Kirkus Reviews, one writer commented: “Kohan brings the modern sporting arena to life in this fine exploration of the ‘corners of American stadiums that aren’t necessarily hidden but are almost assuredly unseen.'” One Publishers Weekly contributor said: “[Kohan] has created an immersive, informative work that will delight and enlighten a wide range of readers.” Richard Horan, a writer in an issue of the Christian Science Journal, stated: “You’ll have to read those for yourself to understand why this book as a reflection of who we are ‘as individuals, as cities, and as a society’ really hits it out of the ballpark!”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, July 1, 2017, Mark Levine, review of The Arena: Inside the Tailgating, Ticket-Scalping, Mascot-Racing, Dubiously Funded, and Possibly Haunted Monuments of American Sport, p. 10.
Christian Science Monitor, August 8, 2017, Richard Horan, “‘The Arena’ explores America’s stadiums and their relation to the national character.”
Kirkus Reviews, June 1, 2017, review of The Arena.
Publishers Weekly, May 8, 2017, review of The Arena, p. 52.
ONLINE
Rafi Kohan Website, https://www.rafikohan.com (February 9, 2018), author profile.
Rafi Kohan is a writer and editor, and an amateur ivy groomer. Currently, he works at The Atlantic, as the head of editorial for the magazine's creative marketing studio. Formerly, he served as deputy editor at New York Observer, and has written for GQ, Men's Journal, Wall Street Journal, Town & Country, Rolling Stone, and more. He lives in New York City and deeply misses the old Yankee Stadium.
He can be contacted at:
Email: rlkohan@gmail.com
Twitter: @rafi_kohan
Agent: David Patterson, Stuart Krichevsky Literary Agency: dp@skagency.com
The Arena: Inside the Tailgating, TicketScalping,
Mascot-Racing, Dubiously
Funded, and Possibly Haunted Monuments
of American Sport
Mark Levine
Booklist.
113.21 (July 1, 2017): p10.
COPYRIGHT 2017 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
Full Text:
The Arena: Inside the Tailgating, Ticket-Scalping, Mascot-Racing, Dubiously Funded, and Possibly
Haunted Monuments of American Sport.
By Rafi Kohan.
Aug. 2017. 416p. illus. Norton/Liveright, $27.95 (9781631491276). 796.
Kohan has mixed feelings about today's sports stadiums and the culture that has grown up around them. On
one hand, as the subtitle indicates, he is charmed by the antics that go on inside and outside the stadiums,
particularly the older ones. Yet he is chagrined by the destructive financial manipulations, at all levels--
professional, collegiate, and Olympic--that drive the construction of newer, municipally funded stadiums.
The book is at its most entertaining when Kohan gets into such matters as the arcane dealings of ticketscalpers
in Boston (where the Red Sox' long-sought World Series win killed the scalping business) and
Cleveland (where Lebron James' return was an unprecedented boon). His discussion of the various forms of
turf found in today's stadiums is also fascinating, as is the surprisingly detailed analysis of all things
nonathletic involving stadiums, from the vending industry through flyovers. The text is at its most
horrifying in its descriptions of what happened in the New Orleans Superdome after Hurricane Katrina.
Kohan is overly fond of footnotes, which break up the narrative flow, but his account is comprehensive,
accurate, and often quite funny.--Mark Levine
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Levine, Mark. "The Arena: Inside the Tailgating, Ticket-Scalping, Mascot-Racing, Dubiously Funded, and
Possibly Haunted Monuments of American Sport." Booklist, 1 July 2017, p. 10. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A499862644/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=cf8d7eb3.
Accessed 28 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A499862644
1/28/2018 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1517181034018 2/4
Kohan, Rafi: THE ARENA
Kirkus Reviews.
(June 1, 2017):
COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Kohan, Rafi THE ARENA Liveright/Norton (Adult Nonfiction) $27.95 8, 8 ISBN: 978-1-63149-127-6
An inside look at the secular cathedrals where we hold our sporting masses--and celebrate with unrepentant
excess.In this highly compelling book, New York Observer contributing editor Kohan deeply explores the
myriad facets of the places where our sports teams play their games. Part history and sociology, part
ethnography, and part journalism--sometimes straight shoe-leather, sometimes participatory, and oftentimes
a little bit gonzo--the book features many of the behind-the-scenes questions you have always had and a few
that you never considered. What is it like to be a stadium mascot or the halftime entertainment? Or a
groundskeeper--and where do they get that turf? How does ticket scalping work in the age of the internet?
