Just an observation ...

[Earl]

Ever since I discovered this website and started reading all the letters and posts from those who disapprove of it, I've been struck by the ferocity and outright hatred from most of these people, as opposed to the relatively few who've made their objections in a mature, restrained manner. I've often wondered what is behind this knee-jerk hatred. You would think that we had personally insulted these guys in the worst way possible. You would think that we had questioned their manhood, as many of them question ours.

Ordinarily, in a logical world I would expect sports fans and sportsmen who don't agree with this website to just shrug it off. Although I recognize that he had human failings just like everyone else, I'm a big Rod Serling fan. But if someone put up a website attacking him, I wouldn't want to visit it. I wouldn't even be interested in it because I just wouldn't care.

In the mid-1960s the Houston chapter of the John Birch Society once tried to publicly blacklist my sister as a Communist because she had launched a petition to the national headquarters of her sorority to urge them to drop their racist and anti-Semitic by-laws. I personally resent the John Birch Society for attacking my sister, who most definitely wasn't a Communist. If the John Birch Society had had the power and the influence, they would have ruined her life. But do I have any desire to visit the website of the John Birch Society and harrass them because I think that many of their views are stupid? No, I have no desire to harrass them, because I know that it would be just a waste of time.

Some people really enjoy bird watching. Suppose someone put up a website that said bird watching was stupid. Would bird watchers flock (pun intended ) to this website in fits of anger like enraged cranes to squawk at the people who had set up the website -- personally insulting people who were complete strangers to them, people they didn't even know? Would a bird watcher who visited this website post a topic at a bird-watching website and gripe about it and urge other bird watchers to harrass it? Of course, this wouldn't happen. The very idea of it happening almost makes one chuckle. But the sports bores (or at least many of them) go ballistic and react as if their honor is at stake. Why?

Comments, anyone?

[Skul]

[Nelson]That's like askin' the square root of a million -- no-one will ever know...[/Nelson]

But seriously, we've been wanting to know this ourselves for a long time. As teh Ray has asked many a time: "Where does this anger come from?"

A straight answer is unobtainable, methinks.

[Earl]

Although I have little faith in the mental health profession, I'd say that psychologists should look into this and come up with an explanation.

[abitagirl]

I don't know how they even find this site to begin with. Every once in a while I'll google stuff like "I hate sports" (I think that's how I found this site!), "football sucks", etc. I have never googled "I love sports" or anything like that, because why would I want to read about some sports bore gushing over his favorite team or the awesomeness of sports? I can't imagine why a sports lover would google "sports suck" or something like that. I don't really know how they think, apparently, so I guess I can't really explain why they react the way they do. Of course, some of them seem to view sports hatred as being right up there with kicking puppies for fun, so maybe that's why.

[Ray]

[Nelson]That's like askin' the square root of a million -- no-one will ever know...[/Nelson]

But seriously, we've been wanting to know this ourselves for a long time. As teh Ray has asked many a time: "Where does this anger come from?"

A straight answer is unobtainable, methinks.

That's funny. I can just hear Nelson's voice filled with wonder.

[Ray]

Ever since I discovered this website and started reading all the letters and posts from those who disapprove of it, I've been struck by the ferocity and outright hatred from most of these people, as opposed to the relatively few who've made their objections in a mature, restrained manner. I've often wondered what is behind this knee-jerk hatred.

You described the problem very well. The ferocity --a good choice of words --itself is an indication of something very unhealthy. It shows that someone places way too much importance on something so abstract.

I would guess that these people are angry because they consider not liking sports to be anti-social but that alone couldn't account for the degree of hatred we see.

It's as if they are angry that we have the nerve to say something that is absolutely forbidden.

I have discovered recently that when I am angry at people, I am usually actually angry at myself also --for some reason. Maybe these people are actually angry at themselves but don't realize it. Maybe they are sore that they have to put up with all the sports bullshit and pretend to like it. Maybe they're salty about having to memorize all those sports scores or watch football when something better is on like Judge Judy or John and Kate Plus Eight. Maybe they're PISSED that they have to pretend to like forking over $100 to watch some asshole play basketball while we just casually admit we couldn't care less!

I'd be pissed too!

That must be it. They have to endure a lifetime of pretense --for whatever reason --to maintain their heterosexual front or whatever --I don't know.

After all, pretending to like sports is a lot of frikkin' work. I was sitting in the barber chair the other day and, of course, the TV is always turned to golf or fishing (yuck) but that's OK because the volume was down anyway. But the barber next to me started talking to the guy getting his hair cut next to me about the Kentucy Wildcats. Believe it or not, the guy in the chair knew what he was talking about and even knew some of the players by name! He talked about the team's performance last year and their prospects for this year. What was even more amazing was that another guy, sitting waiting his turn to get his hair cut joined in --he knew some of the members too and recited scores and anedotes about their past performance. How do these guys know this stuff? We're in FLORIDA. They must stay up all night studying this stuff. My barber, who knows I don't know jack about sports and don't care to, said the same thing.

They have to continuously study as if there's going to be a test tomorrow. How dare we carelessly disregard all their hard work?!

How dare we shrug off the yoke of social obligation??

[Fat Man]

[Nelson]That's like askin' the square root of a million -- no-one will ever know...[/Nelson]

Actually, the square root of one million is one thousand.

One thousand squared is one million.

1000 x 1000 = 1000000

[Ray]

I KNEW you'd know that.

That's what I get for taking all the easy classes!

[Skul]

[Nelson]That's like askin' the square root of a million -- no-one will ever know...[/Nelson]

Actually, the square root of one million is one thousand.

One thousand squared is one million.

1000 x 1000 = 1000000

I was actually making a sarcastic joke. Nelson said that in one episode, though I can't remember what it was about. I think the reasoning behind it is, he's a dumbass, so he took a large number and applied a mathematical term that he probably didn't understand to it.

[Ray]

[Nelson]That's like askin' the square root of a million -- no-one will ever know...[/Nelson]

Actually, the square root of one million is one thousand.

One thousand squared is one million.

1000 x 1000 = 1000000

I was actually making a sarcastic joke. Nelson said that in one episode, though I can't remember what it was about. I think the reasoning behind it is, he's a dumbass, so he took a large number and applied a mathematical term that he probably didn't understand to it.

I know -I got it. Nelson was using it as an example of something that could never be understood but was actually readily solvable. Nelson the dumb bully.

[greencom]

My theory about the sports bores being angry is this: Guys seriously into sports are insecure about their manhood, they have to keep reassuring themselves that hey are straight , masculine and very manly, if they don't , they will become something less of a man . I attribute a lot of this to a limited mental ability or a latent fear about becoming gay. This I find ironic because they spend a lot of time in the showers with other naked men, I would find that disturbing myself. Another reason I have comes from observing the fans I work with, for the most part they are "pussy whipped" spineless husbands that only have authority when they are away from home, and want to be around other inverterbrate husbands so they can talk "manly" talk to each other. I feel secure about my manhood and am not afraid to tell my wife I love her and to roughhouse with my many cats at the end of the day. Yeah, I love cats and I still feel like a man. By putting down sports to a sports fan you are attacking his only path to manhood. Just a theory of mine.

Dr. Greencom

[Ray]

That makes sense to me.

It's just so strange.

The irony is the thickest I've ever seen: showering with guys is OK but not liking sports because it's unmanly is not.

The only sports I like is when girls are playing.

[abitagirl]

You'd think sports would be seen as a "woman thing" instead of a "man thing," what with the men in tight pants and all that. Hmmm, I guess since I have no interest in it, that would make ME gay.

[Ray]

obviously!