In honor of the start of baseball season, here's something I wrote last fall...
Of all the sports topics that get me fired up, nothing boils my blood like the media coverage of baseball curses. While I was cleaning out my room over the summer, I came across a dusty old Sports Illustrated from 2005.
The cover: A split-photo of Tom Brady and Peyton Manning in anticipation of their upcoming matchup.
The tiny print sub-headline: [By the way the] White Sox won the World Series [for the first time since 1917].
Seriously? To be honest, I’m glad I didn’t see this issue in 2005, because I probably would have had a stroke on the spot.
The White Sox end the 2nd longest drought in pro sports history, and they get booted off the cover of SI for a regular season football game that hasn’t even been played yet? It’s not like Tom and Peyton haven’t had 946,000 other SI covers, you know with all the Super Bowls and Sportsmen of the Year and what not.
I don’t even like the White Sox. But here’s what gets me mad. When the Red Sox won it all just a year earlier, the media frenzy was so fantastical that you would’ve thought Jesus himself had returned to Earth. Those “idiots” got SI covers for about a month, appearances on every talk show known to man, multiple books, a blockbuster movie, and a plethora of old guys announcing that their lives were complete. Babe Ruth could finally stop rolling over in his grave!!
Setting World Series celebrations aside, it’s the curses themselves that make me angry. First, we have Boston, a team that traded Babe Ruth sometime in the 20s and never won another World Series. Lost in all of this frenzy are the White Sox, a team with an even longer drought and a much more believable curse.
The White Sox dominated the 1910s. Then they threw the World Series in 1919 and didn’t even APPEAR in another World Series for 87 years. ARE YOU SERIOUS? I can’t think of a better reason for a curse than a bunch of guys throwing a championship to get back at their stingy owner who wasn’t paying them enough to put food on the table. Talk about screwing up a good thing!
What’s crazy about this set of Sox is the fact that they didn’t even have the longest streak in their CITY! The entire city of Chicago had a longer drought with two teams than the Red Sox did with their one. Now that both Sox have won it all, the Cubs stand alone with a solid 40 year lead on the 2nd place Indians (1948).
The Red Sox got all the pub because they were whiny. The Cubs are just bad. The Indians aren’t dramatic enough to even make it onto the national map. If any team deserved a huge parade for breaking their curse, it was the Chicago White Sox, and they didn’t even make the cover of SI.
[And don’t get me started on the media frenzy that accompanied the Phillies breaking their staggering 20-year drought last year.]
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Friday, March 5, 2010
Women as Sports Fans
I saw an interview last fall that really made me cringe. I don't even remember who the interviewer was, or who it was with, or even what the question was. What I remember is that it was a female sportscaster interviewing a baseball player. Here was the introduction to her question:
"You scored 12 runs, offensively speaking..."
I'm sure the end of the question was something like "how did that make you feel?" But honestly, it doesn't matter. What matters is that the female reporter felt the need to specify in her preface that 12 runs is, indeed, an offensive measurement.
Why did she need to do so? Did the player need a reminder? Did he need proof that she had enough baseball knowledge to conduct the interview? Or did she really feel that it was important to make the clarification between offensive and defensive runs?
Regardless, statements like this make female reporters seem clueless and, frankly, unqualified. When a male does an interview, he usually delves straight into the specifics. When a female does the interviewing, we get stuck with questions like "so, you just won the World Series, you know, the highest achievement for a Major League Baseball team... that must've made you really happy, right?"
Or you'll get a huge preface to the question that basically answers the question before the player has a chance. "So, LeBron, you are originally from Akron. It must make you really happy to play in Cleveland since it is so close to home. Plus you've really seen this team grow over the years, so the success is especially rewarding." And then LeBron is like, "yeah, thank you for the recap. Was there a question?"
Or, my personal fave, excessive listing of statistics: "Mr. Brees, you've thrown for over 4,000 yards in all four of your seasons with New Orleans and set several career highs this season, including completion percentage and touchdowns in a single game. To top it all off with a Super Bowl victory and MVP must've been really great." And Drew is like, "yeah, I know. I was there."
Unfortunately, these boneheaded interviews fuel what I believe is the real problem. When a girl/woman enters a room with a sporting event on, it is assumed that she has no knowledge at all of what is happening. If she is a sports fan, she must prove it in order to be taken seriously. She has to make specific statements that demonstrate her knowledge of the sport, without it seeming too forced or rehearsed.
When a man enters a room with a sporting event on, it is assumed that he is an omnipresent expert on all things pertaining to this game. He usually isn't. Yet the most ridiculous comments from guys are often taken seriously by others in the room. (Where perhaps some insightful comments from girls had been ignored.)
Take this example, a recent conversation of mine:
Male: Do you know who Shaq is?
Me: *a little put off* Um, yeah? I'm mad at Big Baby and the Celtics for hurting his thumb.
Male: Oh, I didn't even realize he was still playing. What team?
Male #2: Didn't he used to play for the Lakers? And what was he doing with a baby?
Okay, I added the comment about the baby for embellishment. But I'll sum up.
Girl walks into the room: "Have you heard of LeBron James?" Guy walks into the room: "Dude, how about that sick pick and roll by so and so bench warmer #99 who was acquired in that trade with the Sonics 3 years ago?" (Okay, so I don't have a flowing knowledge of basketball...)
The saddest part is that I'm guilty of this too. I'm always excited to meet other female sports fans, but I am probably more skeptical of their knowledge at first. Guys, on the other hand, frequently disappoint me because I expect them to be more informed than they actually are.
