Though all are based in Texas, 2/5 of the Editorial Board here at The Rhetorical Situation--Harrogate and p-duck-- understand the wonder and beauty that is Tar Heels Basketball.Last night Harrogate tried not to think about the fact that Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes snubbed him on their wedding invite list, that O.J. Simpson is back on the scene in the crassest way possible, and that Harrogate himself still hasn't finished a dissertation chapter. Thankfully, he found a delectable distraction on ESPN as UNC crushed mighty Winthrop in a barn burner, with Carolina only pulling away at the end on the strength of their superior depth and athletic ability, and of course Tyler Hansbrough, who had 20 points and 10 rebounds. There are so many young players on Carolina's roster that Harrogate at one point complained to Mrs. Harrogate that he couldn't keep them straight. Ginyard he knows, and loves. Same with Green, Terry, Frazer, Hansbrough, Miller. But what of Brandan Wright jumping through the roof and throwing it down with authority, Alex Stephenson all over the glass with that big body, little Ty Lawson with the acrobatic kiss off the glass and the sweet dished down low?
Indeed, in the spirit of T.S. Eliot, what are the roots that clutch (line 19), and what of these players and and the others, waves of powder blue and white pouring off the bench and onto their opponents with unrelenting intensity and the kind of unmitigated partisan joy that only college sports make possible ? Oh, gentle Readerss, we shall indeed see what this new breed of Tar Heel, led by commander Roy, is made of.
Right now they are ranked #2 in the nation, which makes Harrogate happy and nervous at the same time, kinda like a first date. This is not college football where the rankings really really matter and where you schedule as many creampuffs as possible and, if you don't play in the SEC anyway, that might be enough to sneak you into the BCS title game. This is the Big Dance, where if you're not careful a high ranking will get you whacked by a mid-major like Winthrop, George Mason, or Butler. But in any case, Readers, do not fret. Harrogate will be covering Carolina Basketball, and the landscape of the sport in general, all year long, bringing each time the kind of analysis that has made him the award-winning blogger that he is.
Speaking of the other sports, Harrogate has recently realized that in everything except College Basketball, he is the stereotypical fairweather fan. In the NBA, he rode with the Pistons for a few years, then dropped them when Big Ben left and now he's riding the Phoenix Suns, whose offense reminds Harrogate of a Coleridge Poem. Who knows what team he may be loving, by the time we finish things up in June? In Baseball, well, you never know. Harrogate pretty much likes all teams except the Yankees and, to a lesser extent, the Dodgers. As with the NBA, he just winds up pulling for whatever team manages to capture his imagination at the time. This principle of the captured imagination, Harrogate believes, is the hallmark of Fair Weather Fandom. But when it comes to Tar Heels Basketball, Harrogate is not swayable. Why this, and only this? Because of nativism, because Harrogate grew up there, went to school there, breathed it from the time he was a small boy. And so it is with fans everywhere. If you grow up in a town with a Pro Sports Team, it is so easy to identify with them; so too with the nearest colleges, etc. Of course there are exceptions. But generalities nevertheless merit discussion.
All of which is to elicit from Readers an answer to this question: Is nativism and/or staying true to one team superior to Fair Weather Fandom? Or vice versa? And in what ways? As one who experiences both, Harrogate has some evaluative suspicions, but would prefer not to share them until he has gotten a little feedback.
Ciao.
3 comments:
"pulling away at the end" being yet another wonderful sports euphemism, by the way. ;-)
I'm reminded of a old Jerry Seinfeld skit where he argued that modern fans rooted for uniforms rather than teams or players. The truth in his joke is of course a byproduct of free agency. The days of rooting for the same players year in and year out are gone (at least on the national level). Now it is the exception rather than the rule that finds one players spending a career with a single team. I think that system creates fair weather fans because in many ways they are learning from the fair weather players. Not that I am criticizing, like anyone else, I would be ready to cash in on free agency like anyone else. Take a recent baseball example. Last season, Mark DeRosa had a career year, played a variety of positions, and was recognized publicly as a clubhouse leader. All from a guy who had been a utility guy at best. Why did he break out? I am not sure but I can guarantee that his context played a large impact -- the coaches, the batting lineup, the manager, the stadium, his teammates. So, what does this "clubhouse leader" do in the offseason? Signs a three year deal with the Cubs and becomes the first MLB player to switch teams. Don't get me wrong, I am happy for the guy; he's making mad cash now. But when DeRosa, one of the "clubhouse leaders" has no loyalty, can we really expect the same from the fans?
So I say, be like the players, go where the weather is fair....
(That said, I am still a long suffering Rangers fan and though I probably always will be. I add other teams as players I like find themselves on them. Except for DeRosa, that traitorous rat. May Lou Pinella bat him 9th.)
Southpaw, Harrogate feels you re Derosa. It was the same thing with Ben Wallace when he whored out to da Bulls. Big Ben was constantly referred to as the "Soul of the Pistons," the topmost emblem of the Piston's "selflesness," etc. Then in the blink of an eye he's going for the cash. Sad, but then, as you say, it's easy to excoriate him from over here in no-talent land. Were Harrogate presented with the lure of such cash, he would undoubtedly jump on it as quick as anyone.
Good call, tying together fair weather fandom with fair weather playerdom. And perhaps this sets college sports apart a little, and explains why harrogate has never for an instant contemplated leaving the Tar Heels for another team. Maybe it is really true what they say, that in College it's all about the front of the jersey, and not the back.
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