Introduction and Standing on Sports

[Earl]

rotten is not rotten.

[Sojin]

Good, now Galactus vs Eternity vs Mistress Death.

Galactus, hands down, of course Eternity can control time and become just about any embodiment, and Death can well, control and ignore death altogether, but with cosmic powers Galactus could potentially override any power o.O so yeah, keeping that in mind Galactus should actually be pretty impossible to defeat.

Welcome to the board.

Thanks for the welcome.

rotten is not rotten.

Yeah I know, I've read just about every newer post in the boards now.

[Earl]

When you have time to spare and you want to have a good laugh (or a case of indigestion), you might want to check out Samdaman's numerous posts. He's got quite a reputation around here. One of Fat Man's greatest regrets is that he discovered this website months after Samdaman had been banned. To this very day he (not to mention others) wishes that Samdaman would return. There would be a flurry of vicious insults and big pictures. It would be very entertaining, I'm sure. In case you haven't already read them, mike_the_pain_train's "NERDS" and the follow-up "TRAIN WRECK!!!" by Fat Man are absolutely hilarious. I'm truly sorry it didn't last, but all good things must come to an end. Captain America's "You people disgust me," which is listed on Page 4 of "Sports Suck!," is also outrageously "good." (Notice that he didn't have the guts to leave his e-mail address or even post in the forum again. What a wimp. )

[Sergey]

Good, now Galactus vs Eternity vs Mistress Death.

Galactus, hands down, of course Eternity can control time and become just about any embodiment, and Death can well, control and ignore death altogether, but with cosmic powers Galactus could potentially override any power o.O so yeah, keeping that in mind Galactus should actually be pretty impossible to defeat.

Actually, Eternity and Death are equal to his fullest potential. At full power he equals them but the problem is he loses power slowly. Plus Eternity has the Celestials

[Earl]

When you have time to spare and you want to have a good laugh (or a case of indigestion), you might want to check out Samdaman's numerous posts. He's got quite a reputation around here. One of Fat Man's greatest regrets is that he discovered this website months after Samdaman had been banned. To this very day he (not to mention others) wishes that Samdaman would return. There would be a flurry of vicious insults and big pictures. It would be very entertaining, I'm sure. In case you haven't already read them, mike_the_pain_train's "NERDS" and the follow-up "TRAIN WRECK!!!" by Fat Man are absolutely hilarious. I'm truly sorry it didn't last, but all good things must come to an end. Captain America's "You people disgust me," which is listed on Page 4 of "Sports Suck!," is also outrageously "good." (Notice that he didn't have the guts to leave his e-mail address or even post in the forum again. What a wimp. )

The bigoted views and attitudes expressed by the likes of Samdaman and Captain America (as opposed to just participating in a sport) are what we reject. (I know, I know. I should also give Captain America a . But being the intellectual coward that he is, he only posted once; so, he hasn't earned it, although he's certainly hateful enough.)

[Earl]

Sojin really hit the nail on the head when he said that certain sports are overhyped in this country. For months Iâ??ve thought about relating the following example of media excess to the forum. Since Sojin has raised the issue of overhyping, now would be an appropriate time for me to relate this.

Two years ago the Houston Chronicle had an article about a high-school football player in a Houston suburb who had been diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. An injury he had suffered on the playing field had inadvertently led to the timely diagnosis. Thankfully, at the time that this article was featured in the Chronicle, he was well on the road to recovery after undergoing completely effective treatment for the disease.

Before I continue, let me point out that the Chronicle serves readers in the city of Houston, Texas, as well as readers in nearby communities such as the city of Galveston. Houston is either the fifth or the fourth largest city in the United States. The point is that the Houston Chronicle is definitely not a small-town newspaper.

There is a reason why Iâ??ve just pointed this out. This article was not just a short notice, but was rather lengthy and featured one or more photos, one of which showed the player with a smug look on his face. The question you the reader are no doubt asking yourself is â??What is so controversial about this?â? Nothing yet. The reason Iâ??ve written this post is because the article was displayed on the very first page of the newspaper; in other words, on the headline page. And it was not located at the bottom of the page. It was displayed right in the center of the first page of the paper, as if this article were of vital importance to the whole world.

Why did an article about a local high-school studentâ??s health deserve to be featured with news items about international events, especially during a time when this country is still being threatened with devastating terrorist attacks? After all, someday an Islamofascist terrorist may detonate a thermonuclear device in one of our nationâ??s cities (such as Houston). I've heard that experts have said that it's only a matter of when, not if.

I would have had no problem if this article had been printed on the front page of a small-town newspaper, which will feature articles about any of the local events, even something as mundane as the latest activities of the local Girl Scout troop. But on the headline page of a big-city newspaper? No way! The article should have been printed on the first page, all right. The first page of the sports section, which is where it belonged.

