Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Posted
1 hour ago, Biff Tannen said:

I want to say this again, and not because we are looking like a middle school team against MSU, but I really think that sports and the entire mentality that this country has about it is a big part of our societal and political problem.  I think I am going to take a big break from it.  I've got season tickets for UT baseball, but after that, I don't want to give money or, more importantly, my life to something that I can't control.  It's akin to drugs or alcohol, I think.  Sorry to those who suffer from those addictions, but I have to imagine it's kind of similar. 

This stuff doesn't affect us.  Or it doesn't have to.  I can go hiking, I can enjoy friends and family and food.  I don't have to have these societal constructs taking over my existence. 

The real reason for this diatribe was because of the reaction on the football board to Sark's supposed NFL aspirations.  It got real dark, real quick, and I don't think the internet society we have built is healthy.

Sports is the opium of society.

Religion of the fundamentalist variety, is the meth.

  • Hook 'Em 5
  • Haha 2
  • Replies 33.6k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Posted
1 minute ago, TwiceHorn said:

Sports is the opium of society.

Religion of the fundamentalist variety, is the meth.

Many have turned to politics as their religion. Their own dogma and altar to worship at. Tag their heretics and heterodox. Fundamentalism just under a different cover 

  • Hook 'Em 2
  • Rage+1 1
Posted (edited)

Turned the game off mid third quarter. I wasn’t entertained by it and I wasn’t enjoying it. Turned a movie on and would glance at the score every 5 or 10 minutes. Don’t feel at all disappointed that I missed the comeback- could have turned it back on at any score check and kept choosing not to. 
 

had planned to take my boys to the vandy game but scrapped that because tix are $200 for upper deck, plus fees. 
 

the circus half of bread and circuses isn’t holding my attention any longer. 

Edited by Pato del Muerto
  • Hook 'Em 7
  • Rage+1 1
  • Fuck Around and Find Out 1
Posted
25 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

Turned the game off mid third quarter. I wasn’t entertained by it and I wasn’t enjoying it. Turned a movie on and would glance at the score every 5 or 10 minutes. Don’t feel at all disappointed that I missed the comeback- could have turned it back on at any score check and kept choosing not to. 
 

had planned to take my boys to the vandy game but scrapped that because tix are $200 for upper deck, plus fees. 
 

the circus half of bread and circuses isn’t holding my attention any longer. 

This is what I’m thinking. I’m not going to totally disconnect, but I don’t have to totally be engrossed either. 

  • Hook 'Em 1
Posted
33 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

Turned the game off mid third quarter. I wasn’t entertained by it and I wasn’t enjoying it. Turned a movie on and would glance at the score every 5 or 10 minutes. Don’t feel at all disappointed that I missed the comeback- could have turned it back on at any score check and kept choosing not to. 
 

had planned to take my boys to the vandy game but scrapped that because tix are $200 for upper deck, plus fees. 
 

the circus half of bread and circuses isn’t holding my attention any longer. 

Doubt I’ll see another game in person unless I get free tickets or at the behest of one of my kids. Prices are obscene, people are dicks, and the commercial breaks are downright ludicrous 

now get off my lawn

  • Hook 'Em 7
  • Like 1
Posted
52 minutes ago, tokamak said:

So how is the grift structured on this donation to service members? $100 each? Something fucky is going on with that. 

Trump will no doubt charge a "handling fee" for making the "deal" happen. 

Posted
22 minutes ago, Sawbonz said:

Doubt I’ll see another game in person unless I get free tickets or at the behest of one of my kids. Prices are obscene, people are dicks, and the commercial breaks are downright ludicrous 

now get off my lawn

Game day experience is fun. It’s nothing like it was in early 2k when we were partying in the rv lot, but good for once a year shit with the kids. I don’t know why or how anyone would consider doing that shit all season. 

Posted
20 hours ago, RPM said:

Ivermectin blamed for death of Colorado woman

The Douglas County coroner is reporting a 74-year-old Colorado woman died of "ivermectin toxicity" in August, CBS News Colorado has learned. It's the second such death in the state, and it's triggering renewed cautions about the different forms of ivermectin.

