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Thread: Spectator Sport: contemporary civilization - better than war?

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    Default Spectator Sport: contemporary civilization - better than war?

    Modern society is oriented to the practical.

    We buy our cars based on our personal need.

    Similar story with cell phones, clothing, etc.


    The utility of spectator sport is dubious. It's entertainment. The economics of our present day culture is so rich that we can afford to pay top talent $millions just to play the game they love, to entertain us.


    Is cheering for the home team a surrogate for the xenophobe's reflexive devotion to his own nation?

    “Patriotism is the belief your country is superior to all other countries because you were born in it.” George Bernard Shaw
    NHL Stanley Cup Final play begins Monday May 28, 8:PM/ET on NBC.


    Some ironies:

    a) Canadians are notorious for their reflexive courtesy, civility.


    b) Canadians are also fanatical about ice hockey.


    c) Fights & brawls may be more common in professional ice hockey than any other Western spectator sport. [When was the most recent time you saw a brawl break out in a bowling tournament?]


    d) Despite national Canadian devotion to ice hockey, this world series of ice hockey will occur between two U.S. teams.


    e) Those teams are:

    - the tenured Washington Capitals, vs

    - the premier year Vegas Golden Knights.

    '[Commercial] Television in America does not exist to deliver programs to viewers.
    It exists to deliver audiences to advertisers.' a top CBS-TV executive CBS CBS Executive
    "Follow the $money"?

    What the puck is really going on here?
    "It should be obvious to anyone why conservatives and libertarians should be against Trump. He has no grounding in belief. No core philosophy. No morals. No loyalty. No curiosity. No empathy and no understanding. He demands personal loyalty and not loyalty to the nation. His only core belief is in his own superiority to everyone else. His only want is exercise more and more personal power." smb / purveyor of fact 18/03/18

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    You see the Red Team/Blue Team antics here. Like sports, it seems to be a team identification game.
    I did like that you included that quote: "'[Commercial] Television in America does not exist to deliver programs to viewers.
    It exists to deliver audiences to advertisers.' a top CBS-TV executive CBS CBS Executive".

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    Quote Originally Posted by Threedee View Post
    Back during the Byzantine Empire, two rival chariot racing fan bases essentially acted as rival political parties. And they staged some pretty epic riots.

    https://www.smithsonianmag.com/histo...ire-113325928/
    Will there be "riots" in the city that wins the Stanley Cup?
    Common sense is not a gift, it's a punishment because you have to deal with everyone who doesn't have it.

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    I’ve always thought that sports provided a benign outlet for tribal instincts in society.

    The Buckeyes utterly suck.
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    We were always taught that international rugby was a wonderful substitute for war, but the way most sport is going it will become a [B]trigger[B] for war! And, fair play, I'd like to fight the English, as Nature intended!
    Last edited by iolo; 05-26-2018 at 07:20 AM.

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    The only true spectator sport is bird watching.

    Sport is ritualized combat. If people want to watch, that's cool.

    Last edited by Bigdog; 05-26-2018 at 09:57 AM.
    "I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a storybook, man."
    — Joe Biden on Obama.

    Socialism is just the modern word for monarchy.

    D.C. has become a Guild System with an hierarchy and line of accession much like the Royal Court or priestly classes.

    Private citizens are perfectly able of doing a better job without "apprenticing".

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    Quote Originally Posted by iolo View Post
    I'd like to fight the English, as Nature intended!
    You and your ancestors have lived in abject defeat and groveled under the English heel for centuries, haven't you?

    They tried to seize our arms at Lexington and Concord and we threw off their shackles.

    Yet you lie supine and advise us to disarm.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Threedee View Post
    I doubt it. Pittsburgh isn't in it this year.

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