March 8, 2007
WATER POLO ANYONE?
I wouldn't be surprised if sports journalists have some sort of inferiority complex. More than likely they were the scorekeepers in high school and college, rather than the athletes themselves. Once they've graduated to a professional career in journalism, however, they continue to get short shrift from their peers who look down on sports reporting as a necessary sop to the masses: it's not like sports are important or serious. That's why sports writing is always so jam packed full of metaphors for life. It's not enough to celebrate exciting pastimes. Sports must be conflated to big-picture status. More often than not, this inclination results in silliness like the latest cover of Sports Illustrated at right.
The next time a ball game gets rained out during the September stretch run, you can curse the momentary worthlessness of those tickets in your pocket. Or you can wonder why it got rained out -- and ask yourself why practice had to be called off last summer on a day when there wasn't a cloud in the sky; and why that Gulf Coast wharf where you used to reel in mackerel and flounder no longer exists; and why it's been more than one winter since you pulled those titanium skis out of the garage.
Hmmm, I'm going to ditch Ockham's Razor and guess 'catastrophic global climate change?'
And therein may lie the great value of sports. What happens in an arena so familiar and beloved may sound an alarm we will hear and heed. At a time when so much in our lives is linear and digital, from the economy to technology, sports still run in graceful cycles, marking time in rhythm with the seasons.
The above paragraph pretty much sums up the inanity of the whole article. What the hell is that supposed to mean? Seriously, what the hell is that supposed to mean? I understand what "linear" and "digital" mean conceptually. I fail to see how those words contribute to any type of coherent statement about what the author is discussing. I guess in the end it doesn't matter. Throw a bunch of nonsense into a pot, mix it together, alarm readers, give them outlets to action, feel self-satisfied, and we're done. Eco-journalism at its most regular.
Tagged: global warming, journalism, sports, sports illustratedPosted by Lexiphane at March 8, 2007 9:32 AM
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