According to a Douglas County Coroner's Office autopsy report, Mary Doran died on Aug. 2 after a series of seizures due to "probable ivermectin toxicity." The report describes her death as an accident. According to the report obtained by CBS News Colorado, Doran had reportedly been taking ivermectin "for chronic pain." It states: "The decedent and her husband were reportedly taking ivermectin intermittently over the past year which was being taken 2 times a day over the past 6 days. ... Ivermectin was present at the decedent's home."

Tim And Eric Oops GIF

  • Haha 2
Posted
22 hours ago, RPM said:

Ivermectin blamed for death of Colorado woman

The Douglas County coroner is reporting a 74-year-old Colorado woman died of "ivermectin toxicity" in August, CBS News Colorado has learned. It's the second such death in the state, and it's triggering renewed cautions about the different forms of ivermectin.

According to a Douglas County Coroner's Office autopsy report, Mary Doran died on Aug. 2 after a series of seizures due to "probable ivermectin toxicity." The report describes her death as an accident. According to the report obtained by CBS News Colorado, Doran had reportedly been taking ivermectin "for chronic pain." It states: "The decedent and her husband were reportedly taking ivermectin intermittently over the past year which was being taken 2 times a day over the past 6 days. ... Ivermectin was present at the decedent's home."

Horse Pfizer GIF by BabylonBee

  • Fuck Around and Find Out 1
Posted
5 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

Sports is the opium of society

in this era of political divide and conflict, where nobody can agree on anything, it was nice today that we could all rally together and watch oklahoma lose at home. 

  • Hook 'Em 4
  • Like 1
Posted
12 hours ago, Macanudo said:

 Sports has become so commercialized and corporate that I just don't care. 

This has literally been it for me, and it's been quite some time, especially the NFL. CFB was a refuge for awhile, but I have watched maybe 3 or 4 games since the late 2010's. 

 

I don't think people really realize it until they step away, it's pretty jarring to watch if you haven't done so in awhile. I'm almost completely alienated from that culture now. 

  • Hook 'Em 3
  • Like 1
  • Fuck Around and Find Out 1
Posted
21 minutes ago, Okie State said:

CFB is completely unrecognizable compared to what it was 20 years ago when I was in school.

When you strip away the "pageantry and tradition," you're left with four long hours of increasingly meh minor league football.

Posted

The last UT game I went to had some much extra shit happening that the actual game and old college atmosphere was gone. We don’t need a cheer for every first down or loud music between every play. Fuck - just let the band play.
I blame the Taco Bell gong in 1999 or so. That was the beginning of the end.

  • Hook 'Em 5
  • Like 1
  • Fuck Around and Find Out 1
Posted (edited)

Look if you don't want to watch sports, that's fine, but don't sit there and post that fact from your iPhone while you sip your Starbucks like it's some badge of honor while you look down your noses at those who do still enjoy the diversion.

At least most of these athletes are getting well paid to be exploited....

Edited by Surly Bevo
  • Hook 'Em 1
  • Haha 2
Posted
6 minutes ago, Surly Bevo said:

Look if you don't want to watch sports, that's fine, but don't sit there and post that fact from your iPhone while you sip your Starbucks like it's some badge of honor while you look down your noses at those who do still enjoy the diversion.

At least most of these athletes are getting well paid to be exploited....

I'd like better football on the collegiate level.

Posted (edited)
13 minutes ago, Surly Bevo said:

Look if you don't want to watch sports, that's fine, but don't sit there and post that fact from your iPhone while you sip your Starbucks like it's some badge of honor while you look down your noses at those who do still enjoy the diversion.

At least most of these athletes are getting well paid to be exploited....

I post from a Galaxy Z and drink Epoch lattes on Northloop while wearing crocs unironically. 

Begone peasant.

Flexing Cash Money GIF by Freedomists

Edited by MissingInAction
  • Haha 3
  • Drool 1
Posted
37 minutes ago, David Dennison said:

I'd like better football on the collegiate level.

Freakonomics had a thing about relegating the worst NFL teams to the NCAA and vice versa.

