Watching American sports, and the culture surrounding it, from half a world away.
No introductions. Just a simple statement. I live in a country outside of the United States right now. Which nation? Don’t want to discuss it.
Living in another country affords both advantages and disadvantages. For example, what did I just scrounge up for dinner? A pot of vegetarian refried beans…and bacon. Inedible, and a distinct disadvantage. Another disadvantage: no framed sports pages above the urinals.
Where living in another country provides an advantage is in the unique perspective on sports you end up adopting. There are none of the insufferable curly-haired Boston Globe writers, or any of the other ridiculous things about our sporting world. Advantage. I control where I gather stats, I read only the editorials I want and I monitor what is going on stateside on my own time and through my own devices. Right now, I am an outsider looking in on American sporting culture. And what I see from across the Pacific is a disturbing trend: a cheapening of American pro sports.
Our country excels at manufacturing drama and appeal. Americans yearn for drama. More. MORE. We have perfected the progression of hype. Wherever you go around the globe, it's our brands, our entertainment and our stars. They're omnipresent. Game over. We win. U-S-A. Touché, say the nations around the world, as they dance their drugged-up asses off to techno Gaga before stumbling, red-eyed, into the neighborhood Starbucks wearing their Nike shirt and Levi's from the night prior.
The problem with our national penchant for fabricating drama is that we are starting to spoil our sporting events. We don’t need manufactured drama in our sports. Their unscripted nature provides enough theater.
Nevertheless, the media, the sponsors and the team owners lust for more of an audience. More eyeballs, more revenue. More. MORE. The upshot is a diluted, weaker product; MGD 64 in HD. And sports fans suffer for it. You have to hear about the Broncos QB every hour, on the hour, on the Worldwide Leader. Is the Broncos QB decent? Yes. Can he lead a team to a win in the NFL? Yes. Is he divine? No. Trending #hashtag? Meme? Virgin Jesus–ing? Please, God no.
I value good business. You have to be savvy to build an empire. The Patriots' annihilation of the Broncos had the highest rating for an AFC divisional playoff game in 18 years. What happened on the field isn’t the reason. I fear we can never just return to what happens on the field. Congratulations to the NFL and CBS and all those other block-lettered conglomerates. You win.
Living in another country affords both advantages and disadvantages. For example, what did I just scrounge up for dinner? A pot of vegetarian refried beans…and bacon. Inedible, and a distinct disadvantage. Another disadvantage: no framed sports pages above the urinals.
Where living in another country provides an advantage is in the unique perspective on sports you end up adopting. There are none of the insufferable curly-haired Boston Globe writers, or any of the other ridiculous things about our sporting world. Advantage. I control where I gather stats, I read only the editorials I want and I monitor what is going on stateside on my own time and through my own devices. Right now, I am an outsider looking in on American sporting culture. And what I see from across the Pacific is a disturbing trend: a cheapening of American pro sports.
Our country excels at manufacturing drama and appeal. Americans yearn for drama. More. MORE. We have perfected the progression of hype. Wherever you go around the globe, it's our brands, our entertainment and our stars. They're omnipresent. Game over. We win. U-S-A. Touché, say the nations around the world, as they dance their drugged-up asses off to techno Gaga before stumbling, red-eyed, into the neighborhood Starbucks wearing their Nike shirt and Levi's from the night prior.
The problem with our national penchant for fabricating drama is that we are starting to spoil our sporting events. We don’t need manufactured drama in our sports. Their unscripted nature provides enough theater.
Nevertheless, the media, the sponsors and the team owners lust for more of an audience. More eyeballs, more revenue. More. MORE. The upshot is a diluted, weaker product; MGD 64 in HD. And sports fans suffer for it. You have to hear about the Broncos QB every hour, on the hour, on the Worldwide Leader. Is the Broncos QB decent? Yes. Can he lead a team to a win in the NFL? Yes. Is he divine? No. Trending #hashtag? Meme? Virgin Jesus–ing? Please, God no.
I value good business. You have to be savvy to build an empire. The Patriots' annihilation of the Broncos had the highest rating for an AFC divisional playoff game in 18 years. What happened on the field isn’t the reason. I fear we can never just return to what happens on the field. Congratulations to the NFL and CBS and all those other block-lettered conglomerates. You win.
But the best sporting events aren’t contrived or crafted ahead of time. A 91st minute game winner, a sixth-rounder ending NFL perfection with some help from his helmet, a mid-major and a big-time team for the championship. Fans don’t need to be sold. Fans don’t need help building suspense. We grasp the significance.
Nate Nickerson is Began in '96's Far East correspondent. He's currently acting out his version of The Last Samuri as part of an attempt to recreate Tom Cruise's entire movie catalog.
1 comments:
I think the view you take in your article is too cynical and relatively off base. Sure, a lot of the news and drama surrounding sports is manufactured, but fans do need to be sold. What else would draw them to games, or sell merchandise, or make them care who the champion is? I'm in the same position as you, living across the Pacific, and while the amount of news coverage devoted to sports is over the top, the very fact that you wrote an article complaining about it shows that people care about sport for sport. Don't complain about the business built up around the games; rather, enjoy them for what they are. As you say, the media can't create a great match, they can't contrive the longest-ever Grand Slam match, they don't make me wake up at ungodly hours to catch a game. Take American sport for what it is and don't try to blame the media for "ruining" it.
And go Tim Tebow.
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