AnthemForOne
Joined: 2/07/05 Posts: 2,605
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Posted Fri, Apr 25 7:03 am
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In response to Sports team identification (assimilation)
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I find it dubious that you joined a relatively obscure fan board only a month ago for the sole purpose of coming here to proselytize about the folly of sports fandom.
For what it's worth, your point has some merit, but applying it with such broad strokes is misguided, in my opinion. I certainly have and do know people whose self-esteem and very state of well being rises and falls with the fate of their favorite sports team, celebrity, politician, etc. If that weren't the case, you wouldn't have stalkers, death threats for perceived betrayals, people struggling to pay their bills but still forking out big money for tickets and swag, etc.
However, for many (most, I hope, but that's open for subjective debate, I suppose), it's a fun diversion. For me, as a former middle-rate (being kind to myself) high-school athlete, it's amazing to watch what people can do with physical gifts and talents I never remotely approached. I favor UCLA as my alma mater, an integral part of my history and, in some respects, my present. I'm proud to have gone there and want those who represent it to represent it well. For athletics, winning is certainly more fun than losing, but I'm more disappointed by failings of character and ethics than performance, so I value adhering to rules and integrity whether or not they present challenges that don't concern people and institutions that spurn them. At the end of the day, too, if teams from my school win, fun times, and then on with my life; if they lose, well, disappointing, hope they rebound, and then on with my life. No biggie.
For those for whom it is indeed a biggie, well, yes, I agree that a reevaluation of their priorities and perspectives may be a healthy pursuit.
"The only thing I know is that I know nothing."
~Socrates
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