I just don't get the overemphasis on sports - particularly on professional sports. I enjoy watching my kids play - I have a vested interest in them and I think it is a positive experience. However, people that shit their pants over professional sports - it makes no sense. It's a business, period. Although there are plenty of discussions on just about anything, I don't see people crap themselves over the performance of Target, for instance.
Scroll to the bottom of the page and look at the middle section which has a summary list of the 10 most commented news articles from the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Currently NINE[/b] out of the 10 most commented articles are about professional sports (right now, football/Browns). Not the economy, politics, the swine flu, the massive corruption probes going on locally, or unemployment.
And that is AS I WRITE THIS. You could be reading this thread next year and the top slots will be sports.
It makes no sense. None. It's grown men playing a game. Yeah, it may be entertaining, but it is not that important. It is guys throwing a ball around, paid so you will separate yourselves from your cash for tickets and merchandise. That's it. That's all there is to it. Nothing else.
Music is the same, but you don't see people crap themselves over the latest 50 Cent CD. Not like with sports.
Also, your last paragraph is so far off it is OUT OF THE BALLPARK.
Really? How so? I would challenge you to take a poll of every online news outlet in the United States and see what you come up with more articles and comments on - pro sports or music. Just for example, peep the Cleveland paper site I linked to. 9 out 10 top articles are about pro sports. The 10th is about a local mini-riot. None are music related.
Music is great. Sports are great. Get over it.
I don't believe I ever said they weren't. If I didn't like music (for instance) I wouldn't be here, and I certainly wouldn't have several thousand records sagging my floorboards.
If you scroll back up I said *over*emphasis. I might think pizza is the greatest food on the planet but I'm not going to place it ahead of, say, global financial meltdown as a prime concern.
and PS, I'm not advocating people not being able or allowed to talk about sports.
As with Nigerian cooking recipes or using enemas for fun and pleasure, I think people should be able to do or talk about whatever they want to (as long as its not infringing on other people's ability to do the same, or live life, etc.)
this is one of the lamest threads in months. dudes talking bout "sports are not important, what purpose do they serve? what about the economy? save the children!" sport (like music) are for consumption and entertainment. its a fun way to get together with people and rally around a similar interest. i love watching sports, i love being politically active, i love good food. why can't i be into all those things? playing a sport is one of the best ways to stay healthy. some of you guys sound foolish.
this is one of the lamest threads in months. dudes talking bout "sports are not important, what purpose do they serve? what about the economy? save the children!" sport (like music) are for consumption and entertainment. its a fun way to get together with people and rally around a similar interest. i love watching sports, i love being politically active, i love good food. why can't i be into all those things? playing a sport is one of the best ways to stay healthy. some of you guys sound foolish.
You guys are all missing the point.
It's the emphasis placed on sports, not that sports altogether are bad or useless.
So yes, you can be "into all those things."
My point was sports seems to dominate media and people's minds for some odd reason, above all other topics.
"bread and circuses." McDonalds and the NFL has the us by the balls. that being said i love watching "grown men hit things and run around". fun as hell to watch.
Sports and music both serve to bring people together through a common interest in seeing other people perform and display a unique set of talents.
Are atheletes overpaid? Maybe. Though, few people can do what they do. Is Kanye West overpaid? Maybe. Though, few people can do what he does.
They're both diversions. They take us away from our lives for a time, and allow us to follow the talents and exploits of others to remind us what human beings are capable of. Acts of speed and strength and coordination that seem to defy physical laws. Or, acts of beauty and insight that open our minds.
They give us collective memories and shared references that bond us as strangers- and that goes for whether I am discussing the seminal works of the John Coltrane quintet of the early 1960s, or the great Yankees teams of the 1990s.
Sports fans of a certain team can seemingly flock together and dress the same; so to can the fans of a certain musical artist or style of music. Red Sox fans wear red shirts and blue hats. Hip hop kids wear baggie jeans. Sometimes, they also wear Red Sox caps. Sometimes, Red Sox fans wear baggie jeans.
The late Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Earl Warren once said, "I always turn to the sports section first. The sports page records people's accomplishments; the front page has nothing but man's failures."
Yes, athlete's are flawed and human, and they fail. But, there are moments when they show us what we as human beings are capable of- things we otherwise might not be aware of. Just as great musicians do, just as great artists do, as great writers do, as great thinkers...
Sports and music both serve to bring people together through a common interest in seeing other people perform and display a unique set of talents.
