You know Bill, for such an intelligent guy, you sure have a cruddy and unintelligent way of discussing others interest in sports. If you fail to realize the potential excitement, tension release, camaraderie and spiritually uplifting experience that viewing sports can be, well... go back to sniffing solder flux, it seems to have already affected your judgement of others entertainment values, a little more won't hurt. Heck you might even earn some money.
I think you should stick to picking on the likes of wire directionality. Your take on that issue is much better received.
Respectfully yours,
Cal
I think you should stick to picking on the likes of wire directionality. Your take on that issue is much better received.
Respectfully yours,
Cal
Banned
Joined 2002
Cal Weldon said:
Those attributes are not built into the watching process. They are illusions designed by the sports industry for the purpose of relieving the potential viewer from a maximum amount of cash. It took decades for the industry to figure out how to "play the room" but they finally nailed it, at least for one major sport.
Note that the team activity that requires the least amount of skill has the most viewers and largest arenas - football. As the required skill level for a spectator sport increases the number of attendees and arena size decreases. Potential football viewers are easier to manipulate with the "rah-rah" factor so the industry has had greater success in popularizing this game. "The Game" has replaced football as the product.
So it goes also with the one-on-one contests - increased skill, fewer viewers. Wrestling, boxing, martial arts.
It's not the games themselves that I have an issue with; they are fun to play. What bothers me most is that which appeals to the lowest common denominator has been glorified to the point of absurdity by a business having profit as the only motivation. What also bothers me are the masses themselves, most of whom don't have a clue that they are being manipulated. I would sooner be surrounded by people who can see that someone is trying to gain access to their wallets buy using the simple tricks of crowd noise, bright lights, moving images, colors and other more sneaky and devious devices to generate a self-perpetuating and self-hypnotizing audience.
In other words, sports fans suffer from a major case of being had. Not that they are alone - the music industry is also having a field day with us - one piece of doggy doo after another. And television; let's not get into television - the most offensive of the lot.
Someone should write a book entitled, "We've Been Had."
Sheep. I say . . I say, sheep. Baa . . Baa . . Baa.
Baaaa, baaaa. I had a lovely time with my friends during the game. We ate, we drank, we yelled, we belly-bumped, we high-fived... it's an event. If it's not for you, fine. But there's nothing wrong, IMO, with having plain old fun once in a while.
Every now and then, I actually stop soldering and listen to music. Just... listen.
Every now and then, I actually stop soldering and listen to music. Just... listen.
OK Billy boy, the gloves are off now.
Your lack of football knowledge is annoying. If all you see is a bunch of great big guys crashing around on the field then I will assume this is why you show a lack of interest in the viewing. I will not attempt to extoll the virtues of a well executed play on you.
OK, I think we agree on the speaker wire issue but we were talking here football Bill.
Had is a good word. I had a very good time yesterday with my friends. Six men, six women, six course meal and a six pack. Life is good Bill. So is football.
Your friend Cal.
Bill Fitzpatrick said:
Your lack of football knowledge is annoying. If all you see is a bunch of great big guys crashing around on the field then I will assume this is why you show a lack of interest in the viewing. I will not attempt to extoll the virtues of a well executed play on you.
OK, I think we agree on the speaker wire issue but we were talking here football Bill.
Had is a good word. I had a very good time yesterday with my friends. Six men, six women, six course meal and a six pack. Life is good Bill. So is football.
Your friend Cal.
I was a rabid football fan (gridiron, they call it here) when I was much younger. It pretty much makes me sick now. Too many players do it only for the paycheck.
I hate the celebrating and taunting after every play. And I hate the way one third of the players shift teams every off-season. It wasn't like this 30 years ago, and the sport was the better for it - way better.
I moved to Australia 3 years ago and I don't miss it at all. The only sport I do miss a lot is ice hockey (everyone is missing that at the moment.)
Much to the amazement of many Aussies, the new (to me) sport I'm most enjoying is cricket!
I hate the celebrating and taunting after every play. And I hate the way one third of the players shift teams every off-season. It wasn't like this 30 years ago, and the sport was the better for it - way better.
I moved to Australia 3 years ago and I don't miss it at all. The only sport I do miss a lot is ice hockey (everyone is missing that at the moment.)
Much to the amazement of many Aussies, the new (to me) sport I'm most enjoying is cricket!
jeff mai said:
I sincerely doubt that you can maintain the level of enthusiasm necessary to play in the pro's unless you love the game. What they ask people to do on that field is amazing-they have to love it.
Total agreement here. It's been annoying for awhile. Not enough to prevent me from watching the game, though.jeff mai said:
I'm on the side of players on this one. All sports amounted to indentured servitude for many years, with a player coming out of school being only allowed to negotiate with a single team unless they decided to let him go. Just not right.jeff mai said:
If anything, football has less claim on these pro players than baseball, since they don't have any minor league system for the player to learn the game. These players come right out of college, ready to play pro football right away. In baseball, the players go through years of playing in training leagues, (minor leagues), before they are ready for the big leagues. The "parent teams" pay the player while he is doing this. Not so in football.
kelticwizard said:
It does me. The game isn't that good. After watching lots of Aussie Rules Football, Rugby, and Soccer here, I do not miss it at all.
kelticwizard said:
This wasn't fair, obviously, but free agency is good for the sportsmen and bad for sport. It elevates individuals over teams. It was better to watch and follow before.
You might make a good case for Australian Rules Football or Rugby, but soccer as a substitute for North American style football?jeff mai said:
Never.
Don't fool yourself, the old timers were just as much after individual statistics as today. When you do something for a living, it is going to work out that way.jeff mai said:
Free agency has it's rewards. If you have a lousy team, it no longer takes you four or five years to accumulate the players to make it better.
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.