More Hum
Funny. My post around Clemens (sounds like a clinging vine), got me thinking about sports. I've always been a casual fan. When someone accuses me of being a fair weather fan my eyes go glassy. In the "Of course, but I'm talking to an idiot" way. Teams change players more often than dubya' changes socks. Where's the loyalty? It's like modern corporations with no more pensions or job security because faceless stockholders are more important getting all upset because employees aren't as loyal as they were when treated as humans.
So, I'm a casual fan. I go to a game once in a while for the fun of it, and could care less about memorizing records or standings. It's fun to listen to someone with that knowledge, so I have no spur to prick my interest in memorizing them. I got to think of professional athletes, and how some people gravitate towards those with a reputation for being unsportsmanlike. Clemens is baseball's current poster boy, as was Cobb a while back. My uncle had a reputation in racing of making Andretti appear to be a squeaky clean sportsman beyond approach, rather than the dangerous dirty trickster reputation he had without someone like Uncle Spence on the track. It's an attitude where winning is more important than the rules everyone agrees to follow. Then, I asked myself if admiring clean players was really more admirable, and why?
It is as easy as it is insincere to simply write off my lack of appreciation for people like Clemens to the same thing which makes me detest other liars and bullies, like our White House. Call in the real world bogey boys and the original thought is lost. Instead I'll challenge myself. How about the fact that I enjoy action movies and relate and enjoy characters like Bob Lee Swagger in Shooter. He plays outside the rules, ruthlessly. There is a definite line of demarcation in my mind involving power, corruption, and fighting for justice. It makes for a good story, but not something I'd do in real life. I cheered at the veepee character played by Ned Beatty getting blown away, while I wouldn't condone it in real life. There's an interesting philosophical thought.
Back to sports. Where do we draw the line of demarcation? It's entertainment, but what kind of entertainment? A place for heroes, or a place for plotters, liars and cheats of the sort which give reality tv it's seedy reputation and popularity? Should we look to Roger Clemens as a role model? Geesh that's like my other uncle who looked up to Robert Duvall's consigliore character in the Godfather as his real life role model. What do you tell your kid? I want you to pitch like Clemens, bat like A-Rod, run like OJ, just don't act like them. A pretty warped message. I don't think I'll figure it out here, and anyone who claims to is just saying they've found some comfy blinders.
I think I need to come to terms with sports as entertainment. I don't have much problem with separating actors' lives from their roles, while others extend their hate to the projects those actors are cast in. So every time I find professional athletics to be shallow and compromised, I'll have to remind myself that is the same silliness I see from others who hate movies or plays because of specific players.
I've got a nasty head cold going, and that is my excuse for being unclear. Now I need a more inclusive excuse. I sure hope this is the worst part of the cold. Unless I wake up mostly recovered, I'll stay home tomorrow. I hate doing it, but with various work and rehearsal things coming up I don't want to be a drag in the coming days.
So, I'm a casual fan. I go to a game once in a while for the fun of it, and could care less about memorizing records or standings. It's fun to listen to someone with that knowledge, so I have no spur to prick my interest in memorizing them. I got to think of professional athletes, and how some people gravitate towards those with a reputation for being unsportsmanlike. Clemens is baseball's current poster boy, as was Cobb a while back. My uncle had a reputation in racing of making Andretti appear to be a squeaky clean sportsman beyond approach, rather than the dangerous dirty trickster reputation he had without someone like Uncle Spence on the track. It's an attitude where winning is more important than the rules everyone agrees to follow. Then, I asked myself if admiring clean players was really more admirable, and why?
It is as easy as it is insincere to simply write off my lack of appreciation for people like Clemens to the same thing which makes me detest other liars and bullies, like our White House. Call in the real world bogey boys and the original thought is lost. Instead I'll challenge myself. How about the fact that I enjoy action movies and relate and enjoy characters like Bob Lee Swagger in Shooter. He plays outside the rules, ruthlessly. There is a definite line of demarcation in my mind involving power, corruption, and fighting for justice. It makes for a good story, but not something I'd do in real life. I cheered at the veepee character played by Ned Beatty getting blown away, while I wouldn't condone it in real life. There's an interesting philosophical thought.
Back to sports. Where do we draw the line of demarcation? It's entertainment, but what kind of entertainment? A place for heroes, or a place for plotters, liars and cheats of the sort which give reality tv it's seedy reputation and popularity? Should we look to Roger Clemens as a role model? Geesh that's like my other uncle who looked up to Robert Duvall's consigliore character in the Godfather as his real life role model. What do you tell your kid? I want you to pitch like Clemens, bat like A-Rod, run like OJ, just don't act like them. A pretty warped message. I don't think I'll figure it out here, and anyone who claims to is just saying they've found some comfy blinders.
I think I need to come to terms with sports as entertainment. I don't have much problem with separating actors' lives from their roles, while others extend their hate to the projects those actors are cast in. So every time I find professional athletics to be shallow and compromised, I'll have to remind myself that is the same silliness I see from others who hate movies or plays because of specific players.
I've got a nasty head cold going, and that is my excuse for being unclear. Now I need a more inclusive excuse. I sure hope this is the worst part of the cold. Unless I wake up mostly recovered, I'll stay home tomorrow. I hate doing it, but with various work and rehearsal things coming up I don't want to be a drag in the coming days.
1 Comments:
That's a good approach. I scoff at people who get so tied up in their sports support and then remind myself that I've seen The Legendary Pink Dots play live about a dozen times. There's no reason for me to pick on someone's version of entertainment. Then again, I don't own every album by the band nor could I recite every lyric nor could I tell you what was going on in their personal lives that made them write a certain song. I'm prone to appreciation, but not to fandom.
I think another point about these athletes to remember is that they are all talented players. They really are. The problem is when the chips aren't falling their way and they get into trouble, then they show no qualms about playing dirty. Win at all costs and be admired for it. Not all star athletes are that way, but many of the heroes are.
Make no mistake about it, though, big sports is big entertainment and therefore, big business. They promote the myth of city pride and loyalty while doing everything in their power to exploit their monopoly and feed at the public trough. Seattle voters told the Sonics that they'd had enough, but that was a rare moment in the history of these franchises. After all, the Mariners got their stadium and so did the Seagulls (one lost the public vote and one won) - largely paid for by public subsidies, sweetheart deals, and tax breaks while the poor continue to be hungry, the freeways crumble, and the traffuck continues to build.
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