Saturday, September 14, 2002

Isn't Being a Fan Supposed to Be Fun? I've always wached and enjoyed sports, but I never managed to develop a rooting interest in any particular team. That is most likely just a function of my general emotional detachment. But last year, Eric and I, on a whim, bought season tickets to the New York/New Jersey MetroStars which we renewed this year, and I have developed a rooting interest. I know that in books like Nick Hornby's Fever Pitch, fandom is portrayed as an obsessive disorder, but I had never really experienced it. This week, watching the MetroStars lose to D.C. United Thursday night and again tonight, on the basis of which they have gone from first place to probably not making the playoffs, I have felt the pain of being a fan. But still I'll watch every minute of their game next weekend. 9:55:59 PM     What do you think? ()

Is Religion Good or Bad (or Somewhere in Between)? Not to be too self-serving, but I think that this is becoming an interesting conversation. 11:50:23 AM     What do you think? ()

How Do They Get Paid For This? Tomorrow's New York Times Book Review has a great review of five (five!?) academic books about The Sopranos, books that include such wisdom as: Fatness is a signifier with many overlapping and even contradictory signifieds. Nearly all of Tony's 'business' relationships . . . are characterized by a phallocentric, linear representation of self. Media self-reflexivity operates throughout, as well as being embedded right into the very form of, the 'Sopranos' text. Women play an important role in foregrounding these intertextual references. As my wife said, academics of this ilk should be forced to work at K-Mart. 9:31:18 AM     What do you think? ()

© Copyright 2003 Morgan N. Sandquist. Last update: 11/2/03; 10:28:03 AM.

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