More important than exploring that bizarre scenario, it had a very good discussion of the court cases that led to NIL and revenue sharing.  At least the first episode did (really a two parter, see October 3). https://www.npr.org/podcasts/452538045/freakonomics-radio

 

  • Hook 'Em 1
Posted
13 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

Freakonomics had a thing about relegating the worst NFL teams to the NCAA and vice versa.

More important than exploring that bizarre scenario, it had a very good discussion of the court cases that led to NIL and revenue sharing.  At least the first episode did (really a two parter, see October 3). https://www.npr.org/podcasts/452538045/freakonomics-radio

 

Not to derail this thread with non-CR football talk, but in the not so distant future I think we are going to see the CFB equivalent of NIT and CBI tournaments. The beauty of bowl season is that each game is theoretically supposed to be an intriguing, even matchup. The beauty of a playoff is that if you're playing your best football at the end of the season, you can truly throw out the record book, settle things on the field, and achieve redemption even for the unforgivable sin of losing to Michigan.

NIL in some ways helps to even the playing field, and in other ways makes true parity impossible because some programs clearly have greater financial resources than others. You will see perennial playoff teams, and you will see perennial bubble teams, and there's money to be made with two- and three-round tournaments consisting of those teams that are left out of CFP.

Posted
22 minutes ago, chainsaw said:

Not to derail this thread with non-CR football talk, but in the not so distant future I think we are going to see the CFB equivalent of NIT and CBI tournaments. The beauty of bowl season is that each game is theoretically supposed to be an intriguing, even matchup. The beauty of a playoff is that if you're playing your best football at the end of the season, you can truly throw out the record book, settle things on the field, and achieve redemption even for the unforgivable sin of losing to Michigan.

NIL in some ways helps to even the playing field, and in other ways makes true parity impossible because some programs clearly have greater financial resources than others. You will see perennial playoff teams, and you will see perennial bubble teams, and there's money to be made with two- and three-round tournaments consisting of those teams that are left out of CFP.

I would argue that the proliferation of bowl games over the past 20 years and the movement of so many FCS teams to FBS has drastically affected CFB unfavorably.

  • Hook 'Em 2
Posted
4 minutes ago, Macanudo said:

I would argue that the proliferation of bowl games over the past 20 years and the movement of so many FCS teams to FBS has drastically affected CFB unfavorably.

They wouldn't show the games if we didn't watch 'em. Deep down, we're all Sickos and yes we are invested when it's midnight, we post up at the Applebee's bar and see it's 25-23 with 3:17 left in 4th quarter between Central Hawai'i A&M and Billy Graham University, no timeouts remaining and you've got some Chilean theology major warming up his leg on the sidelines.

  • Hook 'Em 1
  • Like 1
Posted
51 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

Freakonomics had a thing about relegating the worst NFL teams to the NCAA and vice versa.

More important than exploring that bizarre scenario, it had a very good discussion of the court cases that led to NIL and revenue sharing.  At least the first episode did (really a two parter, see October 3). https://www.npr.org/podcasts/452538045/freakonomics-radio

 

The most glaring difference between the NFL and college is open field tackling, particularly by defensive backs.

Tackling in college is abysmal.

Posted
8 minutes ago, chainsaw said:

They wouldn't show the games if we didn't watch 'em. Deep down, we're all Sickos and yes we are invested when it's midnight, we post up at the Applebee's bar and see it's 25-23 with 3:17 left in 4th quarter between Central Hawai'i A&M and Billy Graham University, no timeouts remaining and you've got some Chilean theology major warming up his leg on the sidelines.

I used to be that guy (except not at an Applebees.)   I'm not anymore.

Per my FCS to FBS comment. look at what has happened with college stadiums.   I sort of understand why they get renovated since most of the top schools have been playing in their stadiums for decades.  But then you see Sam Houston gutting a perfectly good "small" stadium because they have to have a larger one to fit FBS standards and rules.  Places like Sam and SFA have/had great small stadiums. 

