They're so damn cute.
Over the past few days, Mike Golic and ESPN College Basketball analyst Doug Gottlieb was giving "Greenie" the business about him referring to his alma mater Northwestern's basketball team as "we" which some of you know is one of my biggest pet peeves. If you actually played for the team you were rooting for, as Golic pointed out, then I can see yourself being allowed to refer to that team as "we." "Greenie" used the excuse that he was an alumnus of Northwestern, which I can possibly allow as a plausible excuse. After some bantering, they both realized that fans live and die with their teams, therefore granting their permission for fans to refer to themselves as "we" when referencing their favorite teams. Lame. Do people need to feel like they're a part of something special because their life is sorely lacking in other areas? I've been a Steeler fan my whole life, but other than some celebratory shots after the big victory over Pittsburgh West, I was already in full-fledged hockey mode the next day. This is why wives get beat, and why the suicide rate would have gone up exponentially in Pittsburgh if Santonio doesn't make that catch...people become too attached to their rooting interests. Sports are a great escape from the daily grind, but they aren't life or death. "We" are not Steelers, "we" are not Penguins, and thank God "we" are not Pirates.
Q: Do people need to feel like they're a part of something special because their life is sorely lacking in other areas?
ReplyDeleteA: Yes, yes my life is lacking in most areas.
Listen, this has nothing to do with people not having a life or being pathetic. Its just the opposite. Everyone needs something to be passionate about. Some are passionate about music, others about pollitics, but normal people are crazy passionate about sports.
ReplyDeleteWhen the USA basketball team won the gold in Beijing, I think most people that followed the olympics and call themselves American said "WE" won the gold.
When my highschool baseball team was in the state finals in Williamsport, there were people in the stands holding signs saying "WE are Central" and "WE'RE number 1".
When I went to Stanwix St. and saw the Steelers celebrating their Super Bowl victory with the people of Pittsburgh, The Steeler Nation, Mike Tomlin expressed that "WE could not have done it without our fans".
People don't say "WE" because they have nothing else in their life that matters. They do it because when they go watch a Steeler game at Heinze Field or their living room, they don't have to worry about whether they will lose their job next week and not be able to pay their mortgage. They forget just for a few hours that their feminine son will most likely grow up to smoke pole in rest stop bathrooms.
These teams "WE" love (and in the case of the Buccos, love to hate)would not exist without us, the Fans! Remember that the stadiums and the new Hockey arena are financed by taxpayer dollars and the money the athletes get paid comes from ticket and jersey sales. That may be the most important reason to say "WE".
Sports are one of the more important things to me because I have been playing and watching pretty much since I could walk, and I'm a fairly competitive person. I get passionate about things I care about. So the next time anyone wants to complain about someone saying "WE", that person should think about how important these teams are to them, because they just might be a big enough fan to say "WE" and just don't know it yet.
i think the thing that bothers me most about it is the fact that when things are going well, it's always "we won" but as soon as something bad happens, it's "they're terrible." i think it's fair to say that you can refer to the school you're currently attending or did attend as "we" because technically you are actually part of that school. chants like "we are penn state" and "we are marshall" are what those respective schools are known for, and i'm perfectly ok with that. but the next time someone says "we need to fix our power play" i might punch them. lynsi is notorious for that, and she better watch her beautiful face.
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