Are atheletes overpaid? Maybe. Though, few people can do what they do. Is Kanye West overpaid? Maybe. Though, few people can do what he does.
They're both diversions. They take us away from our lives for a time, and allow us to follow the talents and exploits of others to remind us what human beings are capable of. Acts of speed and strength and coordination that seem to defy physical laws. Or, acts of beauty and insight that open our minds.
They give us collective memories and shared references that bond us as strangers- and that goes for whether I am discussing the seminal works of the John Coltrane quintet of the early 1960s, or the great Yankees teams of the 1990s.
Sports fans of a certain team can seemingly flock together and dress the same; so to can the fans of a certain musical artist or style of music. Red Sox fans wear red shirts and blue hats. Hip hop kids wear baggie jeans. Sometimes, they also wear Red Sox caps. Sometimes, Red Sox fans wear baggie jeans.
The late Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Earl Warren once said, "I always turn to the sports section first. The sports page records people's accomplishments; the front page has nothing but man's failures."
Yes, athlete's are flawed and human, and they fail. But, there are moments when they show us what we as human beings are capable of- things we otherwise might not be aware of. Just as great musicians do, just as great artists do, as great writers do, as great thinkers...
Yes. I would also add that they serve as an outlet for the sublimated urge to compete with other humans for territory and resources, both individually and as part of a social group.
I liked kitchenknight's response above. Three reflections on this subject: 1. Casual opportunities for brutality. Internet bulletin board chatter about sports seems to emphasize insult-heavy ???in-your-face??? smack downs. These attacks seem both more intense and more regular than record-related disses. Check the waxidermy Yankee???s thread. Perhaps this is because ???rival??? sports teams play each other very regularly (enough to keep ESPN and ESPN2 in business) and there is lots of ammunition for attacks. Perhaps Raiders fervor isn???t quite the same as Skye fervor. Perhaps the dialogue about sports at the national, sports radio, and water cooler levels is actually different discussion -- more competitive, zero sum, and numb to interpersonal insults. 2. Identification with a sports teams is lucrative kind of consumer identity. Like Saturn drivers who used to have picnics at the company factories, coca-cola drinkers who are ???exclusive??? with their beverage, macintosh zealots, and the Marlboro men, people???s choices of sports teams are communications about their identity. Lucrative to companies whose advertising is done for them by a passionate street team. Lucrative to people who create a shared community out of ritualized celebratory televised competition. That community is often more meaningful than their church, political party or even family. Sports on the strut offer a second (or seventh) layer of identity for people I don???t really know. 3. Soulstrut is similar. We're people whose community is largely about record collectors. For some folks, the sports interjections are intrusions into a rare space that is welcoming to discussion of obscure records. It is an intrusion that can only go one direction -- it is unlikely that a Giants discussion board would include a subthread about Giants fans who also collect 45s. Those fans would probably wait until the Giants had a streak and then post on the strut.
Since ya don't know me. I'm not a sports hater. On friday, I'll buy season tickets to my local "summer ball" baseball team. Go Crabs!
Perhaps the dialogue about sports at the national, sports radio, and water cooler levels is actually different discussion -- more competitive, zero sum, and numb to interpersonal insults.
This is all about using the computer as a "shield" that allows folks to say things that they would likely never say IRL.
If you spoke to a human face to face the way the conversation in that Yankee thread went down you would either get smacked down or the other person would simply walk away rather than put up with that kind of BS.
And the folks who talk all this trash take on the attitude of "If you don't like it go away" which for some reason works IRL but not in Computerland.
Yes. I would also add that they serve as an outlet for the sublimated urge to compete with other humans for territory and resources, both individually and as part of a social group.
Yes. I would also add that they serve as an outlet for the sublimated urge to compete with other humans for territory and resources, both individually and as part of a social group.
I think you and I should wrestle.
Put a sandwich on the table as stakes and I will elbow drop off the top rope.
Yes. I would also add that they serve as an outlet for the sublimated urge to compete with other humans for territory and resources, both individually and as part of a social group.
I think you and I should wrestle.
Put a sandwich on the table as stakes and I will elbow drop off the top rope.
Well that's ok, but which one of guys is rubbing me down with baby oil?
Comments
Really? How so? I would challenge you to take a poll of every online news outlet in the United States and see what you come up with more articles and comments on - pro sports or music. Just for example, peep the Cleveland paper site I linked to. 9 out 10 top articles are about pro sports. The 10th is about a local mini-riot. None are music related.
