Comments on: Who To Hate?

By: Rooting for Celtics « Entertaining Research

Rooting for Celtics « Entertaining Research — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 06:39:56 +0000

[...] for Celtics Being a 76ers fan, Sean has to weigh in on both the Lakers and Celtics before making that decision, and the weighing in is worth your time; what is more, from what I hear of the fourth match from my [...]

By: Lab Lemming

Lab Lemming — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 05:51:28 +0000

“It’ll be interesting to see what the US does when, one day, it embraces a sport actually played by other nations”

Who doesn’t play basketball?

And baseball is played quite widely as well, as is evidenced by the fact that Japan is the current world title holder, having defeated Cuba at the world baseball classic.

By: Kris

Kris — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 22:47:31 +0000

Surely you are not counting Wilt being asked to star alongside Arnold as a point in his favor?

Dave makes the strongest argument against the Lakers, though. It’s hard to get behind any team led by an accused rapist.

As one of those unabashedly parochial Boston sports fans, I believe you made the right choice, Sean.

By: teadrinker

teadrinker — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 18:47:36 +0000

2,000 years ago, gladiator fights were all the rage.

Now almost nobody gives a flying fig.

Same thing will happen with all sports one day, when
we stop being animals.

By: Ellipsis

Ellipsis — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 16:51:44 +0000

Yes, I meant the main post — but into the corner with you too!

By: karl strom

karl strom — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 08:10:41 +0000

Hmmm… Maybe a little touchy there. I just noticed the main post has the same mistakes, so I choose to believe that’s what Ellipsis meant. This is what you get for being so self-centered, I guess. I wish this site had an edit-function for comments, so I wouldn’t have to post a new one to correct the last one.

By: karl strom

karl strom — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 08:00:00 +0000

That is correct. I use the word “who” three times, and as far as I can tell two of them are wrong. Also, i write “naitons” once instead of “nations”.

Did I mention English is not my native language? ‘Cause I think I did, right up there where it says I’m Norwegian. And you’re right, I do hate annoying people who point out minor spelling mistakes in other peoples’ posts, even if they try to hide it behind third-person safeguards.

By: Ellipsis

Ellipsis — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 07:48:21 +0000

One could also choose to hate annoying people who point out that every use of “who” in the questions asked in the post above should really be replaced with “whom,” as the word is being used as an object, not as a subject!

By: karl strom

karl strom — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 06:50:32 +0000

To chime in about EURO 2008, as a Norwegian I face the same dilemma, but with naitons instead of cities: Norway didn’t make it through the qualifying stages, so who to root for? This has actually been a big discussion in the papers over here.

The question is, which factors should count when deciding who to root for? Neighboring countries (Sweden is the only qualified team close to Norway, and rooting for your big brother is always hard)? Those who play the most aesthetically pleasing football? The underdog?

This is even harder when it comes to the World Cup, because there former colonies enter into the equation. Should you go for the politically correct alternative and root for the mediocre African team, or go with the team you actually know something about?

Crucial questions, these.

PS: It’ll be interesting to see what the US does when, one day, it embraces a sport actually played by other nations (hockey is probably closest, but winter sports won’t be a global phenomenon until the next ice age)

PPS: I root for France in EURO 2008, it being the most politically correct team of the football superpowers. But Germany will win…

By: J

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 02:30:02 +0000

The Lakers rule all!
Beat the “Losers 3″!

By: Lab Lemming

Lab Lemming — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 23:58:07 +0000

If you normalize the loathsomeness of the Celtics to that of the average Boston professional sports team, they actually come out as being quite likable. This is one advantage of working in the same town as the Red Sox and the Patriots.

In contrast, the Dodgers and Angels are substantially less odious than the Lakers. So the Celtics loathsomeness may simply result from their coming from a miserable part of the country, while the Lakers have no geographic scapegoat.

By: Dave

Dave — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 22:41:09 +0000

Sean, you missed the top reason to hate the Lakers! Kobe Bryant was to stand trial for rape, but he got off because of the harassment and death threats from Lakers fans toward the alleged victim. Lakers fans obviously don’t care if their star is a felon. So it is really a moral imperative that we hate the Lakers.

By: Mike M

Mike M — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 21:02:45 +0000

The European Championships bigger than the NBA finals? What is the World coming to? Next you’ll be telling me that the rest of the World doesn’t really care about the World Series, which, I suppose, might have something to do with the rest of the World not being involved (give or take a few token Canadians).

By: johnshade

johnshade — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 20:28:46 +0000

“I will just note that nobody would ever have asked Bill Russell to star in movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger.”

And this was because: (1) Chamberlain was a more-imposing physical specimen than Russell; and (2) Russell, unlike Chamberlain and Schwarzenegger, was not a cartoon character.

By: Bob

Bob — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 18:05:58 +0000

Excellent decision, Sean! Alas, I am over here at CERN, and the big event is not the NBA Finals, but rather the European Championship 2008 in the sport that everyone except us calls ‘football’. Yesterday the Netherlands crushed Italy 3-0, which is pretty tough when you have a couple of Dutch, but a lot of Italians in your collaboration. Today Spain crushed Russia 4-1, which is also pretty tough with Spanish and Russians working side by side. The cafeteria is filled with people watching the games on a big screen TV. Somehow, I can’t imagine the NBA Finals on a big screen at FNAL…

By: Mike Molloy

Mike Molloy — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 17:39:09 +0000

Welcome aboard. This may be a good time for a reminder about the origin of the these-days overused “beat LA” chant. That started back in the Eastern Conference finals of the 1981-82 season. With the Sixers heading for victory in game 7 at the Boston Garden, the Boston fans expressed their support for the Sixers to beat the Lakers in the finals with a rousing “beat LA” chant. Just as with Sean here, it was largely motivated by the feeling that a great player who had payed his dues–Dr J–finally should get a championship ring. (The Sixers ended up losing to the Lakers in the finals that year, though they did beat the Lakers for the championship the next year.)

By: scott

scott — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 17:33:28 +0000

“Jackson was mockingly dismissive, scoffing that angels must have visited him at halftime. Phil Jackson does not deserve to win anything ever again.”

I take this to mean you believe in angels?

I scoffed too. He came back too soon, too easily. It wasn’t coming back from a major injury. It was just noticing that he didn’t have a major injury….

By: todd.

todd. — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:47:05 +0000

Good call, Sean!