This piece is gorgeous — one of the most pro-social things I’ve read in a while. There’s so much casual misanthropy on the internet (I can’t go a day without seeing some variation of “people suck” on “social” media), and it’s so refreshing to see something that’s like, “Actually, people are great.”
Really struck a chord with me son! BTW fans are not only reason to watch but reason to play and I mean my man Rory McIroy who struggled playing sans the fans and then won when they started re-appearing at Wells Fargo in large numbers
Great stuff! Nothing can make me like or care about golf but I do find myself way into the NBA playoffs, just generally this year (and back into baseball in a big way, soccer in a big way). I do a little low-level daily fantasy sports for all those, which adds a little more of a rooting interest to some things. I also am now an unapologetic sports polygamist. I grew up outside Boston and am still a fan of the Boston teams first and foremost but I've lived in Denver for 15 years now and am not moving anytime soon. So go Nuggets, go Celtics (no chance to beat the Nets but oh well), go Sawx and Rockies. It's great to have the chance to go to games again, hopefully I can very soon. In the meantime, the Twitter conversation can be pretty great.
I attended the greatest football game in the history of the sport. December 2, 2009. Semi-final playoff between the Griz and Appalachian State, so it was for all the marbles. Wild blizzard swirling out of the Hellgate. Snow accumulating on the field. Outcome in doubt until the last play is over -- Armanti Edwards at QB for App State trying and failing to carry his team to victory as an act of pure will. (He'd led his team to 2 previous national championships, and lost in the semi his other year). If anyone in the full stadium sat down in the 4th quarter, I didn't see it. I'm sure the roar of the crowd could be heard halfway up the Rattlesnake.
I wonder if the NCAA will let us have playoff games in Montana?
I'm with you on the crowd experience being a definite part. Curmudgeons gonna curmudge, but singing along with Sweet Caroline in Fenway is a great thrill -- which is why no one can stop it -- and it's even a thrill on TV.
Thank you for putting that across so beautifully, I really appreciated your perspective. I have never understood the appeal of watching sports, yet this resonated absolutely with me. For 30 years my passion has been the UK festival scene. During lockdown I pondered what I missed most about the canceled Glastonbury Festival and realized it was simply being immersed in a crowd of overexcited humans. Virtual festivals depressed me utterly. My thoughts about it are here: https://normalforglastonbury.uk/no-glastonbury-festival-2020/.
It's interesting, I don't disagree with any of this (crowds are very important) yet as a fan of eSports I actually felt just as involved during the pandemic than before. However I think the key here is I watch on Twitch, with chat enabled. There's a sort of proxy to the "roar of the crowd" via the twitch spam/emojis. I don't find the experience nearly as engaging if I don't watch on Twitch with the chat available to glance at whenever anything crazy happens. I wonder if traditional sports will ever embrace this kind of online crowd
Remembering the strange and lovely humanness of crowds feels good. But the most iconic images of a crowd in 2021 come from January 6th. I wonder how it will feel to be part of a roiling mob at a concert or a game this year, knowing that some significant number of my companions very likely supported a violent insurrection against our government - in service of an amoral huckster. The political and epidemiological traumas of the last year feel like impediments to participating in mass events, even as they make me crave that dissolution into oneness. We'll see how it goes. I am willing to be pleasantly surprised!
Nice writing, in particular I loved the funfetti line. Not to mention working in Schrodingers and observer effect/quantum wave functions, chefs kiss.
My spouse and I will be fully vaccinated in a few days and I can not wait to go out to eat, catch some playoff hockey, and eavesdrop on random conversations. I miss talking to strangers, and hearing bit and pieces of random people talking and adding in my own bits to make full stories. For a fairly introverted person on the spectrum I am surprised how much I have missed people and all their wonderful idiosyncrasies.
This piece is gorgeous — one of the most pro-social things I’ve read in a while. There’s so much casual misanthropy on the internet (I can’t go a day without seeing some variation of “people suck” on “social” media), and it’s so refreshing to see something that’s like, “Actually, people are great.”
Really struck a chord with me son! BTW fans are not only reason to watch but reason to play and I mean my man Rory McIroy who struggled playing sans the fans and then won when they started re-appearing at Wells Fargo in large numbers
Great stuff! Nothing can make me like or care about golf but I do find myself way into the NBA playoffs, just generally this year (and back into baseball in a big way, soccer in a big way). I do a little low-level daily fantasy sports for all those, which adds a little more of a rooting interest to some things. I also am now an unapologetic sports polygamist. I grew up outside Boston and am still a fan of the Boston teams first and foremost but I've lived in Denver for 15 years now and am not moving anytime soon. So go Nuggets, go Celtics (no chance to beat the Nets but oh well), go Sawx and Rockies. It's great to have the chance to go to games again, hopefully I can very soon. In the meantime, the Twitter conversation can be pretty great.
I attended the greatest football game in the history of the sport. December 2, 2009. Semi-final playoff between the Griz and Appalachian State, so it was for all the marbles. Wild blizzard swirling out of the Hellgate. Snow accumulating on the field. Outcome in doubt until the last play is over -- Armanti Edwards at QB for App State trying and failing to carry his team to victory as an act of pure will. (He'd led his team to 2 previous national championships, and lost in the semi his other year). If anyone in the full stadium sat down in the 4th quarter, I didn't see it. I'm sure the roar of the crowd could be heard halfway up the Rattlesnake.
I wonder if the NCAA will let us have playoff games in Montana?
I'm with you on the crowd experience being a definite part. Curmudgeons gonna curmudge, but singing along with Sweet Caroline in Fenway is a great thrill -- which is why no one can stop it -- and it's even a thrill on TV.
Thank you for putting that across so beautifully, I really appreciated your perspective. I have never understood the appeal of watching sports, yet this resonated absolutely with me. For 30 years my passion has been the UK festival scene. During lockdown I pondered what I missed most about the canceled Glastonbury Festival and realized it was simply being immersed in a crowd of overexcited humans. Virtual festivals depressed me utterly. My thoughts about it are here: https://normalforglastonbury.uk/no-glastonbury-festival-2020/.
It's interesting, I don't disagree with any of this (crowds are very important) yet as a fan of eSports I actually felt just as involved during the pandemic than before. However I think the key here is I watch on Twitch, with chat enabled. There's a sort of proxy to the "roar of the crowd" via the twitch spam/emojis. I don't find the experience nearly as engaging if I don't watch on Twitch with the chat available to glance at whenever anything crazy happens. I wonder if traditional sports will ever embrace this kind of online crowd
Remembering the strange and lovely humanness of crowds feels good. But the most iconic images of a crowd in 2021 come from January 6th. I wonder how it will feel to be part of a roiling mob at a concert or a game this year, knowing that some significant number of my companions very likely supported a violent insurrection against our government - in service of an amoral huckster. The political and epidemiological traumas of the last year feel like impediments to participating in mass events, even as they make me crave that dissolution into oneness. We'll see how it goes. I am willing to be pleasantly surprised!
This piece just made me fall in love with sports. So magical! My favorite thing you’ve written 😍
Nice writing, in particular I loved the funfetti line. Not to mention working in Schrodingers and observer effect/quantum wave functions, chefs kiss.
My spouse and I will be fully vaccinated in a few days and I can not wait to go out to eat, catch some playoff hockey, and eavesdrop on random conversations. I miss talking to strangers, and hearing bit and pieces of random people talking and adding in my own bits to make full stories. For a fairly introverted person on the spectrum I am surprised how much I have missed people and all their wonderful idiosyncrasies.