Congratulations to the New York Mets, National League East champions. I’ve spent too much time following baseball, especially this perpetually disappointing team. But baseball’s a good distraction from all the shit in the world. Wait, that sounds like a backhanded compliment. I was making fun of my wife the other day who sometimes has to couch things with cynicism, like saying, “Wow, it’s such a beautiful day today…not like most days that suck like hell.”
But I feel like guilty about following something so money-drenched and mostly-stupid as baseball. Even though I like it. In a correspondence with Daniel Pinchbeck he lamented all the “Weapons of Mass Distraction” that tear people away from important things. He’s right. Doesn’t stop me.
There’s something scary about the cheers in this video when the final out is recorded:
(via Metsblog)
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4 comments:
Yes, I'm happy for you that the Mets are doing well this year; not like most other years when they suck.
-S
hey man,
that's great.
there is no need for all the political self-deprecation with regard to following the mets!
first: we all know that there is a special kind of human drama, poetry, and rhythm that is exclusive to baseball (woody allen has lamented that some of its qualities can never be achieved in theater and film).
second: compared to football matches in europe, baseball games are the fucking ballet! it is di rigeur for thousands of fans to make monkey noises each time a black player gets the ball, even throwing bananas! and these are regular spectators mind you, saying nothing of the hundreds of neo-nazis that frequently take over parts of the stadium and hang swastika flags (there was an HBO "real sports" on this last year).
third: if you haven't, take a look at bill buford's "among the thugs" on football hooligans. in the context of the inexcusable nihilism, nationalism, and xenophobia for which euro football is a flashpoint, the culture of american baseball is multi-culti utopia which we can all be proud of.
Thanks, Nat. I've read Among the Thugs. Scary, good book. I've been thinking about what I wrote here. Overly self-depracating as usual. Baseball's also weirdly magical, which is what Pinchbeck’s all about. Sports are corrupt and transcendent at once. Everything's two things.
Oh, and thanks S. Nice comment, not like those other times when you didn't leave a comment.
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