Other Sports SI: Sports fans are passionate, but many need a dose of perspective. - Page 4

|Zach| · 08-09-2010, 12:42 PM

Why are you so angry?

Yes, you. The diehard sports fan who lives for his teams, reads every magazine/newspaper/website/blog and takes this stuff -- professional and college athletics -- waaaaaaay too seriously?

Did you have a bad day at the office? Is your muffler dragging? Did someone spill Sunny Delight on your Bart Kofoed-autographed Warriors jersey? Is your underwear too tight? Did your wife ask you to watch the kids for a few hours?
Oh, I understand passion. I understand bleeding a team's colors, crying so hard following a loss that your parents wonder whether you need another shot of ketamine. Why, as a 12-year-old I could barely sleep after Marvin Hagler knocked out Tommy Hearns. When the Red Sox had the Mets on the verge of extinction during Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, I hid behind my fingers and refused to come out. I've screamed at the television, cursed out the radio, sworn off players who broke my heart and teams that let me down.
Of course, that all stopped when I , ahem, grew up.

How about you? How do you explain the vitriol?

The unmitigated cruelty aimed at sports journalists who have the audacity to write/say something you find either insulting or incorrect? When I started at Sports Illustrated in 1996, roughly 200 copies of a "reader comments" packet would be photocopied and distributed throughout the office. A large number of the letters were positive. A slightly smaller total were negative, but in a respectful way. "How dare you say Steve Garvey was the greatest National League first baseman when he played in the same era as Keith Hernandez" or "I really think you guys need to reconsider the Swimsuit Issue." Heck, in February 2000, a couple of weeks after I wrote the infamous profile of John Rocker for the magazine, I received a two-page letter from his mother, Judy. The woman was understandably angry, and she let me know about it. But her note made an unmistakable point ("You're a jerk") without using the actual words ("You're a jerk"). I've never forgotten that.

Now, however, everything has changed. With the wonderful world of e-mail and text messaging annihilating the wide gap between angry thought and pen/paper, irrational fans nationwide can immediately fire off a [FILL IN THE BLANK: Threatening. Insulting. Distasteful.] rant without a moment's pause.
Here, for example, are snippets of two e-mails I've received over the past 24 hours -- neither especially out of the ordinary.

• "You remind me of those guys in the current Miller Lite commercials. One has a lower back tattoo and the other is wearing a thong. My 4-year-old son is more of a man than you. Go drink your green tea."

• "Shut the ---- up you slimy ----! You are using your position to brainwash the ----- in the US to accept illegal aliens that are mostly a bunch of murderers, rapists, & child-molesters."

When I returned to writing for SI.com in 2009 following a six-year hiatus, I told my editor that I wanted to run an e-mail address beneath my columns, so that readers could have their chance to respond. "Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yes," I replied. "It's the right thing to do."

I had no idea.

For some reason, we sportswriters bring out the absolute worst in people. I'd love to think it's just me -- that my work is so heinous readers feel compelled to thrash. But then I asked around. From Jesus Ortiz at the Houston Chronicle to Michael J. Lewis at the Daytona Beach Daily News to Dave Sheinin at the Washington Post, there is universal agreement that things somehow crossed a line. That journalists have gone from dispensers of information to receptacles for venom.

These days, whether a columnist opines on the Lakers dynasty or the Nets putridity, whether he/she tells the story of an athlete overcoming cancer or an athlete rotting in a jail cell, the aftermath is rarely good. When Ortiz wrote a piece on the Mexican national team coming to Texas before the World Cup, he found his mailbox littered with racist e-mails. "Everybody wants to let you know how they feel," Ortiz says. "It seems as if they don't mind expressing their anger." When Lewis penned a handful of local high school girls basketball stories, he received a three-page letter from a player's grandmother. "It was so nasty and no abusive," says Lewis, "that the woman's son sent me a letter apologizing for his mom's note."

With rare exception, the notes are anonymous. And grammatically inept. And some sort of cry for help/loneliness/meaning.

They also happen to be deliciously ironic: While the crazy sports fanatic seems to believe everything that matters in life involves a ball and a watery cup of beer, most writers are just the opposite. We dig sports, embrace sports, devote our lives to covering sports. But come day's end, 99 percent of us are able to step away and, oh, watch a movie. The same goes for players. Yes, Derek Jeter loves the Yankees and wants the Yankees to win and plays his heart out. But does he ream out the reporter who dares ask him a tough question? Never. He moves on, grabs some dinner and heads home after the game for the latest episode of Entourage and a good night's sleep.
Maybe you should, too.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...#ixzz0w8TDJUf4

Ebolapox · 08-09-2010, 08:53 PM

I gotta say... this went over like a fart in the wind. far cry from the days when you were CP's vice president, eh zach?

|Zach| · 08-09-2010, 08:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by H5N1

I gotta say... this went over like a fart in the wind. far cry from the days when you were CP's vice president, eh zach?

