Jason Moyer on 29/7/2012 at 16:26
Quote Posted by Fafhrd
I think one of the major contributors to the insanity of sports culture, as it is for so many things, is the amount of money that's tied up in it.
That works for any entertainment:
I think one of the major contributors to the insanity of the videogame industry, as it is for so many things, is the amount of money that's tied up in it.
I think one of the major contributors to the insanity of Hollywood, as it is for so many things, is the amount of money that's tied up in it.
I think one of the major contributors to the insanity of the music industry, as it is for so many things, is the amount of money that's tied up in it.
I think one of the major contributors to the insanity of shitty books about teenage vampires, as it is for so many things, is the amount of money that's tied up in it.
I think one of the major contributors to the insanity of comic books, as it is for so many things, is the amount of money that's tied up in it.
I think one of the major contributors to the insanity of [whatever it is that you're into], as it is for so many things, is the amount of money that's tied up in it.
Jason Moyer on 29/7/2012 at 16:41
Quote Posted by Kuuso
Maybe the problems considering sports are heighened in US due to it's specific culture?
Yes, because in the US we have riots at sporting events where hundreds of people are killed and the stadia are burned down. Man, those Yanks.
Quote Posted by BrokenArts
I was thinking the same thing, some people take sports WAAAY too seriously.
You're posting this on a forum with 50 page threads about how Thief 4 is going to suck after someone saw a blurry screenshot from 15 feet away.
Quote Posted by Kuuso
tl;dr sports is not an evil entity that has no positive sides and goddammit it sounds like such stereotypical nerdrage against sports in here (I guess a small ad hominem doesnt hurt anybody).
Yeah, pretty much.
Also, (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_James) this man (and others) demonstrated the intellectual value of sports 30-40 years ago. With how rubbish 99% of the books written in the past few decades have been, I'd probably rate him as the third greatest author of my lifetime behind Douglas Adams and Richard Dawkins.
BrokenArts on 29/7/2012 at 18:35
So you want to tie money and obsessions to everything under the sun, and here I thought we were discussing sports. Lets keep this simple shall we.
DDL on 29/7/2012 at 18:44
You could argue that we (as a species) or possibly we (as a culture) tend to throw money disproportionately at things that entertain rather than things that are economically sensible. Everything Jason mentioned falls under that remit.
The question then would be whether this disproportionate distribution of resources (be it to sport, movies, FPS/RPG hybrids featuring nanotechnology, or [insert entertainment here]) is excessive enough to genuinely hurt us as a species (or culture? -We're evolving so fast culturally that treating us on a genetic basis seems far far too long-termist).
On the one hand, it's self evident that devoting all those resources to science, technology and human betterment would be a much better idea, but on the other hand, that's not how people work, and it's not how people have ever worked. All people are stupid in at least one or two ways, and a great many people are stupid in a great many ways. Entertainment at least keeps people distracted and relatively well "socially knit", which could be considered a huge social benefit.
Jason Moyer on 29/7/2012 at 18:52
Quote Posted by BrokenArts
So you want to tie money and obsessions to everything under the sun, and here I thought we were discussing sports. Lets keep this simple shall we.
Here I thought we were having a nerdwank about how sports are stupid and everything we're into is totally awesome, pseudo-intellectual, and beneficial to society.
BrokenArts on 29/7/2012 at 19:03
Sports are stupid and along with everything else!
Briareos H on 29/7/2012 at 19:21
I agree.
Fafhrd on 29/7/2012 at 22:41
Quote Posted by Jason Moyer
That works for any entertainment:
I think one of the major contributors to the insanity of the videogame industry, as it is for so many things, is the amount of money that's tied up in it.
I think one of the major contributors to the insanity of Hollywood, as it is for so many things, is the amount of money that's tied up in it.
I think one of the major contributors to the insanity of the music industry, as it is for so many things, is the amount of money that's tied up in it.
I think one of the major contributors to the insanity of shitty books about teenage vampires, as it is for so many things, is the amount of money that's tied up in it.
I think one of the major contributors to the insanity of comic books, as it is for so many things, is the amount of money that's tied up in it.
I think one of the major contributors to the insanity of [whatever it is that you're into], as it is for so many things, is the amount of money that's tied up in it.
When Warren Spector gets a multi-year multimillion dollar contract to sell Hanes, or a university (
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/468988-reggie-bush-and-the-heisman-trophy-the-tip-of-a-very-dirty-iceberg) offers a student a car because he has high test scores and they want him in their comp-sci program, you'll maybe have a point.
fett on 29/7/2012 at 23:26
All I know is that with the exception of the Greeks, there are very, very few Empires or major powers in history whose sports are of much lasting value, other than as an indicator of the social climate and economic averages of the citizens. To really learn about a culture, we study their writing, art, music, philosophy, and politics. Even our interest in the Greek's obsession with sports is an anthropological rest stop on the way to understanding their appreciation for the artistic aspect of the human figure. We consider the sports of the Romans to help us understand the social norms, criminal justice system, persecution of religion, etc.
My point is that no one really studies the sports of an ancient power for the sake of the sport itself. It's simply a puzzle piece in the larger picture of the development of that culture. The other things I mention tend to be valued more highly as time passes, and are generally considered valuable in and of themselves - they can be passed on and appreciated by future generations, learned from, built upon, etc. It's a stretch to see any inherent value in most sports. Remember that great game between the Paris Doucheboats and the London Fartknockers back in 18whateverthefuck? Yeah, me neither. Because it's done and gone - it's temporal. Other than *possibly* the inspirational stamina of the team, or the tired underdog story derived from a long-shot championship, there's really nothing there to hold in your hand or appreciate through the ages.
Edit: Of course, I'm not saying something has to have lasting, tangible value to be important or even worthwhile. But it seems to me the very things that other cultures, including our own, value about great minds and great Empires of the past, are the very things being underfunded, removed from our education system (so they are neither perpetuated or appreciated), ridiculed, etc., much of it for either lack of or greed for money. Meanwhile, the temporal, vanishing things (sports games, porn, pop news programs) receive an inordinate amount of both funding and attention. There's no balance.
Azaran on 29/7/2012 at 23:38
Quote Posted by fett
But it seems to me the very things that other cultures, including our own, value about great minds and great Empire's of the past, are the very things being underfunded, removed from our education system (so they are neither perpetuated or appreciated), ridiculed, etc., much of it for either lack of or greed for money. Meanwhile, the temporal, vanishing things (sports games, porn, pop news programs) receive an inordinate amount of both funding and attention. There's no balance.
Exactly