So my question is this: Why do women need to prove themselves in order to be taken seriously as sports fans? Maybe if our TV personalities showed more confidence in their knowledge, the rest of us could follow suit. Or maybe I'm the only one that notices any of this, and it's just a personal beef.
"You scored 12 runs, offensively speaking..."
I'm sure the end of the question was something like "how did that make you feel?" But honestly, it doesn't matter. What matters is that the female reporter felt the need to specify in her preface that 12 runs is, indeed, an offensive measurement.
Why did she need to do so? Did the player need a reminder? Did he need proof that she had enough baseball knowledge to conduct the interview? Or did she really feel that it was important to make the clarification between offensive and defensive runs?
Regardless, statements like this make female reporters seem clueless and, frankly, unqualified. When a male does an interview, he usually delves straight into the specifics. When a female does the interviewing, we get stuck with questions like "so, you just won the World Series, you know, the highest achievement for a Major League Baseball team... that must've made you really happy, right?"
Or you'll get a huge preface to the question that basically answers the question before the player has a chance. "So, LeBron, you are originally from Akron. It must make you really happy to play in Cleveland since it is so close to home. Plus you've really seen this team grow over the years, so the success is especially rewarding." And then LeBron is like, "yeah, thank you for the recap. Was there a question?"
Or, my personal fave, excessive listing of statistics: "Mr. Brees, you've thrown for over 4,000 yards in all four of your seasons with New Orleans and set several career highs this season, including completion percentage and touchdowns in a single game. To top it all off with a Super Bowl victory and MVP must've been really great." And Drew is like, "yeah, I know. I was there."
Unfortunately, these boneheaded interviews fuel what I believe is the real problem. When a girl/woman enters a room with a sporting event on, it is assumed that she has no knowledge at all of what is happening. If she is a sports fan, she must prove it in order to be taken seriously. She has to make specific statements that demonstrate her knowledge of the sport, without it seeming too forced or rehearsed.
When a man enters a room with a sporting event on, it is assumed that he is an omnipresent expert on all things pertaining to this game. He usually isn't. Yet the most ridiculous comments from guys are often taken seriously by others in the room. (Where perhaps some insightful comments from girls had been ignored.)
Take this example, a recent conversation of mine:
Male: Do you know who Shaq is?
Me: *a little put off* Um, yeah? I'm mad at Big Baby and the Celtics for hurting his thumb.
Male: Oh, I didn't even realize he was still playing. What team?
Male #2: Didn't he used to play for the Lakers? And what was he doing with a baby?
Okay, I added the comment about the baby for embellishment. But I'll sum up.
Girl walks into the room: "Have you heard of LeBron James?" Guy walks into the room: "Dude, how about that sick pick and roll by so and so bench warmer #99 who was acquired in that trade with the Sonics 3 years ago?" (Okay, so I don't have a flowing knowledge of basketball...)
The saddest part is that I'm guilty of this too. I'm always excited to meet other female sports fans, but I am probably more skeptical of their knowledge at first. Guys, on the other hand, frequently disappoint me because I expect them to be more informed than they actually are.
So my question is this: Why do women need to prove themselves in order to be taken seriously as sports fans? Maybe if our TV personalities showed more confidence in their knowledge, the rest of us could follow suit. Or maybe I'm the only one that notices any of this, and it's just a personal beef.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Why I created a new blog...
So, on this lovely Thursday evening, in the confines of my apartment in Oakland, with 2 cats as my witnesses, I am starting a new blog. I typically don't like posting things online, but there are a few reasons why I decided to do this:
1) I miss writing. Now that I'm done with college, I have no reason to do it, except for my own amusement. Maybe having a blog will motivate me to do it more.
2) I'm bored. Somehow, even with 3 jobs, volunteering, and training for a marathon, I have uttered the phrase "I am bored" nearly every day this week.
3) Our Boys & Girls Club site (where I work) just started a blog, and it made me want to get in on the fun.
4) I reread my study abroad blog recently and really enjoyed it.
Typically, when I'm bored and have exhausted every other option, I'll sit down and write a little story or rant about my life. I put it in a word document, save it to some crazy name, and never look at it again.
Since I moved to California these bits have mostly been musings or rants about sports topics, sort of in the style of Rick Reilly's back-page-of-SI articles. Rather than keeping them in a silly word document, I'll post them here. If people want to read and comment, great, and if not, at least I'm writing and not just stashing stuff on some unidentified flash drive never to be seen again.
Anywho, I'll start off with what I wrote earlier today!
1) I miss writing. Now that I'm done with college, I have no reason to do it, except for my own amusement. Maybe having a blog will motivate me to do it more.
2) I'm bored. Somehow, even with 3 jobs, volunteering, and training for a marathon, I have uttered the phrase "I am bored" nearly every day this week.
3) Our Boys & Girls Club site (where I work) just started a blog, and it made me want to get in on the fun.
4) I reread my study abroad blog recently and really enjoyed it.
Typically, when I'm bored and have exhausted every other option, I'll sit down and write a little story or rant about my life. I put it in a word document, save it to some crazy name, and never look at it again.
Since I moved to California these bits have mostly been musings or rants about sports topics, sort of in the style of Rick Reilly's back-page-of-SI articles. Rather than keeping them in a silly word document, I'll post them here. If people want to read and comment, great, and if not, at least I'm writing and not just stashing stuff on some unidentified flash drive never to be seen again.
Anywho, I'll start off with what I wrote earlier today!
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