Well, I'm back (for what it's worth) ...
Walter, I don't call myself a sports "hater." Don't like the label. I've never ridiculed anyone simply for participating in one or more sports. I have a "live and let live" attitude. I realize that excelling in a sport requires dedication and self-discipline -- just as, say, becoming a concert pianist. Two of my closest friends played football in high school. One of them played football at the university where he earned his degree in sociology.
As for myself, I never had any interest in sports (either as a participant or as a spectator). I don't fit the negative stereotype that many of the more hateful critics of this website ascribe to its supporters. I didn't deserve the honor of being called a nerd when I was in high school because I did not excel academically (except for a few courses). (I'm 61 years old, by the way; and I've been happily married for over 30 years and am the proud father of two young women. And I'm not living in my mother's basement.
) And I'm certainly not sedentary. For several years now I've been working with a personal trainer at a local 24 Hour Fitness on a bodybuilding program. I love working out at my health club.
The commitment I've made to build up my physique (which hitherto was scrawny) is permanent. I still have a long way to go, but I've been amazed at the muscular development I've managed to achieve.
I said I wasn't a sports hater. I'm actually a critic of the culture that is associated with (but is not inherently a part of) the most popular school sports. I believe each sport has a culture associated with it. The cultures of the different sports aren't all the same. For example, although I believe there are certain health risks involved in boxing, I really have nothing critical to say in connection with the sport because it has no institutional impact upon the lives of other students in the schools. In fact, I think learning boxing as a means of self-defense is a great idea.
I'm going to have to summarize my views about the sports culture. Of course, I can go into more detail later. This will give you an idea of my own views.
1) The role of sports in mandatory P.E. What some kinesiologists now call the "old P.E." historically has been the bane of existence of nonathletic students, especially slightly built boys and overweight boys. When I was a boy, the claim was made that nonathletic boys needed to take P.E. so they could become more healthy. This claim was a hypocritical lie. Physical fitness programs were never provided for nonathletic students. Nonathletic boys, in particular, were often subjected to bullying. I can present my argument in detail later. There is a movement to reform mandatory P.E. so that nonathletic students will benefit instead of being discouraged from becoming physically active. Needless to say, I'm a strong supporter of this movement. I do favor the retention of the "old P.E." as an
elective for the athletic students and those who simply want to participate in sports.
2) The misuse of sports as a phony standard of masculinity, especially with regard to how such cultural conditioning affects nonathletic boys. When I was growing up, there actually seemed to be a social divide between athletic and nonathletic boys. (For example, about a year and a half ago, a childhood friend of mine who played football in high school told me that most of his teammates had viewed all the nonathletic guys at their school as being inferior.) In our sports-saturated culture, boys who show no interest in sports are likely to be stereotyped in rather demeaning ways; and the social stigmatization is all based on a pack of lies.
3) Preferential treatment given to school athletes who participate in the most popular sports. I'm referring to the issue of holding school athletes accountable for the way they treat others (for example, the Glenn Ridge scandal, which concerned a case of sexual assault). In this regard, the sports media seems to mock true journalism, specifically investigative reporting. Most sports columnists seem to be propagandists instead of journalists. One reason I feel strongly about this issue is because my sister did investigative reporting for years. I could see the importance of her work.
As I said previously, I haven't presented any arguments here. I'm simply giving you an idea of what my views are. There's nothing sinister here. In fact, I'd say the real sports haters are those among the sports crowd who corrupt sports.
Finally, I've been amazed at the hysterical reactions on the part of the majority of sports fans who have actually left messages in the "Letters" column for the year, the Guestbook, or the forum (as opposed to probably many who just shrug it off and don't leave any hateful comments). Well, perhaps I should change what I've just said to a degree. There are certain comments and images on the homepage that would offend some well-meaning individuals. I understand how they feel. If the home page said "Welcome Jock Haters!" instead of "Welcome Sports Haters!" I wouldn't be here, because I don't believe in hating people. Aside from one or more of the currently active members of this forum being capable of being unjustifiably rude, we don't pose a threat to anyone. We're not a mass movement. We're just the online equivalent of several guys meeting in someone's home to talk about politics or some other concern we share in common. Our numbers are few, but we're still quite diverse. We don't have a party line here; we don't practice groupthink.
Anyway, I'm all for civility. I have no desire to be a keyboard kommando.
Best regards and all that.
P.S. By the way, each one of your posts so far has had to be approved by me as a moderator before it was displayed for the other members to read. I don't know how many more of your posts I'll have to approve. Unfortunately, this hampers interaction between you and the other members until you have posted the requisite number of posts to be recognized as a genuine member instead of a spammer. Sorry about that. We've had to take this measure because we've been besieged by spammers for about a year, it seems. In the meantime, please be patient and wait for your posts to be approved.
