Call me crazy, but I don’t think of rioting as an indicator of livability. I don’t think of property damage as an indicator of livability. I don’t think of looting as an indicator of livability. I certainly do not think of random assaults with injuries as an indicator of livability.
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| This is "livable"? 1 |
OUR SPORTS CULTURE
In North America, we love our sports. Billions upon billions of dollars of revenue are generated annually by the attendance, purchase of concessions and services, purchase of memorabilia, corporate sponsorships, and television advertising revenue connected to major league professional sports. I have no specific source, but I am willing to bet that those billions are just a small piece of the pie compared to revenues generated from the same sources in addition to equipment purchases and administration expenditures in college, high school, and recreational sports. Sports are interwoven into our culture.
Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoy sports, both as a recreational participant and a spectator. I certainly do not produce this blog to pay for rent. A fun night at the bar once per month...but not the rent. Sports are my favorite recreational activity and therefore an important part of the enjoyment of my life.
I say all of that to say the following: IT’S JUST A GAME!!!
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| What a bunch of stupid assholes.... 2 |
Hellooooo! You PLAY to WIN the GAME!
Ultimately the goal of any team sport is to win the game. The main reason we follow, watch, and attend the sporting events of our favorite teams is because we want to watch them win and be entertained in the process. When we have a rooting interest in a team, be it a home team, a favorite franchise, or a team with one of our favorite players, and our teams lose, we are, naturally, disappointed. When a team we connect with, such as our home team, is eliminated from the playoffs, it can feel somewhat personal. Civic pride is one of the many enjoyments that sports offer us. When our team is eliminated in a championship round, the loss can be somewhat painful, as we have to wait another year to have an opportunity to see our team become champions.
You play to win the games. So I would never fault any fan for feeling disappointment when their team loses. Casual sports fans or non sports fans may not experience similar feelings, but should at least understand enough about sports culture to “get it”. However, after the buzzer sounds, the last out is called, or the final gun is fired, the game is over and, win or lose, we all need to transition back to the rest of our lives. We may celebrate in victory or wallow in defeat for several hours, possibly several days. Being a New Orleans native and a lifelong Saints fan, I am not convinced that the city has completely stopped celebrating the Saints’ victory in Super Bowl XLIV: the season before last. All of these feelings and emotions are normal. They make sports engaging. They make life fun.
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| Herm Edwards: "Helloooooo! You PLAY to WIN the GAME!" 3 |
The rioting in Vancouver is an example of the bad things that can happen as a result of overemphasis of the importance of sports. It is what happens when a few inebriated knuckleheads take a negative result for the home team in a major sporting event out of the arena and transfer it into negativity on the streets. If Vancouver is one of the most livable cities in the world and masses of its residents are capable of embarrassing the city and inflicting damage on its fellow townspeople…if Vancouver is among the best this continent has to offer and this happens, what does that say for our culture and society?
Wednesday night’s madness is only the latest example. It has almost become a once or twice per year occurrence to see riots result immediately following a major team championship sporting event. I understand fully that the perpetrators of the riots make up a tiny percentage of the residents of the greater Vancouver area. Still, I think that the miscreants on the fringe compel us to view our priorities in the mainstream. I think that, far too often, whether intended or not, society sends out a message, through media and other means, that sports are as large or larger than life. As personal, and dramatic, and unscripted as sports can be, it is still just a means of recreation and entertainment, at the end of the day.
As heavily criticized as NBA star LeBron James was for remarks he made after his Miami Heat were eliminated from the NBA Finals (remarks in which he said the people rooting against him would have to eventually go back to their lives), as insensitive as those remarks may have come across, I thought they were entirely true and were a reflection, and perhaps an indictment, of our priorities in life and our culture of obsession with celebrities.
Sports make for fantastic recreation, entertainment, water cooler discussions, and talk radio. I love sports. Chances are, if you are reading this sports blog, that you enjoy sports, too. However, I think we all have a responsibility, through our words, actions, and attitudes, to, implicitly or explicitly, send a message to those around us, especially those we can influence (such as young people), that there is a line when sports absolutely stops, life continues, and our behaviors should be within the appropriate boundaries.
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| This is the only time sports should spill out into the street. 4 |
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*Source: ESPN
1) Image from espn.com
2) Image from nationalpost.com
3) Image from sportressofblogitude.com
4) Image from star-telegram.com
