World Series subtext (or not)
Well, two games in I suppose I should be talking about the Series, but there's not much to say that hasn't been said by every sports writer in the country already. Boston had to dominate in game one to knock the Rockies off the high from their 20 game winning streak, and they did. Colorado needed to get back some of that winning energy in game two but they didn't. It now looks like Boston is a near lock to win the series. I wish I had something to say about it that hasn't been said, but I'm drawing on all my BA in English BSing skills and I can't come up with anything.
Okay, I'm not drawing on all my BA in English skills. The primary thing that they teach you in university English classes is the ability to take one sentence or even one word from a text and speak volumes on the significance (real or imagined) of that word or phrase both within the text and in the world at large. I could probably do that with the the World Series as my "text", and believe me using a baseball game as the text would be, not just embraced, but likely rewarded in any college English department.
I could theorize for several pages about the significance of pitching, but even then it would still have all been said. Baseball is America's pastime and this is the championship series. I don't feel the same pull to talk about it that I do about, say, bike racing. Even when I talk about the Tour de France, arguably the most notable race and certainly the only one that Americans seem to care about, I feel like I can provide a somewhat unique view point or say things that, at very least, only a handful of sports commentators in this country are talking about.
It's not that I'm not interested, or not watching the games...oaky...I have worked late the past two days and only caught the end of the games so far, but I'm still committed. I even burnt myself because I was trying to cook dinner and watch the end of game one at the same time. Maybe, I'm just not as invested in this Series as I could be or have been in some years past.
I tend to appreciate baseball as much for its history as anything else which is to say I am more interested in teams with interesting histories that include scandals, or curses, or historic rivalries. I like the Red Sox, the White Sox, the Cubs, the Dodgers, the Mets, the Phillies, the Pirates, the Reds, etc. I suppose I tend to be more interested in National League Teams. The fact that I'm from Seattle should make that fairly self explanatory. I mean, obviously the Mariners are my team, if I care about other teams I'd prefer them not to be rival teams, though I make a few exceptions.
So, the thing is, I care and I'm watching, and yes I'm a bit of a Red Sox fan so I'm a little bit invested in the outcome (i.e. I want the Sox to win). However, it's not exactly captivating this year. Now that the Red Sox have broken their historic curse they're less interesting, and the Rockies have only been around since 1993 (there's no interesting history there at all). It might be more interesting if this were the first time an expansion team were in the Series but the Diamondbacks did that (when they were only a 3 year old team). Okay, there's an inherent love of the game, or like of the game at least, but the things that make me care enough to analyze each pitch and call aren't there. It's not my home town team, it's not historic, it's also not especially complicated or interesting. If the Rockies make an astonishing come back and win the next three games in a row then there will be something to say (though even then it will have all been said by people who know more about the game than I do).
Okay, I'm not drawing on all my BA in English skills. The primary thing that they teach you in university English classes is the ability to take one sentence or even one word from a text and speak volumes on the significance (real or imagined) of that word or phrase both within the text and in the world at large. I could probably do that with the the World Series as my "text", and believe me using a baseball game as the text would be, not just embraced, but likely rewarded in any college English department.
I could theorize for several pages about the significance of pitching, but even then it would still have all been said. Baseball is America's pastime and this is the championship series. I don't feel the same pull to talk about it that I do about, say, bike racing. Even when I talk about the Tour de France, arguably the most notable race and certainly the only one that Americans seem to care about, I feel like I can provide a somewhat unique view point or say things that, at very least, only a handful of sports commentators in this country are talking about.
It's not that I'm not interested, or not watching the games...oaky...I have worked late the past two days and only caught the end of the games so far, but I'm still committed. I even burnt myself because I was trying to cook dinner and watch the end of game one at the same time. Maybe, I'm just not as invested in this Series as I could be or have been in some years past.
I tend to appreciate baseball as much for its history as anything else which is to say I am more interested in teams with interesting histories that include scandals, or curses, or historic rivalries. I like the Red Sox, the White Sox, the Cubs, the Dodgers, the Mets, the Phillies, the Pirates, the Reds, etc. I suppose I tend to be more interested in National League Teams. The fact that I'm from Seattle should make that fairly self explanatory. I mean, obviously the Mariners are my team, if I care about other teams I'd prefer them not to be rival teams, though I make a few exceptions.
So, the thing is, I care and I'm watching, and yes I'm a bit of a Red Sox fan so I'm a little bit invested in the outcome (i.e. I want the Sox to win). However, it's not exactly captivating this year. Now that the Red Sox have broken their historic curse they're less interesting, and the Rockies have only been around since 1993 (there's no interesting history there at all). It might be more interesting if this were the first time an expansion team were in the Series but the Diamondbacks did that (when they were only a 3 year old team). Okay, there's an inherent love of the game, or like of the game at least, but the things that make me care enough to analyze each pitch and call aren't there. It's not my home town team, it's not historic, it's also not especially complicated or interesting. If the Rockies make an astonishing come back and win the next three games in a row then there will be something to say (though even then it will have all been said by people who know more about the game than I do).
posted by Beth at
5:07 PM
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