What happens to a stadium that falls out of use or that never really fulfills its promise to begin with? And
how do they deal with all that food and beer? Kohan is an entertaining tour guide, and while his reporting is
top-notch, he also takes a deep dive into the literature on stadiums from antiquity to the present. He loves
sport but is no fan of stadium boondoggles. He respects the military but wonders about the justification for
the increasing amount of jingoistic paeans to the military on game days. His travels took him to stadiums
and arenas across the country, from sparkling new gems to old classics like the Big House in Ann Arbor or
Wrigley Field in Chicago. The author embedded himself with grounds crews and supervisors, working folks
and management, making the most of the impressive access he was granted at facilities across the country.
Each chapter takes a kaleidoscopic look at its topic, with the author effectively merging ground-level and
bird's-eye views. Kohan brings the modern sporting arena to life in this fine exploration of the "corners of
American stadiums that aren't necessarily hidden but are almost assuredly unseen."
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Kohan, Rafi: THE ARENA." Kirkus Reviews, 1 June 2017. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A493329114/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=c0f494c7.
Accessed 28 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A493329114
1/28/2018 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1517181034018 3/4
The Arena: Inside the Tailgating, Ticket
Scalping, Mascot-Racing, Dubiously
Funded, and Possibly Haunted Monuments
of American Sport
Publishers Weekly.
264.19 (May 8, 2017): p52.
COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
The Arena: Inside the Tailgating, Ticket Scalping, Mascot-Racing, Dubiously Funded, and Possibly
Haunted Monuments of American Sport Rafi Kohan. Liveright, $27.95 (416p) ISBN 9781-63149-127-6
Kohan, a contributing editor at the New York Observer, delivers an addictive, detailed look at the lives of
sports arenas--how these increasingly elaborate structures are funded, how they're maintained, and the kinds
of tailgating and sideshow events that take place in and around them. Kohan is a lively, funny writer who
eschews theory for experience, venturing to the stadiums themselves and tagging along with the people who
give these places life. At the Green Bay Packers' venerable Lambeau Field, he takes the Lambeau Oath and
swears to "drink Wisconsin beers until the cooler is empty"; he nervously assists a chair-stacking acrobat
during a halftime performance at a Rutgers University basketball game; and he helps construct the
Prudential Center's ice just before a New Jersey Devils game. Throughout, Kohan exhibits a genuine desire
to learn more about even the most overlooked of arena workers, such as Raymond Smith, who used the
Louisiana Superdome for sanctuary during Hurricane Katrina and now sells beer there. Kohan's curiosity
and empathy are infectious as he demonstrates how human this corporate aspect of sports can be. He has
created an immersive, informative work that will delight and enlighten a wide range of readers. (July)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"The Arena: Inside the Tailgating, Ticket Scalping, Mascot-Racing, Dubiously Funded, and Possibly
Haunted Monuments of American Sport." Publishers Weekly, 8 May 2017, p. 52. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A491949122/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=07c59f0e.
Accessed 28 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A491949122
'The Arena' explores America's stadiums and their relation to the national character
Richard Horan
The Christian Science Monitor. (Aug. 8, 2017): Arts and Entertainment:
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 The Christian Science Publishing Society
http://www.csmonitor.com/About/The-Monitor-difference
Listen
Full Text:
Byline: Richard Horan
Oath of the Lambeau Virgin: "I, Rafi Kohan, do solemnly swear to uphold the standards of Packer Nation, to worship at the hallowed ground that is Lambeau, to honor and cherish the players and coaches that came before, to lose my voice at every game I attend, to wear cheese as an accessory ... so help me God...."
That's author Kohan, ever the good sport, being inaugurated by the over-served mayor of Lambeau Field into an American institution that has best been described by another author as "a kind of secular faith."
On the following football Sunday, down in Arlington, Tex. at AT&T Stadium, the Dallas Cowboys' new home - aka "Jerry's World," "The Eighth Wonder of the World," and "the humming cash factory" - there's Kohan again, eyes boggling, watching as the DJs, live bands, pyro shows, drumming teams, go-go dancers, and hyper-choreographed cheerleader routines that serve as an ever-jangling set of shiny keys treat the crowd like kittens with ADD" inside a three-million-square-foot, futuristic stadium with "sixty-yard-long center-hung video boards that weigh more than a million pounds and draw eyeballs like moths to a flame."
