Can Sports and Intelligence Coexist?
Written: Jul 09 '01 (Updated Jul 10 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: The Twins are in First Place.
Cons: My mind feels empty.
The Bottom Line: A look at professional sports and how they affect a person's life.
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| Roark_8's Full Review: Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome |
Once, in college while I still had the freedom to do so, I was sitting in Perkins at about 3 AM and I compiled a list. The list was going to change my life. It was entitled, “Things that keep me stupid” and it was just that, things that I believed that impeded the further expansion of my mind, in descending order of course. First on the list was by no surprise, Television. Many will argue that this will be the downfall of our civilization. I tend to agree. Second, was alcohol. Although, if I had to write the list again, I would push it a little further down the list. I’ve had some of my greatest insights into life after a few beers and some good conversation. Third on the list was “Sports.” At the time I was running around with the nerdy crowd and any mention of the Cubs or the Superbowl was met with a strong rebuke. I decided that sports were a waste of time and concentrated more on other things like philosophy and getting women to go out with me. Somehow I couldn’t justify allowing the outcome of a game effect me in any way. Why did I feel elation when the Minnesota Vikings beat the Packers? As The Onion happened to point out with a piece a couple of weeks ago, one team happens to be located in my area, and the other one in a neighboring state, whoopee, it’ll happen again next year. I did allow myself to keep one vice however, fantasy football. But this was more that just passively watching sports. I was using my mind to outwit and outplay my opponents. I was an active participant in my sports watching. As I was going to college in Iowa, refusing to watch professional sports was a pretty easy task. Unless you care about Arena football or girls highschool basketball, it’s pretty easy to not see a single thing about sports in the media.
However, something changed this spring. First. I moved back to Minnesota and second, the Twins started winning. I went to opening night at the Metrodome this year with some friends and was surprised to actually see a good game. You see, the tradition in the past was going to the game, having a few beers, and seeing who could be the most creative in heckling our own players. Our goal was to make a player cry. This happens when a team is the worst in the league for 9 years straight, the fans turn on the team. We once saw a ball bounce off an outfielder’s head when he was trying to catch it. We almost left the dome right then and there. If the players can’t protect themselves in field, maybe its time to pack it in and ship the team to Memphis. Anyway, the point is that this season has reminded me that I love watching baseball. I love talking baseball. I had forgotten that. It also has reminded me that professional sports do in fact hinder your intellectual development.
Look at my epinions profile, for example. Since April 11 (right around opening day) I have written twice. And once was to comply with a previous commitment to participate in a write off. Since the season began, I haven’t picked up a book. I read the sports section cover to cover. I haven’t had a good conversation about pop culture. My conversations all revolve around if the Twins should pick up a middle reliever or a right handed power hitter. What happened to me? Hell, I’m only writing this because it’s the All-Star Break.
I remember the first time I walked into the Metrodome. I guess I was taken to the old Metropolitan stadium, but I was too young to remember. So my first experience with baseball was with the Dome. I, like millions of other people across this nation, have a vivid memory of walking up the ramp and seeing the enormousness of the field for the first time. I remember the smell and the green. Little did I know then that my first experience was being cheated by the fake field they call the Metrodome. The green I saw was Astroturf. The smell I experienced was the plastic feeling that haunts the place. Instead looking up and seeing the stars in the sky on a beautiful Minnesota June evening, I saw the puffy off white cover. The Metrodome is truly a horrible place to watch baseball. The seats aren’t pointed the right direction (the place is designed for football), so if you sit down the 1st baseline, you have to lean forward to see the plate around the person to your left. The baggy in right field has become a joke around the league. For most people, the highlight of the evening is getting blown out the exit door by the air pressure inside. In an age where all of the domed stadiums are coming down, the Metrodome remains a monument to a forgettable age in baseball stadiums.
I wonder now if that day of my first game was important for my father. I imagine someday taking my kids to the ballpark and showing them how to keep score. Looking back now though, I remember being more interested in when the wave was going to start then writing F-6 in my book. Maybe I’ll wait awhile before I bring them to the game. My dad and I have started to go to games together this year. We both sneak out of work early on Wednesday and get down to the Dome early for their “$1 Hot dog” promotion. We each have our dinner and watch the game. He still keeps score in a scorebook that he has had for 30+ years. I peeped at it one night when he was at the bathroom and there is a page from when he kept score of a 1965 game. Harmon Killibrew batted 3rd that night. I like going to the game with him on Wednesdays.
So where do I go from here? I don’t want to give up on intellectual pursuits and start to yell at my wife “Don’t bother me while I’m watching the game!” for the rest of my life, but at the same time, I don’t want to give up my love for baseball either. Well, the first thing I did was cut my cable. Well, it’s not as dramatic as all of that, I moved recently and decided not to get cable at the new place. But for the sake of dramatic resolution, imagine me breaking down after watching my third straight episode of Facts of Life on Nick at Night and ripping my cable out of the wall. It makes me sound less apathetic. Anyway, this did two things. First, it made me start listening to games on the radio instead of watching them on cable every night. Having to imagine the game makes me feel like I’m using my mind more. Second, it gives me more free time to read and do other “smart” things, as I’m not being sucked into the void that is cable programming. I’ve also made a conscious effort to start doing those intellectual things that I have been neglecting. I’m not sure if all of this will work. I am sure that my Twins are in first place and I have a seat reserved down the 1st baseline with my dad on Wednesday to watch a game that I love, even if it robs me of my intelligence. I only hope someone short is sitting to my left.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Roark_8
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Location: Twin Cities, MN
Reviews written: 22
Trusted by: 43 members
About Me:
I pity da fool who don't write good reviews.
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