The Gray Pages

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Dear Mr. Leavitt

Re: this

Your definition of "fan" requires the kind of thoughtless devotion that leads toward bumber stickers like "America: Love It Or Leave It." And if one is willing to watch one's team play terribly -- as was the case for that basketball game -- it means that one can't call himself a basketball fan at all. It wasn't basketball, it was a bunch of guys wearing red and calling themselves Badgers that you were rooting for. That's not a fan, that's a jingoist.

There are good games, and there are bad games. That one was an eyesore.

posted by Josh at Wednesday, September 28, 2005

5 Comments:

  • Ooooo--snap! The gloves are coming off! This debate is awesome. Although to be fair, when a teamdoes badly, don't know want to know why they did badly, and who did badly? Sometimes watching a horrible game can be useful. Like when the Red Sox lost the World Series in the '80's: wouldn't you rather know that it was some stupidass play that went between a guy's legs than say, zero hits? Then you know whom to blame!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9:47 AM  

  • Bill Buckner didn't lose the World Series by himself, Josh will tell you (I think).

    It's a team game, and a better team would have won Game 7 the next day.

    I enjoyed Josh's post, but to respond quickly:

    Even when the Badgers suck, I still root for them. I don't enjoy watching them suck. But as Marnie points out, it is difficult to be knowledgable about how the team is playing unless I see them play.

    By Blogger dl004d, at 10:12 AM  

  • Game Six

    METS 10TH: Backman made an out to left; Hernandez flied to center; Carter singled to left; MITCHELL BATTED FOR AGUILERA; Mitchell singled to center [Carter to second]; Knight singled to center [Carter scored, Mitchell to third]; STANLEY REPLACED SCHIRALDI (PITCHING); Stanley threw a wild pitch [Mitchell scored, Knight to second]; Wilson reached on an error by Buckner [Knight scored (unearned)]; 3 R, 3 H, 1 E, 1 LOB.
    Red Sox 5, Mets 6.

    Here's, in order, who is to blame for Game Six
    1. Roger Clemens, for only going seven innings and generally pitching mediocre-ly in the World Series
    2. John McNamara, for leaving Schiraldi in there too long
    3a. Bob Stanley for the wild pitch
    3b. Rich Gedman, who really might have been blamed for a passed ball just as easily.
    4. Schiraldi, for pitching poorly
    5. John McNamara again, for not making a defensive replacement for Buckner
    6. Bill Buckner

    By Blogger Josh, at 11:01 AM  

  • Good explanation, Josh.

    But as painful as it was for you to watch Game 6 at the time, you'd be a pretty useless Red Sox fan if you hadn't.

    By Blogger dl004d, at 11:20 AM  

  • Here's what I now believe: sports is entertainment. It's supposed to be fun. And I've been a foul-weather fan. It's make me foul-mooded. And since I'm allegedly watching these games to be entertained and to be happy, when those things don't happen, I'm likely to turn away.

    I'm enough of an addict that I turn back (as I did last night when the Sox were down 7-2, and I turned off and on the game about 4 times). But, having been a fan -- fair or foul -- I can state unequivocally that fair weather is better. And I'm not going to spend my leisure time upping my blood pressure.

    Roger Angell has written -- more poetically than I ever could -- that experience is the best tonic for the ups and downs of fandom. And I think that's where I've landed.

    By Blogger Josh, at 11:47 AM  

Post a Comment

<< Home