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A question of sport.
Jul. 27th, 2012 11:25 amSomething which I find irritating - amongst the many, many things I find irritating, like people who stop suddenly in front of me on the pavement, and people who look surprised and start fumbling for their wallet when asked to pay for something when they've just watched the cashier ring up their purchases - is a particular piece of intellectual snobbery which manifests itself as "I am clever, and so I do not like sport", or in its smugger incarnation, "I do not like sport, and so I am clever."
It tends to appear most when there's some sort of large football tournament on. The commentosphere is suddenly crammed with people pointing out how they don't care about this silly game, how the pubs are suddenly crammed with stupid people, and how the telly is going to be crammed to the gills with coverage for the next whole week or so and that's wrong because they personally are not interested*. Well, the telly is going to be crammed with people generally being faster, stronger and higher than me and you for a few weeks and I've seen a certain amount of 'ugh, sports' commentary out there, and, just for the record - not finding all this to your tastes doesn't make you clever. It just makes you someone who doesn't find sport very interesting. Which is fine, but don't pretend it's something that it's not.
Now, I've been guilty in the past of thinking that because something is popular then it can't be any good. I remember when I was but young I avoided watched Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure for several years because an ex-girlfriend and her friends were big fans of it and so therefore it couldn't be any good. But, y'know, that sort of thinking is quite childish and insular - it means you miss out on stuff, and variety is the spice of life and all that vajazzle.
The London Olympics, bluntly, was a bloody stupid idea - an act of political hubris by a discredited political movement which will only pay for itself through a sheer luck, hard work and Boris if it happens at all. However, I see the Olympics as being like shooting penguins - nobody wants to do it, but if you've got to do it you may as well enjoy it.
I wonder if those medals are made of real gold? That'd get me off the couch and no mistake.
*Because clever people need the television, you see
It tends to appear most when there's some sort of large football tournament on. The commentosphere is suddenly crammed with people pointing out how they don't care about this silly game, how the pubs are suddenly crammed with stupid people, and how the telly is going to be crammed to the gills with coverage for the next whole week or so and that's wrong because they personally are not interested*. Well, the telly is going to be crammed with people generally being faster, stronger and higher than me and you for a few weeks and I've seen a certain amount of 'ugh, sports' commentary out there, and, just for the record - not finding all this to your tastes doesn't make you clever. It just makes you someone who doesn't find sport very interesting. Which is fine, but don't pretend it's something that it's not.
Now, I've been guilty in the past of thinking that because something is popular then it can't be any good. I remember when I was but young I avoided watched Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure for several years because an ex-girlfriend and her friends were big fans of it and so therefore it couldn't be any good. But, y'know, that sort of thinking is quite childish and insular - it means you miss out on stuff, and variety is the spice of life and all that vajazzle.
The London Olympics, bluntly, was a bloody stupid idea - an act of political hubris by a discredited political movement which will only pay for itself through a sheer luck, hard work and Boris if it happens at all. However, I see the Olympics as being like shooting penguins - nobody wants to do it, but if you've got to do it you may as well enjoy it.
I wonder if those medals are made of real gold? That'd get me off the couch and no mistake.
*Because clever people need the television, you see
