I’ve always had an incredible apathy for sports. No real interest whatsoever. So as we approach the World Series, I find myself wondering if I really should bother “pulling” for one team or another.
That makes me a bit of an oddball. Kevin is a regular contributor to SportsBlog, for one.
And Laurence Simon, who I consider an online friend(partly under the theory of “keep the crazy guy liking you), is a die-hard Astros fan. So, naturally, that means I have to support the Sox.
I don’t give a hoot about the game itself, but I am concerned about the game’s larger consequences.
I like Lair’s writing. I hit his site several times a day, and he almost always has something new and/or outrageous to read. His “Les. Vs. The Lesbians” story/podcast is a classic, and his “Ask The Cats” is always fun.
But Lair is at his best when he’s angry. His rants are legendary. He was the original author of the post–9/11 “We’re Crazier Than You.”
So Lair, who loves the Astros, would be ecstatic if they won the World Series on their first appearance ever. And a happy Lair is, I fear, a boring one. Whereas if the Astros lose, Lair will be so embittered and infuriated that we should be assured several months’ worth of his brutal anger.
But I also have a stellar record for picking losers in sports contests. Last fall, at every opportunity, I predicted the Red Sox would lose — and as I recall, from the instant I started doing that, they didn’t lose another game. So my rooting for the White Sox could quite possibly be the best possible thing for the Astros.
Either way, in just a short time, we will be spared the horrifying sight of a Dancing Conservative Jew — a terrible affliction that is, apparently, contagious. At least, until next spring.
Jay Tea,
You really are a dumb azz; it’s the White Sox!
Way to go.
American league plays the National League in the World series.
Taz
Hat tip somethin’ somethin’ please anything……
Laurence won’t be the only consertive Jew dancing when the Astros win. I’m planning to do a little dance myself. No “Ooooga Boogas” or whatver he calls it though, I gotta draw the line somewhere.
I’m cheering for the Astros, even though I’m a Chicago fan otherwise (Bears, Cubs).
Why?
Mean, obnoxious White Sox fans. So…I’m of the “anybody but the White Sox” camp.
Astros in 6… or 7. Or maybe 5. Okay, 4.
Gah. The Astros MUST win. I gotta work with Lair. I eat lunch with him every day. I will not suffer for the sake of your HTML entertainment.
🙂 I also have not been into sports for a while, but I am happy for the sox. Actually both teams are long time underdogs, so im happy for both.
Great blog btw…
R2000
Bathroom Review
I’m a New Yorker. The Angels took out the Yankees, so I rooted for the White Sox to beat Cailfornia. Might as well stick with ’em. Go Sox!
Go ‘stros. I’d love to see clemens win again. Like Dan Duquette said when the Red sox let him go. ‘He’s in the twilight of his career’ – 5 WS later….
If they’re depending on Roger to win, they won’t win it.
Roger won’t admit he’s hurt.
They’ll need tow wins out of Roy, one out of Andy, and one out of Backe/Wandy/Zeke.
As for the vaunted Sox starting pitching, we’ll see how well they stack up against the Astros with a full 9 batters or when they actually have to bat for themselves.
Astros, bah! Team Bland. Humbug! Go White Sox!
Go Stroh’s? Not since Coors bought ’em out — doesn’t taste as good as it used to.
I’ve always had an incredible apathy for sports.
And I’m not picking on you, Jay, not at all! I’ve always thought this was interesting topic…
I’ve had a longtime and deep suspicion of and been perplexed by people who don’t like sports. Why would someone not like sports? How could they not? Why the apathy? I used to think it was some elitist stance that high-brow, pseudo-intellectuals and intellectuals alike took to put themselves about the fray of the mindless masses. And it’s easy to dismiss them for being elitist when they refer to the major professional sports in America (let’s exclude college sports for the sake of this argument)—baseball, basketball, football, hockey, NASCAR, golf—as being mindless barbarism or a trivial pursuit. They poo-poo the sport and look down their noses at the fans of those sports. But why the lack of interest?