I will let the hens in the henhouse worry about popularity. I just post what I think.

Frazod · 08-09-2010, 09:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by |Zach|

I will let the hens in the henhouse worry about popularity. I just post what I think.

I guess when everybody thinks you've degenerated into a complete douche, it's easier to not worry about being liked.

|Zach| · 08-09-2010, 09:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frazod

I guess when everybody thinks you've degenerated into a complete douche, it's easier to not worry about being liked.

I guess you will just have to add me to long list of things you won't get over.

teedubya · 08-09-2010, 09:44 PM

It's hard being a fan, sometimes, guys. :-) Especially after KU tournament losses. lol

Ebolapox · 08-09-2010, 09:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by teedubya

It's hard being a fan, sometimes, guys. :-) Especially after KU tournament losses. lol

funny, I find those some of the best times of my life

Demonpenz · 08-09-2010, 10:04 PM

picking up chicks and lying on Football BB, now there is someone that we desperately need in the world.

Frazod · 08-09-2010, 10:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by |Zach|

I guess you will just have to add me to long list of things you won't get over.

Says the guy who keeps editing his posts, because, well, I guess you just have to get that perfect (in your mind?) shot in.

As for getting over you, I just think it's sad that you woke up one day and decided to become DEnise. Other than that, you're just a pathetic turd I met a couple of times years ago. Sorry to disappoint you.

jspchief · 08-09-2010, 10:39 PM

I love when sports media talks about fans being too fanatical. Never mind that such extreme levels of interest are what create the plethora of sports media jobs in the first place.

You don't want readers/viewers/listeners that care so much? Go be a weatherman.

Psyko Tek · 08-09-2010, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

Pretty much....How did fans kneejerk and overeact before talk radio and the internet??

at a bar
and they may have got punched for it

no such deterrent here

|Zach| · 08-09-2010, 11:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frazod

Says the guy who keeps editing his posts, because, well, I guess you just have to get that perfect (in your mind?) shot in.

As for getting over you, I just think it's sad that you woke up one day and decided to become DEnise. Other than that, you're just a pathetic turd I met a couple of times years ago. Sorry to disappoint you.

Shame, no more crying from you how YOU THOT WE WAZ FRIENDZZZ...BAWWWW

Frazod · 08-09-2010, 11:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by |Zach|

Shame, no more crying from you how YOU THOT WE WAZ FRIENDZZZ...BAWWWW

While you, as in all things, dramatically overstate your level of importance to, well, pretty much everybody, I will say that the number of PM and rep comments I've received basically wondering "When did Zach become such a piece of shit?" would surprise you. It's not like I'm the only one who's noticed your descent into becoming a manhater.

|Zach| · 08-09-2010, 11:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frazod

While you, as in all things, dramatically overstate your level of importance to, well, pretty much everybody, I will say that the number of PM and rep comments I've received basically wondering "When did Zach become such a piece of shit?" would surprise you. It's not like I'm the only one who's noticed your descent into becoming a manhater.

Then go ahead and spend time talking over it with the other girls in your knitting circle. Whatever you do don't ask me how much I care, because you are going to be disappointed.

Frazod · 08-09-2010, 11:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by |Zach|

Then go ahead and spend time talking over it with the other girls in your knitting circle. Whatever you do don't ask me how much I care, because you are going to be disappointed.

Then maybe you should stop quoting me, sweetpea. Or can you just not quit me?

|Zach| · 08-09-2010, 11:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frazod

Then maybe you should stop quoting me, sweetpea. Or can you just not quit me?

Why would I do that...you proving me right time again about you not being able to get over...well...pretty much anything.

http://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showt...97#post6925697

