Raider Nation - Welcome to the blackhole

[Helevitia]

Since Gurm keeps bringing this up...Your answers are the most stereotypical, prejudice answers I've ever heard. And coming from someone who has much more intelligence(some would argue ) than most I am surprised you are saying this. Based on the info you mentioned to Jammrock, you are also implying that all people that use computers at our level is a geek. Jesus people! You can't judge someone's personality just because they are sports players, computer users, accountants, etc...I play sports, go hunting, fix computers and networks, listen to Jewel, have long hair and I'm married to a Mexican. So does that make me some ****ed up inbred geek-country-rock hunting bastard who plays sports and shoots things while listening to folk music? NO! It makes me realize that people are still ignorant.

Dave

[Joel]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">And I know it's a greater endemic in the society. But I also know that if you took all the pro sports, and dropped them in a big pit in the middle of Utah, all the fans would go there and we'd have relatively less violence and hassle in the rest of the country.</font>

That has got to be one of your more stupid statements that I have heard in a while. That's like saying that if we ban guns then there would be no more crime.

Joel

[Gurm]

No no no.

By dropping all the pro sports in Utah, all the seriously deluded fans would go to Utah, and then we could all breathe a bit easier. We could have a TV lineup blessedly free of pre-emption by sporting events, and cities free of stadium gridlock.

I was being sarcastic.

And as for and presumptions I make... I purposely overstate some things. Not all sports fans are horrific troglodytes. All professional football players ARE, however.

And if you've ever sat in front of a large-screen TV, swilling horrid beer and grunting at the screen... and then yelling at the team that made a dumb play (like they don't ALL make dumb plays roughly 50% of the time)... then you really need to find something better to do with your time.

No, not all of us are "geeks". You'll notice I appended "normal person" to that statement. Normal people can play sports. The troglodytic demi-humans that our professional sports instutitions pass off as "athletes" can't be normal people.

In the words of Monty Python:

"When presented with the proposition that all fish live under water, and that all mackerel are fish... she does not conclude, as is logical, that all mackerel live under water."

So, the syllergism (sp?) is that all pro "athletes" are trogs, but not all trogs are pro "athletes". And that liking sports does not make you a dumbass, but excessively liking sports (to the point I have previously detailed) DOES.

*shrug* It's just how I feel. I realise people have strong feelings on the matter. My strong feelings are that if the NFL, NBA, (what is the one for baseball called), NHL, and other "leagues" all just imploded and disappeared, I would be happier. So would roughly 99% of the female population of the world (female sports fans, the few that exist, excepted).

Like I said, it's just my opinion. Take it or leave it. But nobody is a fuller, better, richer, more intelligent person for being an avid sports fan. And in many cases it can be demonstrated that the opposite is entirely true.

- Gurm

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Listen up, you primitive screwheads! See this? This is my BOOMSTICK! Etc. etc.

[Jammrock]

I digress, Gurm. Not all "professional athletes" are trogs, as you put it. I would say many or most are, but not all. I know a couple of pro athletes that are nice, kind, moral, ethical, intelligent and NFL football players. Not many, mind you, but I know a couple.

Think about it. If you had a naturally born 'athletic build' to be an NFL player and the desire to do so, why wouldn't you? You get butt loads of money to stay in shape (unless you're a lineman, then it's more of 'in sumo shape'), play a sport you enjoy and you only work 8-9 months out of the year. If I didn't have back problems and lost my desire to play organized football, I may have ended up as an NFL player (there's always the possibilty).

Many of your points are very valid, but you're assuming way to much. You can't know or should even think that all pro atheltes are stupid, dumb, @$$hole, prick, bastards, because you probably haven't even met 0.1% of them. Do you even know 1% of their names?

I do agree that "sports fans" and many of the "professional sports" are going downhill fast. I used to love watching the NBA. I can't even watch 5 minutes of an NBA game now. They changed their rules just so the most popular teams and players can win. Most of the players act egotistical and seem to play for selfish reasons. How lame.

Baseball bores me to death. I watch soccer/football on occasion. and I love watching some college and pro football events. Does that make me a lesser person? No. It just means I am entertained by some sporting events.

Jammrock

[paulcs]

Some major college football require that their football players know how to read: Stanford, Cal (Berkeley), Penn State, Notre Dame to name a few. NFL quarterbacks and safeties tend to have above average IQ's.

Track stars have become professional football players. I suspect it was more common when there was no money in track and field. Bob Hayes, the greatest sprinter of his time and maybe all time, played for the Dallas Cowboys.

I can think of several reason why, if given a choice between playing one professional sport or another, football should be last on the list. Football players aren't paid as well as baseball or basketball players. The long term health consequences of playing professional football are very severe. Concussions are, apparently, fare more common than reported. There's a good chance of chronic headaches after your playing days are over. (Ask Joe Montana.) Arthritis during middle age is pretty much a given. Football is a particularly stressful profession as well.

http://ng.csun.edu/e311sp99/NFLdeath1.htm

Better to learn how to hit a curve ball and play baseball.

Paul
paulcs@flashcom.net