These are just a couple of the arenas - "the concrete monuments and fluid social spaces" - that author Kohan visited in his quest to discover perhaps the purest embodiment of American exceptionalism there is. And just like the intent of every venue he visits, The Arena is fun.
It's fun because of the author's wit and style - a kind of gonzo/embedded journalism hybrid, as seen here, in Kohan's interactions with Roses, a Cleveland ticket scalper. "'This is cutthroat, man,' [Roses] says, slurring his words, inches from my ear. 'This is about who's eating good, who's drinking good, and who's sleeping on the street...' I nod along ... [then he] slides his knife along my back, holds it there. He is giving off a last-grizzly-before-winter sort of vibe, desperate. But I know he's telling the truth."
It's fun because of the cast of crazies we meet, like "Sladek, who at fifty-seven billed himself as 'America's oldest daredevil acrobatic hand balancer' ... [and] began his act, known as the Tower of Chairs. On top of a folding table placed at center court, he methodically balanced six wooden chairs, one after another, end on end, climbing spindles all the way to the top." Or Brad Collins, the Kansas City Royals' mascot: "He bemoans the effect technology has had on his craft, on crowd work. 'It has ruined improv humor for mascots. The performance art in the stands is done. Anytime you start a gag, you have people come up and pull your tail, just trying to take a picture.'"
But most importantly it's fun because it is, metaphorically speaking, a circus mirror reflection of who we are as a nation "psychologically, economically, politically, culturally, historically."
It is, also, a bit of a sprawl. We look from every angle and every vantage point, human as well as structural, at this most American of subjects: from luxury suites to bathrooms, from menacing ticket scalpers to OCD groundskeepers, from conniving club owners to out-of-control fans. Nothing and no one is left out or avoided in this sedulously researched, hands-on (Kohan worked as Sladek's assistant during a Rutgers men's basketball game, lifting chairs on poles to the daredevil), up-close-and-personal account of his visits to the arenas and the people who care about and for them.
Of Wrigley Field's renovations (Wrigley is one of the two ballparks still around having been built of permanent steel and concrete into urban neighborhoods early in the last century), "a five-phase overhaul that will effectively leave the Cubs with an all-new building, right down to the concrete and steel," Kohan wonders how one "safeguards a ballpark's soul?" Yeah, that's the big question, the Cubs' president agrees.
As for the new Yankee Stadium ... Kohan deeply misses the old stadium.
In the chapter entitled "Super Subsidize Me," Kohan explains how government subsidies work to the advantage of the owners: "The Tax Reform Act ... [had] a loophole ... that actually encouraged cities to strike deals that were less favorable, in order to still qualify for tax-free borrowing.... [T]he loophole essentially forces 'cities to fund only facilities that were guaranteed money losers.'" People aren't getting their money's worth, although some studies prove that being a sports fan has some benefits, "including higher self-esteem and fewer feelings of depression and loneliness." Yet other studies prove that watching sports can increase aggression.
Kohan does not avoid the taboo, either. At Penn State, he snoops around, inquiring and observing the effects of the Jerry Sandusky scandal on Happy Valley ("the stands today - on homecoming, no less - are far from full"). In New Orleans, he interviews survivors of the horrors that occurred at the Superdome during Hurricane Katrina, where, for five agonizing days, 16,000 people existed in hellish conditions, some victims of rape and even murder, but more egregiously all casualties of the failure of the US government to expeditiously respond. The Superdome reopened in 2006, and the Saints came marching in, winning a Super Bowl in 2010 and selling out their season tickets every year since then.
As for the "extremely loud and incredibly gross" fans in the stands... well, you'll have to read those for yourself to understand why this book as a reflection of who we are "as individuals, as cities, and as a society" really hits it out of the ballpark!
Richard Horan is an award-winning author of two novels: "Life in the Rainbow" and "Goose Music," and two non-fiction books: "Seeds" and "Harvest."
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Horan, Richard. "'The Arena' explores America's stadiums and their relation to the national character." Christian Science Monitor, 8 Aug. 2017. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A500126733/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=f7214bb8. Accessed 28 Jan. 2018.