  • Hook 'Em 1
  • Fuck Around and Find Out 1
Posted
18 hours ago, Biff Tannen said:

I want to say this again, and not because we are looking like a middle school team against MSU, but I really think that sports and the entire mentality that this country has about it is a big part of our societal and political problem.  I think I am going to take a big break from it.  I've got season tickets for UT baseball, but after that, I don't want to give money or, more importantly, my life to something that I can't control.  It's akin to drugs or alcohol, I think.  Sorry to those who suffer from those addictions, but I have to imagine it's kind of similar. 

This stuff doesn't affect us.  Or it doesn't have to.  I can go hiking, I can enjoy friends and family and food.  I don't have to have these societal constructs taking over my existence. 

The real reason for this diatribe was because of the reaction on the football board to Sark's supposed NFL aspirations.  It got real dark, real quick, and I don't think the internet society we have built is healthy.

Sports as entertainment is a distraction; to your point, much like drugs.  Video games, TV, social media, hobbies, etc. etc. etc., the main purpose of all that is to distract us from the horror of how meaningless our existence is.  And as more and more people realize that organized religion is mostly a bullshit scam, they turn to those other distractions.  It can be healthy.  But it can also turn into a net negative.  Navigating the nuance is the key to keeping it positive.  People who can get a thrill when their team wins without getting down when their team loses are doing it right.  For maybe the first time ever, last night I did it right. When Texas was sucking (most of the game), I wasn’t upset, I was just watching the game, but then I got a big thrill when “we” came back and won.  Overall, I care very little about sports now.  NIL has dramatically reduced how much I enjoy college football; it’s just minor league NFL, and I hate watching dudes prostituting themselves to bash each other’s brains in.

Society has really lost its way with people taking their distractions too seriously.  It’s evidenced in how “us vs them” and “my team” the narratives in politics have gotten.  It’s fucked up and I don’t know how it gets fixed.

Anyway, I encourage anybody who is seeing their distractions become a negative to take a break from them.  It’s not worth it for something so meaningless to be a bad thing in your life.

  • Hook 'Em 2
  • Like 2
Posted
27 minutes ago, Macanudo said:

I would argue that the proliferation of bowl games over the past 20 years and the movement of so many FCS teams to FBS has drastically affected CFB unfavorably.

College Football GIF by Pop-Tarts

  • Hook 'Em 1
  • Like 2
  • Haha 3
Posted
20 minutes ago, David Dennison said:

The most glaring difference between the NFL and college is open field tackling, particularly by defensive backs.

Tackling in college is abysmal.

Well if you consider there are 544 STARTING defensive backs in FBS and if you want to go Nickel 680 and they can only really start max for 4-5 years (and if they are really good they ain't playing that long as they are off to the league) The NFL has 128 and 160 of those same numbers respectively and many of those guys are multi year veterans.  It's really not that hard a thing to figure out.  The pyramid gets pretty narrow at the top.

 

There are roughly 1.1 million high school football players, approximately 70,000 college players, and about 1,700 players on NFL 53-man rosters

Posted
16 minutes ago, Macanudo said:

I used to be that guy (except not at an Applebees.)   I'm not anymore.

Per my FCS to FBS comment. look at what has happened with college stadiums.   I sort of understand why they get renovated since most of the top schools have been playing in their stadiums for decades.  But then you see Sam Houston gutting a perfectly good "small" stadium because they have to have a larger one to fit FBS standards and rules.  Places like Sam and SFA have/had great small stadiums. 

I'm still that guy, but yeah I'd rather watch from home. Hell, in the middle of a workday I was in the 995 txhsfb thread the other day and someone posted a livestream of Allen vs. Prosper, ended on a missed FG. Football at any level is fun to watch, so long as the teams are evenly matched.

