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BY MATT BRADWELL
One of my favorite things about this country is that no matter the creative or cultural endeavor, we find a way to use it to reignite the civil war. Sports, by no mean, is immune. White quarterbacks passing to black wide receivers, the NBA imposing a dress code to curb a culture it doesn't understand (despite marrying itself to said culture a decade earlier), college coaches a generation out of time causally referring to their players as seven letter "n" words (not naggers).
Graduate from race and you'll find amongst fans a class struggle. I'm not talking about day traders in skyboxes who defraud foreign markets when they should be keeping score (and apparently not drinking Miller High Life), I'm talking about which sports a fan watches.
Are you supporting your geographically convenient municipality by watching one of the big three (Four? Does hockey count anymore?) or college sports? Or do you identify with the quiet dignity of the bourgeois, politely clapping for a well-played birdie or match point?
Based on absolutely no research (but intense speculation), I assume most sports fans would say both, while still leaning toward one or the other. The French Open is one of my favorite events all year and Tiger Woods is my favorite active athlete. That said, I'm a team sport homer, blindly rooting for any group of individuals who prefix their nickname with "Philadelphia" (even if it means watching Arena Football. Go Soul).
I like getting all fired at up at games, screaming and making an overall ass of myself in the stands, furiously checking out standings and statistics, trying to find a damn Eagles bar in Chicago (and cathartically hugging like-minded misguided individuals when I do). It's fun.
But this past year, I've been having a lot more fun with the country club sports.
Tiger Woods was busy giving golf one of its best years when he left to have surgery (pussy), but it was completely worth it for the never-ever-ever-ending, cut-work-so-you-can-watch-it, Rocco-sort-of-has-man-boobs US Open. So Tiger goes on the DL (or whatever) and it looks like no matter what happens nothing will be as cool without him - then half the tour plays leader board bukkake at the British Open before the pride of Dublin, Pádraig Harrington won it for the second year in a row.
Tennis has given us our generations Ali Frazier with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, and I hope everyone is as grateful as I am. The few doubters left after the French Open were swiftly shut up by the marathon of deuces between the two at Wimbledon (which would have ended on Monday if it had gone on any longer).
Admittedly competitive equestrian abuse wasn't that great this year. Sure, Big Brown gave us our annual Triple Crown cocktease, and there was an execution on the track (which was just fucked up enough to be interesting), but looking back, it was sort of a who cares year for the ponies.
None-the-less, tennis and golf have kicked ass in a paint your stomach, spill your beer, regret your life choices sort of way, and – at least for me – it's the most fun I've ever had in sports' upper tax bracket.
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Comments
Tennis in a golden age? Stompy lay off the crack, there's two good players on both circuits... Last time I checked a Golden Age required a plethora of talent and rivalries beyond just one.
I love tennis but I don't even watch unless it's Nadal vs. Federer because neither will drop a set on the way to the final against this ridiculously meager competition.
Let's not leave out the women. Venus and Serena are consistently interesting and Sharapova is an incredible talent and there are more upsets in women's tennis. And #1 ranked Ana Ivanovic is friggin babe.
Also, John McEnroe was just on an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm so that has to count for something
Philadelphia Soul, 2008 Arena Bowl Champions...awesome.
I have to go kill myself now.
Rick, I agree the team can win as is. But I would love Street or Burnett to give the Sox an even better chance to piss on the Cubs' face aka win the World Series on the 100th anniversary of the last time the Cubs won one.
"give the Sox an even better chance to piss on the Cubs' face aka win the World Series on the 100th anniversary of the last time the Cubs won one.
"
Won't winning it be good enough? Why does the Cubs not winning it mean more to Sox "fans" than actually winning it? If this is your mentality than who really has the lame fans? Seriously, be happy winning it solely for the fact you love your team. It shouldn't matter if another team doesn't. Kind of seems retarded to me.
You want to talk about lame Zach? Since when was it cool to wear "100 years since the last title" as a badge of honor? Cubs fans find that unique. It's pathetic. You know I don't buy into this whole "love the Sox, hate the Cubs" or vise-versa idea, but the next Cubs' fan who tells me "It's fate" when referring to 100 years is getting an elbow to the face. Maybe "pissing on their face" was a bit harsh, but my knee drop that person's face will be worse.
Haha, Phil the only thing you will be knee dropping is your little sister (or Ricky), you lanky fuck. And, yes, those Cubs "fans" are lame.
There is nothing unique or cool about sucking for 100 years. I think a lot of that stems from the media. From Mariotti to John-fucking-Kruk (a baseball "expert") all your average fan hears is how it's "the Cubs year" (however retarded that may be). It's force-fed down thier throats and they don't know any better.
This isn't an excuse for their ignorance, but maybe an explanation(?)
Anywho, hope your doing well. See you in a couple weeks.
How many successive generations of inbreeding does being an arena football fan necessitate?
Tennis is so clearly in its golden age, and it frustrates me when people blindly dismiss it. Fed-Nadal have played in more finals than Sampras-Agassi ever did. And I get that both of them were American, but regardless, both guys are doing amazing things on the court. It's like watching LeBron vs. Kobe in a game of one-up one-on-one.