rock-em sock-em sociologists

While it's all well and good to share one's goals and aspirations, there's  little upside to sharing one's actual dreams with friends and colleagues. Frankly, the subconscious is just too weird, random, and/or revealing. Nevertheless, in honor of tonight's Pacquiao-Mosley megafight, here's my recent boxing dream:

I'm checking email at my desk, when I read an invitation (I think it was from Dalton Conley, but I'm fuzzy on this) to appear on a Special Boxing Session at the American Sociological Association's 2011 annual meetings in Las Vegas. The invited participants would be me, Dalton Conley, Loic Wacquant and (... wait for it ...) Thomas "Hit Man" Hearns. After some introductory remarks, Professors Conley and Wacquant would spar for 15 minutes in an actual boxing ring, and then I would fight Mr. Hearns in a three-round "exhibition" (no, there was no mention of a discussant, but that would be fun -- maybe Bert Sugar).  I immediately replied "yes" and then, milliseconds later, felt a wave of regret, wondering why they get to spar with each other and I had to fight the real boxer.

I've never been a boxer, but I once entered the ring against a real fighter in my mid-teens. Everything moved much faster than I anticipated. The punches came quick as flashbulbs and I was too slow to land a punch, avoid one, or even get my arms in position to defend myself. It was an intense and humbling experience, but I'm glad I had the adventure.

What's the dream mean? Well, it arrived the very night of a seminar discussion of Professor Wacquant's work, so that's an obvious trigger. The appearance of Mr. Hearns is more of a mystery, though I especially admired his work. His combination of a wicked-long reach and booming right hand were almost unfair -- his punches would unfurl across the ring and land with prodigious force. Since Mr. Hearns' epic battle with Marvin Hagler is most memorable to me, perhaps I'm challenging myself to be as tough and talented as the marvelous one. Or maybe I'm just conflicted about the attraction/repulsion I feel toward boxing ... and professional meetings.