[Goronmon]

That's nice. What other corporate products must I consume in order to be a validated member of your social caste?

Whats funny is that you could actually bring up this topic with fans of mainstream sports (especially for the NFL) and probably get a decent discussion going. Just mention things like TV timeouts and you'll probably get some level of agreement on how annoying things have gotten these days.

Of course, if you phrase it in a way similar to how you did above, people will most likely just think you were an asshole.

[timr]

"Of course, if you phrase it in a way similar to how you did above, people will most likely just think you were an asshole."

Of course, a similar thought most likely crossed my mind when I read the parent comment.

[FireBeyond]

The difference being the parent made a valid point that you're not even willing to entertain - the notion that people can enjoy a sport, at the highest level, without enjoying the crass commercialization that might accompany it. But you couldn't respond without an indictment of how brainwashed he is, in your opinion.

I love basketball. I grew up playing and refereeing it. I lost interest for about a decade, because the culture got to be too much about the personality and antics, and not the game. I've only just gotten back into it in the last year because it seems to have shifted back. And there is a lot of fun to be had attending a game.

[timr]

"But you couldn't respond without an indictment of how brainwashed he is, in your opinion."

I encourage you to quote that part of my comment. For bonus points, quote the part where I said I can't understand why people enjoy sports.

[FireBeyond]

"That's nice. What other corporate products must I consume in order to be a validated member of your social caste?"

Go ahead, say, with a straight face, that such a remark was not effectively a paraphrasing of what I said and was a non-loaded question asked with sincerity. To claim that you were not implying some corporate brainwashing in what you said is, frankly, disingenuous.

[anextio]

Your characterization of a product successfully marketed to people as "corporate brainwashing" whenever you don't like someone pointing out that a thing is perpetuated by corporate profit motives is also disingenuous.

I think the commenter was being a bit of an ass too, but I think he still has a defensible point, and it's not the absurd point that you're making it out to be.

[FireBeyond]

I'll agree. There's a healthy middle ground and I was exaggerating for emphasis.

Suffice to say, this: I think that it's possible to enjoy sport at a professional / high level (or local for that matter), in itself, whilst still having something of a disdain for overly crass commercialization (which varies between sports).

[briandear]

The original comment seems to reinforce the article's point.