Rooting for the Bad Guy

They aren't.

 

Present company excluded.

Better yet, allow me to rephrase rather than slandering an entire profession and craft.

I just assume most movie stars are dumb.

Please forgive.

 

I can live with this.

 

This seems to be rarely discussed.

My younger brother loves John Lennon -- and, I'm a fan of much of the music -- but he was kind of an asshole, right? He beat Cynthia, and was a shitty father to Julian.

 

I've never had a problem with separating the personality from the art. My wife, on the other hand, is the opposite. For instance, she has refused to watch a Hugh Grant movie ever since his brush with the law.

I remember having a debate with someone, I forget who, on the fantasy football thread over his refusal to draft Adrian Peterson in light of his child-abuse issue.

 

If I know you're a Scientologist, I'm not watching you're work. I'm not watching Woody Allen's stuff (though it was never my thing to begin with), I'm not watching anything with Cosby, I rooted against the Patriots because of the Trump connections (even though when the season began I wanted to root for Brady because of the Deflategate bullshit) -- and I'm sure there are more.

Are some of these things stupid? Probably. But that's OK.

 

I'm a little surprised at how many of you root for anything at all. I can't fathom rooting for any sports organization or university. I'm way too apathetic and cynical for that anymore.

 

I lost my "root" through 40 years of sports journalism. But I'm getting it back now that I'm out of it.

 

I've never understood the almost religious fervor some fans have for professional sports. There are people here who have put off medical procedures and eaten rice and beans for months to pay for season tickets. This is doubly confusing when they can't name three other teams in the league, can't explain the basics of the game, and know very little about the history of the franchise. They just want logos and the right colors all over everything and get pants-hitchin' mad if someone roots for the wrong laundry or isn't slavishly devoted.

I think the turning point for me when I knew I couldn't toe the line was at a marquee game when someone walked up and asked what I thought about what I was watching. I said something to the effect that you could see Coach Q's playbook on the ice. They weren't happy and threats of physical violence ensued. I try not to fall into the trap of thinking all fans are stupid, but fan psyche in general really makes me wonder about people.

 

Must not be a sports columnist.

 

Thanks for the chuckle. Actually, I was.

 

The way I've always been about sports is that the outcome of a game or other competition isn't going to have any effect whatsoever on my life or the lives of anyone I know, other than to possibly provide a pleasant memory, so why be so serious about it. Sports are fun to play and fun to watch (most of the time), but they are not life and death. In the end, it's always just a game.