Accidentally or not, intellectuals fail to recognize sports as a trivial pursuit is exactly the reason people follow sports. Our lives are chock full of meaningful moments that occupy a great deal of space in brains, from politics to bills to our families to our jobs to our health to fixing the house to our friends and on and on and on. We are constantly preoccupied and occupied by all of these things. It may not be splitting atoms or coming up with a peace plan for Israel and Palestine, but they are difficult thoughts all the same. And what every Saturday and Sunday (football and NASCAR), everyday (baseball), every other day or thereabouts (basketball and hockey) allow us to do is to turn off our brains and not think about any of those very important things for 3 hours or so. And there’s a very important release—stress, tension, what have you—in all that.
Now granted reading a book or playing chess or going to the art museum are also relievers of tension and stress and perfectly legitimate ways to relax. I do all those things myself. But when was the last time someone jumped out of their chair and screamed “Booyah! Look at that last sentence of that paragraph! Oh doctor!” over a book. Or chess players high-fived each other over a great move. Or you painted your face and body and went to the museum with a giant foam #1 finger. Of course, never. And again, there’s a release in sports that doesn’t happen in these “intellectual pursuits”.
Win or lose the release is immediate, too. For example, after Game 6 of the 2002 World Series, when my SF Giants imploded against the Angels in 8th inning with only 5 outs to go, I went outside and released my frustration and disappointment by throwing rocks into the woods! Immature? Sure! A release? Absolutely! Losing sucks. But I was equally jubilant over the Giants wins in the other games, screaming my head off and dancing around my apartment. Yup, it’s just a game. And I felt bad for my team and, yeah, partly myself because I didn’t get to see them win. But here’s the really important point that that Series inparticular brought to me: I had been unemployed since 9/11 and was barely making ends. My cupboards were close to bear. I had creditors calling left and right. I had no idea how to pay November rent. But for 3-4 hours each night of the Series I didn’t have to think about that stuff and I got my release from those problems. (Right after the Series, I landed the job I have presently so all is good now.)
I think two other obvious reasons for someone not liking sports are geography and the environment in which you’re raised, and of course there are exceptions to both. But as a general rule, if you live in say Montana, then you might not have a big interest in any pro baseball or football team; those kinds of teams are simply too far away from you. Also, if your father or mother shows no interest in sports or introduces you to a sport at a young age, then I can certainly see where an apathy for sports can originate. I have friends that are exceptions to both of those general rules, so please don’t misunderstand me. My best friend grew up in rural eastern Washington state at a time when the Sonics were the only professional team around. But because he was raised in family who liked sports, particularly baseball and football, he came to like the Red Sox and Dolphins. When the Seahawks and Mariners became franchises, he couldn’t have cared less and he still doesn’t. His affiliations had already been drawn and formed. But for other people in region, all of a sudden they had a team they could root for! And they instantly became fans. Those teams were something they could “call their own” and they also represented the city and region, becoming a source of pride (or, most of the times for M’s and ‘Hawks fans, an embarrassment). But still a source of pride.
In the end, what is it about people who don’t like sports? Are they incapable of relaxing and delighting in the trivial? Do they have trouble with being stuck on stupid for a few hours? I don’t know really know the answer. But I tell you what, I kind of feel sorry for them because I believe they’re really missing out on something fun in their lives.
(And this whole thing about sports not being an intellectual pursuit? Hogwash. There’s more chess maneuvering in baseball in between pitches than I can possibly explain or enumerate upon. There’s also a lot of spitting and ball-scratching, but that’s aside from the point…)
P.S. Go ‘Stros. (What can I say? I’m a National League guy.) Oh, and thanks White Sox for making Angels fans’ lives miserable this off-season. I couldn’t be happier! 🙂 See? A release…
Peter, I said “apathy,” not “antipathy.” It’s just a matter of not caring one whit either way. I could give you my own two-bit psycho-self-analysis on its derivation and deeper meanings, but that would be far too heavy for such a frivolous piece as this.
J.
J.
A fair enough distinction of the words and I see your point: You just don’t care one way or the other. I just thought it was interesting point is all. “Two-bit-psychoanalysis” is a bit of an indirect harsh on my post, but, whatever…