Incidentally, if the high-school student had been a â??nerdâ? who showed marked proficiency in one of the â??hardâ? sciences such as chemistry or physics, do you think there would have been any write-up about him (or her)? I think you know the answer. Again, I would not have considered a local news item about such a student to be deserving of front-page coverage.

Interestingly enough, earlier this year there was a student at that same high school who was given a prestigious monetary award for doing work in college-level physics. A high-school student has to be extremely bright to be able to do that. How much newsprint do you think was devoted to this particular item? He was mentioned in a â??personal mentionâ? type feature on the second page of the first section of the paper. This studentâ??s accomplishment was barely even mentioned. Only two sentences and no photo of a smug-looking kid. It would be interesting to compare the way the football player is treated at that high school to the way the physics whiz is treated. I bet that there is a difference. Speaking as a parent who (with his wife) has successfully raised two daughters, if I had been the football player's father, I would have felt like screaming at the media, "What are you trying to do to my son? Do you want him to become arrogant because of your mindless, extremely preferential coverage?"

Also, when word got out at the high school that this football player had a very serious illness, the entire school expressed their sympathy. If this physics student had been diagnosed with the very same illness, what do you think would have been the reaction? I dare say that he would not have received quite as much sympathy as the football player did. Perhaps not much at all.

The media has a wonderful message for all nonathletic teenage boys, regardless of their own accomplishments: The most important students at your high school are the football players, who are all better than you. Your own accomplishments really don't matter.

[Sojin]

I know what you mean there, unless that illness was something that's never been seen before in the US then I could probably see why.

I also get your point, if it was a nerd especially a grade-school student, they wouldn't get covered at all and few people inside the school would actually care, unless he was a very popular student, which sadly you won't find many popular nerds.

I do think that it could be on the cover of a newspaper, but we'd be talking school newspaper at best.

Was this over-hyped because he played football? Here in America other than baseball and very rarely maybe basketball, Football players get the most attention.

[Earl]

Thank you. I know that I was dealing with a sensitive subject. Believe me, speaking as someone who went through the experience of losing a loved one (my mother) to a painful terminal disease (liver cancer), I didn't want to appear to be insensitive. But what the Houston Chronicle did was ridiculous.

[Ray]

You're right, Earl. Putting a story about a high school "athlete" on the front page is ridiculous. It makes me wonder who makes the decision of what story goes where.

I'm surprised that the physics student got any mention at all in the paper! Our country's priorities are so screwed up.

And I agree that the high school jock is being set up for a fall. He may eat coal and shit diamonds in high school but after he graduates, he's in for a big surprise. Absolutely no one will care how many balls he caught -although I'm sure that won't stop him from boring the rest of the human race about it. And even bigger surpise: his best opportunity will be in the food service or janitorial industry.

[rotten]

rotten is not rotten.

I can be if the situation arises.

And I agree that the high school jock is being set up for a fall. He may eat coal and shit diamonds in high school but after he graduates, he's in for a big surprise. Absolutely no one will care how many balls he caught -although I'm sure that won't stop him from boring the rest of the human race about it. And even bigger surpise: his best opportunity will be in the food service or janitorial industry.

Makes me think of uncle Rico from Napoleon Dynamite

[abitagirl]

And I agree that the high school jock is being set up for a fall. He may eat coal and shit diamonds in high school but after he graduates, he's in for a big surprise. Absolutely no one will care how many balls he caught -although I'm sure that won't stop him from boring the rest of the human race about it. And even bigger surpise: his best opportunity will be in the food service or janitorial industry.

Makes me think of uncle Rico from Napoleon Dynamite

Or this:




Every time there's a Saints game, my stupid local paper makes it front page headlines, which really annoys me, as well as baffles me, because it's already all over the sports section, so why do they feel the need to plaster it on the front page too?

[Earl]

You know that a newspaper is in trouble, financially speaking (as most newspapers in this country are -- thanks, in part, to the Internet), when sports items are plastered all over the front headline page, items that should be kept in the sports section. You see, they think they'll make more money that way by having more people buy their papers for the sports items; and they're probably right. But I agree with you; it still doesn't make sense.

[Ray]

Makes me think of uncle Rico from Napoleon Dynamite

Oh yeah! I'd forgotten about that. Perfect example.

[Ray]

Every time there's a Saints game, my stupid local paper makes it front page headlines, which really annoys me, as well as baffles me, because it's already all over the sports section, so why do they feel the need to plaster it on the front page too?

It's the same here in Tampa. The only thing I can think of is that someone paid the editor to have their "story" placed on the front page.

[Polite24]

You guys base a lot of your opinions and facts on stereotypes.

You know, you do have to have at least passing grades to play football, or any other sport. Also, most kids these days are going to college. A very good amount of high school athletes will have opportunities outside of the food or janitorial industry. You guys are funny.