When did message crawls start happening to the bottom of TV screens? Whether for breaking news or a weather travel advisory or the upcoming televison series, I have noticed that they interrupt only programming, never the commercials. The National Weather Service may think a thunderstorm warning is important, but Chef Boyardee doesn’t.
I’m giving sports spectating a try. It’s the World Series, the Tigers are playing. If I had a team to cheer, it’s Detroit. For me the Old Ball Game was Tiger Stadium with my glove hoping to catch a foul ball.
I thought in any sport I’d be cheering the underdog or whoever was behind. I find in reality it’s hard not to cheer for the better team. You can wish your team was better, but it seems awfully odd to hope the better guy messes up so yours can win. The better player can be scrappy or inelegant, but somewhere before the game is over, you know who it is.
What if you’re attending the game dressed in your team’s colors, with pennants and team paraphenalia, and yours is not the best team? It’s one thing to cheer encouragement to little leaguers, or rival high schools, but teams which recruit their talent? Free agents? Pros?
I like the Olympics because the audience advocacy distinction, on television certainly, is clear. We cheer achievement.