I concur with your opinion that some schools just don't have the juice for FBS. Idaho relegated itself down from FBS and is doing much better as a result. I'm not sure who at Sam and SFA believed they were ready to make the jump, but perhaps they accounted for the growing pains and these grotesque transitions were viewed as a necessary sacrifice in order to become the next Stark Vegas. Who the hell knows? Meanwhile you see UTRGV out of nothing (technically UT-Pan Am had a football program back in like the 1950's) having a successful inaugural season in a right-sized stadium for a 1M+ media market, and if the program continues to have on-field and financial success it would be a good candidate to make the jump to FBS, the way Texas State did. A place like San Marcos, it makes a lot of sense. Huntsville, not so much. A population center like Hidalgo County is closer to a San Marcos than a Huntsville. I'd like to see Sacramento State jump to FBS too.

I'm rambling at this point, but to bring this back to your objection, I think with the trend of programs jumping from FCS to FBS you're gonna have a few swings and misses, but overall I haven't felt like it has eroded the quality of college football.

23 minutes ago, Snake Diggity said:

Sports as entertainment is a distraction; to your point, much like drugs.  Video games, TV, social media, hobbies, etc. etc. etc., the main purpose of all that is to distract us from the horror of how meaningless our existence is.  And as more and more people realize that organized religion is mostly a bullshit scam, they turn to those other distractions.  It can be healthy.  But it can also turn into a net negative.  Navigating the nuance is the key to keeping it positive.  People who can get a thrill when their team wins without getting down when their team loses are doing it right.  For maybe the first time ever, last night I did it right. When Texas was sucking (most of the game), I wasn’t upset, I was just watching the game, but then I got a big thrill when “we” came back and won.  Overall, I care very little about sports now.  NIL has dramatically reduced how much I enjoy college football; it’s just minor league NFL, and I hate watching dudes prostituting themselves to bash each other’s brains in.

Society has really lost its way with people taking their distractions too seriously.  It’s evidenced in how “us vs them” and “my team” the narratives in politics have gotten.  It’s fucked up and I don’t know how it gets fixed.

Anyway, I encourage anybody who is seeing their distractions become a negative to take a break from them.  It’s not worth it for something so meaningless to be a bad thing in your life.

You don't spend your day on 20 page threads slut shaming some woman because her husband's agent had the audacity to put out (or accept) feelers on a new job? Maybe you're not taking football seriously enough.

  • Haha 1
Posted (edited)
26 minutes ago, Pancho said:

Another radical republican bought by Russia. How will Ana spin this?

 

image.thumb.png.0eb7743923cae7cb2fd5dd761c9e7fc0.png

Here's a crazy idea. You want peace? Leave Ukraine.

Edited by David Dennison
  • Hook 'Em 2
  • Like 1
Posted
1 hour ago, MissingInAction said:

The way some here follow recruits is disturbing.

It may be my least favorite thing about college sports.

Posted

I think everyone is overloaded and stuff that supposed to be fun is not anymore because there's too much other crazy shit going on around them. 

  • Hook 'Em 2
  • Like 1
Posted

Counterargument: a bunch of anonymous 60 year olds trying to analyze the thought processes of 16 year olds has never been "fun", it's always been gross.

  • Hook 'Em 3
  • Like 1
  • Haha 2
  • Fuck Around and Find Out 1
Posted (edited)
22 hours ago, Biff Tannen said:

The real reason for this diatribe was because of the reaction on the football board to Sark's supposed NFL aspirations.  It got real dark, real quick, and I don't think the internet society we have built is healthy.


There's the "maga ruined sports" thread but I think its closer to us terminally online folks ruined it.  That Sark thread is disgusting.  Really bad. I quit paying close attention for quite a few years for various reasons but still check in occasionally due to neighbors talking.  Every once in  a while I take a look at the football board.   A whole lot of ugliness on that board in general.  Many seem they've never really been having fun.  And the amount of seriousness people take in analyzing every little thing is cringe.  The 'pussy' talk or what not.  Ugh.  Then there is the misery on just about every game thread.  Gross.  And the total 'clever' repeated surly-isms (ha ha, 'ass water'?).  Cringe.

That train of thought put out there, I see it on other sports discussion sites too.  Not unique to Surly.  We all distract ourselves in some fashion. I think there may be healthier distractions than online sports boards and most pro sports fandom in general.

Edited by MC Fresh Breath
  • Hook 'Em 2
  • Fuck Around and Find Out 1


×
×
  • Create New...