I don't believe I ever said they weren't. If I didn't like music (for instance) I wouldn't be here, and I certainly wouldn't have several thousand records sagging my floorboards.
If you scroll back up I said *over*emphasis. I might think pizza is the greatest food on the planet but I'm not going to place it ahead of, say, global financial meltdown as a prime concern.
As with Nigerian cooking recipes or using enemas for fun and pleasure, I think people should be able to do or talk about whatever they want to (as long as its not infringing on other people's ability to do the same, or live life, etc.)
You guys are all missing the point.
It's the emphasis placed on sports, not that sports altogether are bad or useless.
So yes, you can be "into all those things."
My point was sports seems to dominate media and people's minds for some odd reason, above all other topics.
Coming from you, that earns a
wait, you got a recipe for that?
Are atheletes overpaid? Maybe. Though, few people can do what they do. Is Kanye West overpaid? Maybe. Though, few people can do what he does.
They're both diversions. They take us away from our lives for a time, and allow us to follow the talents and exploits of others to remind us what human beings are capable of. Acts of speed and strength and coordination that seem to defy physical laws. Or, acts of beauty and insight that open our minds.
They give us collective memories and shared references that bond us as strangers- and that goes for whether I am discussing the seminal works of the John Coltrane quintet of the early 1960s, or the great Yankees teams of the 1990s.
Sports fans of a certain team can seemingly flock together and dress the same; so to can the fans of a certain musical artist or style of music. Red Sox fans wear red shirts and blue hats. Hip hop kids wear baggie jeans. Sometimes, they also wear Red Sox caps. Sometimes, Red Sox fans wear baggie jeans.
The late Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Earl Warren once said, "I always turn to the sports section first. The sports page records people's accomplishments; the front page has nothing but man's failures."
Yes, athlete's are flawed and human, and they fail. But, there are moments when they show us what we as human beings are capable of- things we otherwise might not be aware of. Just as great musicians do, just as great artists do, as great writers do, as great thinkers...
Yes. I would also add that they serve as an outlet for the sublimated urge to compete with other humans for territory and resources, both individually and as part of a social group.
1. Casual opportunities for brutality. Internet bulletin board chatter about sports seems to emphasize insult-heavy ???in-your-face??? smack downs. These attacks seem both more intense and more regular than record-related disses. Check the waxidermy Yankee???s thread. Perhaps this is because ???rival??? sports teams play each other very regularly (enough to keep ESPN and ESPN2 in business) and there is lots of ammunition for attacks. Perhaps Raiders fervor isn???t quite the same as Skye fervor. Perhaps the dialogue about sports at the national, sports radio, and water cooler levels is actually different discussion -- more competitive, zero sum, and numb to interpersonal insults.
2. Identification with a sports teams is lucrative kind of consumer identity. Like Saturn drivers who used to have picnics at the company factories, coca-cola drinkers who are ???exclusive??? with their beverage, macintosh zealots, and the Marlboro men, people???s choices of sports teams are communications about their identity. Lucrative to companies whose advertising is done for them by a passionate street team. Lucrative to people who create a shared community out of ritualized celebratory televised competition. That community is often more meaningful than their church, political party or even family. Sports on the strut offer a second (or seventh) layer of identity for people I don???t really know.
3. Soulstrut is similar. We're people whose community is largely about record collectors. For some folks, the sports interjections are intrusions into a rare space that is welcoming to discussion of obscure records. It is an intrusion that can only go one direction -- it is unlikely that a Giants discussion board would include a subthread about Giants fans who also collect 45s. Those fans would probably wait until the Giants had a streak and then post on the strut.
Since ya don't know me. I'm not a sports hater. On friday, I'll buy season tickets to my local "summer ball" baseball team. Go Crabs!
This is all about using the computer as a "shield" that allows folks to say things that they would likely never say IRL.
If you spoke to a human face to face the way the conversation in that Yankee thread went down you would either get smacked down or the other person would simply walk away rather than put up with that kind of BS.
And the folks who talk all this trash take on the attitude of "If you don't like it go away" which for some reason works IRL but not in Computerland.
I think you and I should wrestle.
Put a sandwich on the table as stakes and I will elbow drop off the top rope.
Well that's ok, but which one of guys is rubbing me down with baby oil?
Next thing you know, grown-ass men will be talking about how they enjoy "Project Runway".
Don't get your peginas in a knot there "R&B Hug".
As in: "That dog had it's lipstick out again"
The red carrot.