To the many halls, chambers, nooks and crannies of historical experience there is no single theoretical password. For some rooms, one says "Marx" and the door swings open. For others, one says "Weber" or "Durkheim" or "Freud". For some, the magic name seems to be "Elias". This, at least, has been my experience. The reference to my own experience is intentional. Although positivistic social science frowns upon the use of personal pronouns, it is salutary to recall a remark by Henry David Thoreau: "We commonly do not remember that it is, after all, always the first person that is speaking." In this introductory section of my four-part essay, I shall comment on the role that Norbert Elias and other theorists have played in my own research in sports studies.