The Doom Machine (1/19): Frying The Narrative

Everything of little importance is said prior to kickoff in a firesale of promotion via media generated narrative. All businesses go out defeated, but sports, and more specifically their respective leagues, seem to have a constant going out of business sale in progress. This odd behavior is due to the fact that without the narrative you have a bare version of the sporting event attractive only to that small segment of the population that watches with genuine interest.

You can surely be interested in the spin. The point is to sell the idea that "Guy A vs. Guy B" is a battle for something more than the outcome of a game; sometimes it is even transformed into something personal that goes beyond anything related to the sport. It is difficult to sell the dryness of "there's always next season" because that spoils the winning faction's party and forces us to admit how very little the whole thing matters.  It is simply easier to distort the nature of the event and create drama through narrative.

The case is not whether it is okay to enjoy and be attracted by the packaging. We have all been sucked in by narratives focused on the extracurricular activities of athletes, the heartwarming stories, the villainous subplots and the torch carrying of our values. Millions of people will watch the Superbowl simply because it is a spectacle that has its own cultural significance. The point here is the boon stumbled upon by sports media and its relation to the actual event: Why is it Manning vs. Brady when the game can let the narrative down by becoming about defense and the running game? Because it caters to the casual viewer, the large majority. The sports industry rarely rewards its most loyal consumers with a real selling point because they do not need a reason to tune in other than their aforementioned genuine interest.

I hope you have found the extreme nature of my sports related satire enjoyable and, most importantly, not a complete waste of time. The spin given on this site is as cataclysmic as the initial feelings of defeat within a hyper-competitive spirit. When we take a step back from what we hold highly and take note of our behavior in the face of the venerated there is a silliness and an undeniable absurdity to it. This is especially true when the subject is a pastime with an extensive past and a long future ahead.

Still, you are more often exposed to those that profit from manufacturing interest and drawing in wider audiences than you are to those of us with a sense of humor who make nothing or very little from writing. We, like those that would watch the Broncos play the Patriots without the Brady vs. Manning side story, write for our own reasons. The creative license is felt throughout every post we write without the guidelines or the emphasis on the juicy selling points. We simply watch and comment, so don't overcook the baseless narrative.  

- Alex Moran (@MoonbeanMarcos)