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“Yyou play to win the game,” Herm Edwards, a former NFL coach, once learned his wisdom. In sports, the ring is the object – and if not then it is a medal, trophy or other decorative object that fills with history and prestige of the competition. quests make their lives and identities.
“You’re used to seeing a winning moment and picking up a trophy or a medal,” said Vikki Tobak, author. is a cultural critic. “You realize that they’re proxies for this way of being great and being great at what you do — and that’s something that we as humans understand in all things and genres.”
A new exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History at new Yorkcoming to the World Cup, it wants to give fans the connection they’ve been missing. Called For the Win, it showcases a selection of rings, trophies, medals and jewelry spanning nearly 150 years of US sports history. Highlights range from the 1877 NYPD Medal of Valor (whose interlocking N and Y are said to have inspired the New York Yankees logo), to one of Jesse Owens’ four gold medals from the 1936 Berlin Games, to WNBA star Breanna Stewart’s 2024-winner of the diamond tournament who also designed a diamond ring – earrings.
Success photography, most recently for the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks, and other secret charms – such as pearl necklace Outfielder Joc Pederson made a spectacular appearance at the Atlanta Braves’ 2021 World Series game – complete the show. Hardcore fans are concerned about how John McEnroe’s 1983 Wimbledon trophy will look next to velociraptor skull they can stop their anger, knowing that the exhibition is kept in a museum dedicated to gems and minerals to emphasize the art and creativity of each individual piece.
“If you think about a museum, these are things from the past – a time that people want to remember or learn about,” said Rich Kleinman, a senior consultant on the project. “These cups, rings and medals are antiques alike. They fit together very well.”
Curator is one of the roles that Kleinman has come across as a long-time collaborator and friend of Kevin Durant, carefully selecting his hard-earned rewards to hang around the NBA star’s various homes without diminishing his hunger for more. “The mentality of an athlete is this: ‘I’m not going to sit here and show off my greatness while I’m still in the lab working every day to get better,’ Kleinman explains. “But they understand the importance of keeping things. You see NBA players swapping jerseys early in their careers. But I don’t think anyone really sees the opportunity.”
Kleinman hadn’t considered getting into the museum game until he met Tobak at the 2024 American Museum of Natural History exhibit he called. Very Colda celebration of hip-hop jewelry based on him book of the same name. There he shared the idea of the next exhibition in New York nominally playing host to a World Cup that will marry sports legends with New York swagger and showcase the science-driven work of the museum.
Once the For the Win plan was established, the next challenge was to find enough food for the trophies. Durant lent his 2024 Olympic gold medal and 2017 NBA ring, but not all awards are easily distinguished. Some, like the Heisman Trophy – the sacred weapon that became a small part in the murder case of OJ Simpson – almost never stopped. Some get through but are fiercely defended in their own way by the champions and then, in the case of the NHL’s Stanley Cup, reclaimed. (Teams and players receive small notes as souvenirs.)
The World Cup – shrouded in their traditions, beliefs and national history – is already here. visiting the US before the race, I’m blocking the show. Even so, fans who find it can get closer to football’s greatest prize: the current version of the competition exists because the original was. he was kidnapped and never recovered – the history it wants a strong line of defense.
Before joining the show, the New York Liberty’s 2024 WNBA championship sat on proud display inside the locker room, reinforcing the standard. And there are statues that disappear altogether, like Owens’ gold medal, which disappeared for years before ruining the history of the the highest price ever paid for a piece of Olympic memorabilia on sale.
“What’s interesting is that they carry dinosaur bones and rare insects in the museum,” says Tobak, meaning they keep the things they borrow. But even a good record in the archives was not enough to prevent women’s boxing champion Claressa Shields, from handing over her 2019 middleweight championship belt – whose steel is tied. just they planned to enter the basement for precious stones and minerals, although the museum could not confirm that the belt was real metal. “He just wanted to understand the size of where the piece was going to be,” Tobak said.
Around the corner from Hall of MeteoritesFor Win’s theater is kept close to darkness, while the old things are bathed in their heavenly streams of light. The sense of aura in the room is undeniable, but fans who are used to seeing these precious objects amid a shower of confetti or tear-stained cheeks may at first have a hard time appreciating the display.
Close in, though, and you’ll soon appreciate the evolution of sports awards — the volatility of World Series championships versus decorated World Series rings and Olympic medals with real heft (unlike recent crops). “The smaller races still had players’ fingers on them, so we had to light them in a way that wasn’t visible,” says Tobak. “But it was good because it made me feel human.”
As part of its World Cup celebrations, the Natural History Museum is also creating an all-ages area, games and viewing parties. Some may find the promise of ruckus to be welcome from the show itself; for others, experiencing an empty game can change the way they view the game. By divorcing the popularity and the events of the competition from the arena – even the famous arenas where the sport respects itself – For Win shows the obvious: idiots dressed in candy-colored clothes who chase the glory of bling, a pursuit that feels futile when opposed to the size of the meteor. In the end, it’s all things that money can buy, or power can purloinif the gain in itself was not valuable.
“Again, that’s what they stand for: winning, being successful,” Tobak says. “It’s very American. Just because you’ve won a gold medal doesn’t mean you’ve won. That’s why I say that sports culture is pop culture – it brings out the best that we as humans can achieve, and these symbols will outlast all of us.”
