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Sept. 17, 2005 In his 2001 book Paris to the Moon, New Yorker staffer Adam Gopnik writes that “the idea of sports as a lingua franca meant to pick up the slack in male conversations is completely alien here.... What the French do to bridge the uneasy competitive silences that seem to be the price of a Y chromosome is talk about government and particularly about the incompetence of government ministers.” In light of recent events, I only wish that were true in this country as well. No, this is not another opinion piece by a “liberal writer” proclaiming Europe’s virtues and decrying America’s lack of sophistication. Those of you from the “Freedom Fries” faction don’t need to bother sending emails. Yes, if I thought France or any other European country was so much better than the good ole U.S. of A. I’d already live there. I don’t. I live in New York, a city some refer to as an island off the coast of America due to, among other factors, the supposed “international awareness” of the populace. Yet, even here, I am shocked by the lack of thought and discussion time devoted to matters of government and society or major world events. I mean, I love sports as much as the next guy. In my professional life, I have made a decent wage chronicling and/or commenting on sports events. Still, I cringe every time “Joe from Jersey” calls into the local sports-talk radio station to complain about how Yankees’ manager Joe Torre “handles” the pitching staff, or about how the Jets “desperately need” their own stadium. And I want to throw the TV out the window when a victory by a professional football team from New Orleans--arguably in name only--is hailed as a “triumph of the human spirit” by commentators on a major sports network. Yes, sports can be a welcome distraction from the troubles of the world. I saw that first-hand here in New York in the fall of 2001. I hope the Saints’ victory last week provided at least some solace for those on the Gulf Coast. I fear, however, that we have elevated the games--and other segments of our fame-focused “culture”--to an inappropriately high level of importance within the public discourse. Ever compare the number of sports and news channels on your local cable system? If we focused as much attention on the job performance of our elected officials--and their appointees--as we do on the home team’s head coach, would the mishandling of the rescue and relief efforts following Hurricane Katrina have occurred? Would we--and thousands of our brave young men and women--be mired in what is, to me at least, a pointless and seemingly endless war in Iraq? Do we even give these questions enough consideration? I’d ask “Joe from Jersey,” but the Yankee game is on. ------------ About the author: Brian P. Dunleavy is a New York-based freelance sportswriter. He can be reached at: bpdunleavy@yahoo.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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