08-09-2010, 12:42 PM
\|Zach\| For The Glory Of The City Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Kansas City Casino cash: $3126768	SI: Sports fans are passionate, but many need a dose of perspective. Why are you so angry? Yes, you. The diehard sports fan who lives for his teams, reads every magazine/newspaper/website/blog and takes this stuff -- professional and college athletics -- waaaaaaay too seriously? Did you have a bad day at the office? Is your muffler dragging? Did someone spill Sunny Delight on your Bart Kofoed-autographed Warriors jersey? Is your underwear too tight? Did your wife ask you to watch the kids for a few hours? Oh, I understand passion. I understand bleeding a team's colors, crying so hard following a loss that your parents wonder whether you need another shot of ketamine. Why, as a 12-year-old I could barely sleep after Marvin Hagler knocked out Tommy Hearns. When the Red Sox had the Mets on the verge of extinction during Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, I hid behind my fingers and refused to come out. I've screamed at the television, cursed out the radio, sworn off players who broke my heart and teams that let me down. Of course, that all stopped when I , ahem, grew up. How about you? How do you explain the vitriol? The unmitigated cruelty aimed at sports journalists who have the audacity to write/say something you find either insulting or incorrect? When I started at Sports Illustrated in 1996, roughly 200 copies of a "reader comments" packet would be photocopied and distributed throughout the office. A large number of the letters were positive. A slightly smaller total were negative, but in a respectful way. "How dare you say Steve Garvey was the greatest National League first baseman when he played in the same era as Keith Hernandez" or "I really think you guys need to reconsider the Swimsuit Issue." Heck, in February 2000, a couple of weeks after I wrote the infamous profile of John Rocker for the magazine, I received a two-page letter from his mother, Judy. The woman was understandably angry, and she let me know about it. But her note made an unmistakable point ("You're a jerk") without using the actual words ("You're a jerk"). I've never forgotten that. Now, however, everything has changed. With the wonderful world of e-mail and text messaging annihilating the wide gap between angry thought and pen/paper, irrational fans nationwide can immediately fire off a [FILL IN THE BLANK: Threatening. Insulting. Distasteful.] rant without a moment's pause. Here, for example, are snippets of two e-mails I've received over the past 24 hours -- neither especially out of the ordinary. • "You remind me of those guys in the current Miller Lite commercials. One has a lower back tattoo and the other is wearing a thong. My 4-year-old son is more of a man than you. Go drink your green tea." • "Shut the ---- up you slimy ----! You are using your position to brainwash the ----- in the US to accept illegal aliens that are mostly a bunch of murderers, rapists, & child-molesters." When I returned to writing for SI.com in 2009 following a six-year hiatus, I told my editor that I wanted to run an e-mail address beneath my columns, so that readers could have their chance to respond. "Are you sure?" he asked. "Yes," I replied. "It's the right thing to do." I had no idea. For some reason, we sportswriters bring out the absolute worst in people. I'd love to think it's just me -- that my work is so heinous readers feel compelled to thrash. But then I asked around. From Jesus Ortiz at the Houston Chronicle to Michael J. Lewis at the Daytona Beach Daily News to Dave Sheinin at the Washington Post, there is universal agreement that things somehow crossed a line. That journalists have gone from dispensers of information to receptacles for venom. These days, whether a columnist opines on the Lakers dynasty or the Nets putridity, whether he/she tells the story of an athlete overcoming cancer or an athlete rotting in a jail cell, the aftermath is rarely good. When Ortiz wrote a piece on the Mexican national team coming to Texas before the World Cup, he found his mailbox littered with racist e-mails. "Everybody wants to let you know how they feel," Ortiz says. "It seems as if they don't mind expressing their anger." When Lewis penned a handful of local high school girls basketball stories, he received a three-page letter from a player's grandmother. "It was so nasty and no abusive," says Lewis, "that the woman's son sent me a letter apologizing for his mom's note." With rare exception, the notes are anonymous. And grammatically inept. And some sort of cry for help/loneliness/meaning. They also happen to be deliciously ironic: While the crazy sports fanatic seems to believe everything that matters in life involves a ball and a watery cup of beer, most writers are just the opposite. We dig sports, embrace sports, devote our lives to covering sports. But come day's end, 99 percent of us are able to step away and, oh, watch a movie. The same goes for players. Yes, Derek Jeter loves the Yankees and wants the Yankees to win and plays his heart out. But does he ream out the reporter who dares ask him a tough question? Never. He moves on, grabs some dinner and heads home after the game for the latest episode of Entourage and a good night's sleep. Maybe you should, too. Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...#ixzz0w8TDJUf4
Posts: 54,699

08-09-2010, 08:53 PM	#46
Ebolapox remember, remember Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: como Casino cash: $-1650097	I gotta say... this went over like a fart in the wind. far cry from the days when you were CP's vice president, eh zach?
Posts: 26,518

08-09-2010, 09:44 PM	#50
teedubya Most Valuable Poster Join Date: Oct 2003 Casino cash: $8993042	It's hard being a fan, sometimes, guys. :-) Especially after KU tournament losses. lol
Posts: 36,831

08-09-2010, 10:04 PM	#52
Demonpenz Woman should only make babies Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Apartment "G UNIT!" Casino cash: $-293864	picking up chicks and lying on Football BB, now there is someone that we desperately need in the world. __________________
Posts: 54,947

08-09-2010, 10:39 PM	#54
jspchief BAMF Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Your Face Casino cash: $9998710	I love when sports media talks about fans being too fanatical. Never mind that such extreme levels of interest are what create the plethora of sports media jobs in the first place. You don't want readers/viewers/listeners that care so much? Go be a weatherman. __________________ Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the judgment that something is more important than fear. The brave may not live forever but the cautious do not live at all.
Posts: 27,207