Post by Dabeagle on Jan 12, 2017 19:55:31 GMT -5
I know a lot of folks don't care for sports for one reason or another. It's competitive by nature and it tends to bring out the inner asshole in a lot of folks and that may be one. Lots of folks can handle sports to one degree or another and others might make on feel bad if they aren't up to snuff. I didn't start out being much into sports. I can remember my folks got me these faux letterman jackets that had football teams on them - the Raiders and Rams are ones I remember best. I played tee ball and a season of little league but my folks weren't into sports and so it wasn't something I had much nurturing about at home.
When I was 12 my family moved from upstate California, a little town called Redding, to New York State. I quickly found that there were many sports fans in my new school and they mostly identified with regional teams - the Yankees or Mets in baseball - maybe the Red Sox. The Boston Celtics were a basketball powerhouse at the time, along with the Lakers. I can recall a friend asking who I was going for in the finals and having to ask which cities they represented (the Lakers are Los Angeles for the non-sports folks) and he growled at me when I picked the California team. The Giants or Jets in football with the odd Bills or Steelers fan - even a few for Miami because their grandparents lived in Florida or something. So I reached back to where I was born - San Diego - and I began to follow the Padres and Chargers and then selected the Golden State Warriors for basketball.
For many years my teams stunk. More often than not. But, I was in the conversation and was the one guy with the far away team. I fit in, a bit. I wouldn't say these teams made my identity, but I sure did savor it when the Warriors won the championship a few years ago. It felt good to have rooted for a winner for once.
Baseball is tougher for me to get to watch because the Padres would have to play the Mets or Yankees for me to see it. The Chargers, though, had more of a chance and I'd get to see the highlights. So I followed them pretty well...I followed both of them since 1984. In 32 years there have been some exciting moments - the one championship, the trip to the world series and one trip to the superbowl. I watched players I admired as people - like Tony Gwynn.
Today, though, something happened. Sports is a unique business. They want you to buy their product, yes, but they also pull your heartstrings and people talk about loyalty as fans during lean times. It appeals to the consumer in ways most companies cannot. Yet, when it matters to them, they remind us this is a business. They are here to make money and if they can't make enough, they'll go somewhere else. They talk to the people as if it's a privilege to have a sports team in your city, so you should fork over tons of money for their new stadium with no return on it. I've always been against welfare for billionaires and I supported the people of San Diego who told Dean Spanos to finance his own stadium. Like most bullies, Dean Spanos today told the people - those fans - that he was taking his football and going elsewhere.
One of my biggest reasons for following them was because they were from San Diego. Now, I'm without a team and in no rush to find a new one. After 56 years, they are leaving for the promise of more money. For shame.
When I was 12 my family moved from upstate California, a little town called Redding, to New York State. I quickly found that there were many sports fans in my new school and they mostly identified with regional teams - the Yankees or Mets in baseball - maybe the Red Sox. The Boston Celtics were a basketball powerhouse at the time, along with the Lakers. I can recall a friend asking who I was going for in the finals and having to ask which cities they represented (the Lakers are Los Angeles for the non-sports folks) and he growled at me when I picked the California team. The Giants or Jets in football with the odd Bills or Steelers fan - even a few for Miami because their grandparents lived in Florida or something. So I reached back to where I was born - San Diego - and I began to follow the Padres and Chargers and then selected the Golden State Warriors for basketball.
For many years my teams stunk. More often than not. But, I was in the conversation and was the one guy with the far away team. I fit in, a bit. I wouldn't say these teams made my identity, but I sure did savor it when the Warriors won the championship a few years ago. It felt good to have rooted for a winner for once.
Baseball is tougher for me to get to watch because the Padres would have to play the Mets or Yankees for me to see it. The Chargers, though, had more of a chance and I'd get to see the highlights. So I followed them pretty well...I followed both of them since 1984. In 32 years there have been some exciting moments - the one championship, the trip to the world series and one trip to the superbowl. I watched players I admired as people - like Tony Gwynn.
Today, though, something happened. Sports is a unique business. They want you to buy their product, yes, but they also pull your heartstrings and people talk about loyalty as fans during lean times. It appeals to the consumer in ways most companies cannot. Yet, when it matters to them, they remind us this is a business. They are here to make money and if they can't make enough, they'll go somewhere else. They talk to the people as if it's a privilege to have a sports team in your city, so you should fork over tons of money for their new stadium with no return on it. I've always been against welfare for billionaires and I supported the people of San Diego who told Dean Spanos to finance his own stadium. Like most bullies, Dean Spanos today told the people - those fans - that he was taking his football and going elsewhere.
One of my biggest reasons for following them was because they were from San Diego. Now, I'm without a team and in no rush to find a new one. After 56 years, they are leaving for the promise of more money. For shame.