As anybody who knows me in real life, or who reads this blog regularly (and I'm guessing the latter is a subset of the former) knows, I'm a huge sports fan. I have been since about age six. Sometimes I legitimately don't like this about myself. Because I'm not six anymore; I'm a grown-ass man. And a grown-ass man should not feel bad about himself because his team -- which is not actually his team at all, but a multi-billion dollar corporation employing multimillionaire athletes, to whom he has no direct connection -- lost a game. And yet the Seahawks and Mariners have sent me into days-long funks many a time. The last really bad one came after Russell Wilson threw the game-losing interception from the one-yard line in Super Bowl XLIX. I was despondent for like a week after one. It still pains me a little bit to think about it now.
That's the bad side of sports. The good side is that I derive a lot of pleasure from them -- they're a great source of cheap entertainment (if you watch on TV); they're a good distraction; and knowing about sports is a big social asset (you need to shoot the shit about something). It might even be a big professional asset. The vice president of my company seemed quite impressed with my probability-based algorithm that won our March Madness competition two years in a row.
Also, I ask myself, what's really the harm of being emotionally invested in professional sports? Yeah, it feels kinda silly that my mood can be affected by how well a twenty-something-year-old throws a ball. But this just shows I'm passionate about my interests, right? Isn't this better than being flat-lined about everything? I mean, if a movie buff told you about how moved they were by a certain film, or a lover of literature talked about how much joy and sadness they derive from Milton's work, you wouldn't think this was a bad thing, would you? So why is it any different with sports? I mean, at least athletes are real people.
But, in light of recent events, even for somebody like myself the Super Bowl couldn't seem more trivial this year. I wonder how many people really care about it. I'll probably watch it with some friends, and maybe I will get into it then, but I don't know. Actually, the thing I'm most curious about is whether or not the winner will visit the president at the White House in keeping with the tradition of past Super Bowl winners. Bill Belichick, head coach of the Patriots, is a known friend of Trump's, and a "Make America Great Again" hat was once spotted in the locker of Tom Brady. But since then both have been very evasive and diplomatic about their relationships with Donny Despot, so if the Patriots do win as expected, I wonder if they will go or not.
I hope they don't. It would be a big slap in the face, and I think it would matter symbolically. Anti-Trumpers currently have no mechanism in government to stop him. Our best hope for the time being is to make it socially, professionally, and politically unacceptable to be a Trump supporter or apologist. We have to make it clear that a large portion of the country -- most the country, actually -- is not going to tolerate Trump's bullshit, and if you do, you are going to pay a price of some sort, and you are going to be shamed. That's why marches and boycotts and things of that nature matter.
Now, obviously this won't work on everybody -- hardcore Trump supporters aren't going to care (and possibly not even know) what the non-Trump-loving public thinks and many people and businesses have a direct financial stake in Trump's success -- but we need to try. We need politicians, particularly Republican politicians with vulnerable seats, to see Trump and his minions being shunned, and think, "maybe I don't want to hitch my cart to this wagon too tightly." I seriously doubt Republican congresspeople will ever openly revolt against Trump (partisanship is a helluva drug), but you never know, and it's not an all or nothing proposition anyway. The less support the better. The slower things move, the less Trump can do, the better. Damage control is step one. Step two is winning future elections. But that's a whole 'nother story for a whole 'nother post on a whole 'nother day.
In other news, more personal news, I started going to Krav Maga classes. I felt like my lifestyle had become way too stagnant the past few years, and I needed to do something athletic and intense on a regular basis. I could have gone the marathon route, but I don't absolutely love running, and I wanted to do something that would build muscle mass not just get me cardio conditioning. Also, I've always wanted to get some basic self-defense training; if I ever get into a fight, I'd like to win it. What I really wanted (and still want) to do is MMA. But I settled on Krav Maga instead for one reason and one reason only: There's a Krav Maga gym two minutes from my office. That was the deciding factor.
It's pretty cool so far, other than the fact I strained my side somehow and have to sit out for a little while. It's super annoying. Three classes in and already I'm injured. It sucks being almost middle-aged.
Alright, that's all I got. Until next time...
That's the bad side of sports. The good side is that I derive a lot of pleasure from them -- they're a great source of cheap entertainment (if you watch on TV); they're a good distraction; and knowing about sports is a big social asset (you need to shoot the shit about something). It might even be a big professional asset. The vice president of my company seemed quite impressed with my probability-based algorithm that won our March Madness competition two years in a row.
[In 2001 the Mariners won 116 games and then lost to the Yankees in the playoffs. It wasn't the worst thing that happened that fall.]
Also, I ask myself, what's really the harm of being emotionally invested in professional sports? Yeah, it feels kinda silly that my mood can be affected by how well a twenty-something-year-old throws a ball. But this just shows I'm passionate about my interests, right? Isn't this better than being flat-lined about everything? I mean, if a movie buff told you about how moved they were by a certain film, or a lover of literature talked about how much joy and sadness they derive from Milton's work, you wouldn't think this was a bad thing, would you? So why is it any different with sports? I mean, at least athletes are real people.
But, in light of recent events, even for somebody like myself the Super Bowl couldn't seem more trivial this year. I wonder how many people really care about it. I'll probably watch it with some friends, and maybe I will get into it then, but I don't know. Actually, the thing I'm most curious about is whether or not the winner will visit the president at the White House in keeping with the tradition of past Super Bowl winners. Bill Belichick, head coach of the Patriots, is a known friend of Trump's, and a "Make America Great Again" hat was once spotted in the locker of Tom Brady. But since then both have been very evasive and diplomatic about their relationships with Donny Despot, so if the Patriots do win as expected, I wonder if they will go or not.
I hope they don't. It would be a big slap in the face, and I think it would matter symbolically. Anti-Trumpers currently have no mechanism in government to stop him. Our best hope for the time being is to make it socially, professionally, and politically unacceptable to be a Trump supporter or apologist. We have to make it clear that a large portion of the country -- most the country, actually -- is not going to tolerate Trump's bullshit, and if you do, you are going to pay a price of some sort, and you are going to be shamed. That's why marches and boycotts and things of that nature matter.
Now, obviously this won't work on everybody -- hardcore Trump supporters aren't going to care (and possibly not even know) what the non-Trump-loving public thinks and many people and businesses have a direct financial stake in Trump's success -- but we need to try. We need politicians, particularly Republican politicians with vulnerable seats, to see Trump and his minions being shunned, and think, "maybe I don't want to hitch my cart to this wagon too tightly." I seriously doubt Republican congresspeople will ever openly revolt against Trump (partisanship is a helluva drug), but you never know, and it's not an all or nothing proposition anyway. The less support the better. The slower things move, the less Trump can do, the better. Damage control is step one. Step two is winning future elections. But that's a whole 'nother story for a whole 'nother post on a whole 'nother day.
In other news, more personal news, I started going to Krav Maga classes. I felt like my lifestyle had become way too stagnant the past few years, and I needed to do something athletic and intense on a regular basis. I could have gone the marathon route, but I don't absolutely love running, and I wanted to do something that would build muscle mass not just get me cardio conditioning. Also, I've always wanted to get some basic self-defense training; if I ever get into a fight, I'd like to win it. What I really wanted (and still want) to do is MMA. But I settled on Krav Maga instead for one reason and one reason only: There's a Krav Maga gym two minutes from my office. That was the deciding factor.
It's pretty cool so far, other than the fact I strained my side somehow and have to sit out for a little while. It's super annoying. Three classes in and already I'm injured. It sucks being almost middle-aged.
Alright, that's all I got. Until next time...
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