The New Yorker on 'The Unbeautiful Game'

Mr macg, Mr 70,

Adam Gopnik is a month older than me. I remember trying to watch a Jets game the season after the Super Bowl from my family living room in Toronto--the Buffalo NBC affiliate had Munsters Go Home and there was no hope of tuning in Rochester. (Torontonians know I speak the truth.) Likewise, in Montreal, Mr Gopnik would have been shit outta luck a lot of the times tuning in games from his home base. Back in the day CBC picked up some NFL but not the old AFL. And you were utterly at the mercy of cross-border broadcasters (the Buffalo CBS affiliate always showed the Browns in the 60s). Hey, I know what you speak of when it comes to Namathian idolatry--you're reading the posts of someone who at 13, incapable of growing sideburn, combed hair down beisde his earhole to replicate SI's "Namath Weeps" cover. I can find my copy Johnny Sample's Confessions of a Dirty Ballplayer. All I'm saying about Gopnik is that his romantic notions about ye old ballgame are rooted not in the at-the-stadium experiences of a fan or the in-the-locker-room experiences of a reporter but rather what he was able to buy on the newstand or check out of the library. Which to me isn't enough to be ripping the game for not being up to the old measure. That soup needs stronger stock.

YHS, etc

 

Mitch Albom would certainly agree with this.

 

As would Mike Lupica. He makes you feel like you were right at the stadium with him watching the game.

 

Sirs, Madames,

Look I hope I'm not too critical about Gopnick--the bitter turns in his preteens and all. But any self-respecting kid in Montreal would have been sustained by Canadiens No. 4 (among numerous available local talents) not Broadway Joe. He does seem to be playing a born-and-bred NYer here (and appealing to the same), when he is a stealthy Canadian (albeit a Montrealer).

YHS, etc

 

Never said there wasn't a right way to do it and a wrong way to do it.

 

Point taken.

 

It certainly works for Gladwell.

 

Mr macg,

This is a point that in track terms must be taken literally:

Malcolm Gladwell was a provincial champion miler.*

(*1,500 metres)

YHS, etc

 

Oh I'm sorry, Boom. I was just trying to get you thinking about perceptions...

Well, after last night's game, I think Gopnick's article looks particularly ridiculous.

 

Players didn't expect to play for several years and be set up for life. It was a way to make more money than you would at another job and keep playing a kid's game. The NFL in the mid 50s wasn't such a big business. By the mid 60s, there was more money in pro football and players should have been making more money - the signing bonuses for college players showed the difference in a competitive market and a tightly-controlled market.