I want to believe in the idea that sports are meaningful. I'm in this "Intro to Sports Writing" class at Medill taught by Melissa Isaacson (a superb reporter that I read as a high schooler on ESPNW without ever realizing she'd be my prof someday) and twice a week I'm told that sports are meaningful and worth believing in. It's an easy idea to understand, for the average American person, that sports can build or destroy what it means to be alive like some sort of enormous energy field that lives and dies by scores on your phone. And it's easy to write articles about it acting like it's true.But sports are meaningless. They really are. For example, Gregg Popovich's wife Erin passed away last week, which was a large NBA story that garnered much sympathy and empathy. This was completely fine. Everyone acknowledged, for a moment, that sports are totally meaningless. But there seems to be a tacit understanding that sports are only meaningless in the most extreme circumstances imaginable.But let's talk about on a day-to-day level. Today in "Intro to Sports Writing" we had someone come in from Northwestern marketing who talked about something I found incredibly depressing on a personal level. He talked about the electric rush that people feel when an "official" Twitter account or athlete likes someone's tweets. He acted like it was a commodity, like it was something wonderful and a gift to be bestowed on the masses. And I mean, he's a nice guy and that's definitely something real that people feel but my God that's just the most depressing thing I've ever heard, a small modicum of social media currency bringing meaning and joy to someone's life, as if that...can help people. Are we really at the point where lives are being made or broken based on the intern's decision to like random tweets on Tweetdeck? I hate everything about modernity. I love modernity. That officially makes me postmodern. Go 'Cats.And so maybe I'm just getting to the point where I'm so wretched that I can't actually feel these moments of joy and meaning from sports, perhaps as another outcome of being a long-term sportswriter, funnily enough. I watched part of tonight's Golden State/San Antonio game and all of the Cavs/Pacers game and found them to be decent and fine viewing experiences. But I'm starting to envy the people who can take life itself to be the kaleidoscope with which they view sports. How is that even possible? How can you view life through the lens of a sports and imbue it with meaning? There are a lot of guys who do this. I often feel like there was a period of time where I was that guy. But now I can't. I watch these NBA games like science experiments and referenda on where I relate to society rather than as an emotional or spiritual experience, which is somewhat sad. In aspects of life that are not death, racism, mass hysteria or illness, these massive sports conglomerates want people to feel that sports are the medium and escape with which they can use at all times as a panacea against...the other. The non-sports.And, frankly, that's what all entertainment is, so maybe I'm just having a whinge for no reason in particular, which is fine because this is my goddamn blog and my goddamn domain name. Anyway, the basketball itself is pretty good. I find it tremendously amusing that Carmelo Anthony is really bad for the Thunder but I also don't particularly enjoy the brand of basketball that the Jazz play. I think Houston will win the title. I think Indiana probably should be up 3-1 right now. I think the Sixers/Heat beef is dumb and that Meek Mill should've been out of prison months ago. I have some of the right opinions. I'm a milquetoast NBA fan.This isn't just the NBA either. I've had serious trouble motivating myself to watch any sports, even tennis, in recent weeks. I think either I'm getting seriously miserable about American sports or I'm just too busy with other things to care. I'm sure I'll get back into it somehow.
Blog content.
It makes so much money. You have no idea.
