Seattlest: Ichiro vs The World

Samantha Miller-Cody

Wed, 15 Mar 2006 17:19:18 -0800

I like sports a lot, and I agree with Seth: I root for the teams I like. Sometimes because they are underdogs, sometimes because they are from Seattle, sometimes because I like their uniforms! But Scott has very good points about the arbitrary nature of our loyalties. There is a little part of all of us that really wants to be part of a big team ~ it's human nature. But the results of this bias are not always pretty. Think war, or racism, or Waco. Rooting for a team IS fun - especially when you are emotionally invested. And therein lies the danger: it's SO fun, you might start to manufacture reasons why you care. Like Scott says, they are not entirely unlike actors - so I think it is valid to re-examine why we offer tax subsidies (wellfare) to some entertainment professionals, and not others.

Seth

Wed, 15 Mar 2006 15:59:09 -0800

Interesting take, Scott. As a sports fan, I'd say that I'm not so much manipulated into rooting for Ichiro as much as I choose to root for him. Rooting is fun, because you get the highs of winning and the lows of losing. Tethering your emotions to the performance of some guy who doesn't care about you is a price I'm willing to pay.

David

Wed, 15 Mar 2006 15:53:08 -0800

Scott Kennedy, sucking the fun out of sports since 2006.

Jake of 8bitjoystick.com

Wed, 15 Mar 2006 15:45:12 -0800

Well I like rooting for the underdog so I am rooting for Japan. NIPPON YAKYUU INOCHI!!!!

Scott Kennedy

Wed, 15 Mar 2006 15:19:07 -0800

I couldn't help laughing at the "dilemna" facing Seattle baseball fans. They love Ichiro because he currently plays for Seattle, but love America, and want them to beat the Japanese team. What's funny is how easily we are manipulated into caring about these random people, simply because they are temporarily working in our city. Like actors, pro athletes are meat for hire, always ready to sell out to the highest bidder. I don't feel any more kinship with Ichiro than I do with Tom Hanks, just because he was in Sleepless in Seattle. I only wish I had the means and opportunity to buy many pro sports teams, just so I could trade every player from one team to another, and see who people decided to root for. In this respect, college sports makes more sense for the fan: those are your classmates on the field. Not random, overpaid babys, threatening to move if they don't get taxpayers to subsidize their place of business. I guess I just don't give out my respect and my loyalties that easily.