Interesting that you mention your low tolerance for "cape and codpiece" moves after discussing how refreshing these boys' display of decency was in current media environment. I would say that one of the reasons some of these movies are so popular is that they allow people to experience decency, honor, self sacrifice and bravery in a setting and with characters that are unreal enough not to engage their knee-jerk cynicism. In other words, it's OK that Captain America is not a deeply flawed person with a troubled past. His super power is that he is decent. And people love it. Underneath all the alien armies, explosions and violence in Avengers End Game, there are at least two instances where a person is required to give their life to save others. The most successful movies in this genre are not the dark anti-hero, at least not these days, but the ones that feature positive themes that people otherwise regard as unrealistic or corny. Are they good films? No, but I find them encouraging nonetheless for showing that people still long for the good even if they no longer believe it is possible.
Thanks for the commentary on this, Matt. It reminds me of a story from a few years back here in Washington state, where I used to coach high school distance runners. During the State championship meet, the winner was disqualified because of a minor lane violation - a technicality. After the medals were given out, the girl who was crowned the winner went and found the girl who had been disqualified, and gave her the first place medal. The girl who had the second place medal then gave her medal to the girl who had given up the first place medal. This continued on down the line, until the girls had made things right. So - not one, but multiple kids modeling kindness, humility and a sense of fair play. Let’s hope they keep that same spirit as the get older.
Fundamental human decency. Appropriate respect and consideration for others. Matt picked a wonderful example of good behavior from one competitor to another. Bravo Matt. We've become conditioned to oppose. Not to help. Not to cooperate. Not to console. Rage media and personal interest narratives amplify opposition: 'He's a fighter!' 'I'm going to fight for...!' 'If you don't fight like hell...'. I'm pleased Isaiah chose to console Bubs and to resist narratives to do otherwise. Bravo Isaiah.
btw, I too like Billy White Shoes Johnson. But I like Cliff Branch the most.
Loved your fresh take on boys and sports. It isn't necessary to participate in athletics to have a full life but there is a certain richness to the experience that cannot be replicated. It isn't just the games or meets. It's the practices, getting your uniform, the anxious feeling before games, the thrill of victory, the hell of losing which is quickly put into proper perspective by the post game popsicle. The drive home with complete game analysis, little brothers eyes full of unadulterated admiration.
Both of those boys did their families, coaches and teammates proud. Heck, they did everybody with a pulse proud. I guess there is hope for us after all.
Someone below referred to the event as a member of the set, “displays of unmanliness”. <sigh>
There was as much or more manliness on display in this event than in any three Jason Statham movies. Honesty. Responsibility. Respect. Desire to do good. Recognition of the humanity of others. Ordering of priorities. One could go on.
We don’t need to blow this up into something it isn’t. But it’s useful as a reminder, a cue to consider recalibration of our sensitivities and priorities. Once winning becomes everything, or the only thing, we lose part of the best thing about our existence in this cold, dark, merciless universe—our ability, and willingness, to love.
Don’t mix up manliness with acting like a soulless automaton. A man that can’t, or won’t, love is but a shell, a flimsy and deeply flawed simulacrum of a human.
After you read this incredible article by the incomparable ML, please listen to today’s Megyn Kelly pod with Dr. Warren Farrell. This story comes up along with so many other important “boy” centric concerns.
God bless those boys, indeed. In the adult version of this story, the first baseman probably tackles the runner, believing he's heading toward the pitcher to fight.
It was a great moment, and the fact that you chose to build an upbeat story around it is a credit to you, Matt. Your timing is good, too, since "we're dealing with a lot of shit." Not the least of which is that the little bugs with the Light of God in their asses seem to be disappearing for the season.
Interesting. Two kids from flyover country show more courage, compassion, and goodwill than, oh, let's say Sen. Lindsey Graham (R - Rubeville) nodding his head like a bobblehead clown while some Fox propagandist, rage spittle dribbling down his chin and onto his tie, accused the DOJ and FBI of ... <strike>doing their jobs</strike> releasing the hounds on a newborn lambkins who didn't know it was declasse' to take sh!t that doesn't belong to him. I mean seriously, he's been doing it all his life. How was he to know???
Nice column. It warms my heart to know that human decency exists and can even be found if one digs for it a little.
I was actually a decent athlete, great glove at short but couldn't reliably hit a curve, better than pretty good receiver, less as a blocker. But after the 1994 World Series that wasn't (I have a "game ball" sitting on my bookshelf as a reminder) I decided that the owners and the players deserved each other but that neither deserved the fans. At least not this one. So (Ellen DeGeneres voice:) buh-bye now.
The jury’s out on this one as far as I’m concerned. These displays of unmanliness seem somehow staged and done to elicit the response it generally gets. I too sucked at baseball and was told so by my teammates, I’m still here and the only damage done largely disappeared when I discovered what I was good at. Enough of the wussification of sports, “ there’s no crying in baseball”.
Writing that you’re a Cowboys fan and immediately following it with discovering girls causes cognitive dissonance in the reader. All kidding aside, growing up a Skins fan kinda killed football for me. My dreams in football were broken with Joe Theismann’s leg. Now I’m married into a family of comeheres who worship the team formerly known as the Redskins, and they get mighty upset at my sardonic comments during games that we almost invariably lose.
My opinion of podcasts is exactly, if less articulately, the same as yours. Like blogs, they tend to be undisciplined; the information they contain could be condensed to a couple of paragraphs taking far less than 43 minutes to read. That said, thanks for the tip on the Sub-Beacon. Matus and Last were, along with you, what made TWS something I looked forward to.
Interesting that you mention your low tolerance for "cape and codpiece" moves after discussing how refreshing these boys' display of decency was in current media environment. I would say that one of the reasons some of these movies are so popular is that they allow people to experience decency, honor, self sacrifice and bravery in a setting and with characters that are unreal enough not to engage their knee-jerk cynicism. In other words, it's OK that Captain America is not a deeply flawed person with a troubled past. His super power is that he is decent. And people love it. Underneath all the alien armies, explosions and violence in Avengers End Game, there are at least two instances where a person is required to give their life to save others. The most successful movies in this genre are not the dark anti-hero, at least not these days, but the ones that feature positive themes that people otherwise regard as unrealistic or corny. Are they good films? No, but I find them encouraging nonetheless for showing that people still long for the good even if they no longer believe it is possible.
Thanks for the commentary on this, Matt. It reminds me of a story from a few years back here in Washington state, where I used to coach high school distance runners. During the State championship meet, the winner was disqualified because of a minor lane violation - a technicality. After the medals were given out, the girl who was crowned the winner went and found the girl who had been disqualified, and gave her the first place medal. The girl who had the second place medal then gave her medal to the girl who had given up the first place medal. This continued on down the line, until the girls had made things right. So - not one, but multiple kids modeling kindness, humility and a sense of fair play. Let’s hope they keep that same spirit as the get older.
Thanks for sharing!
What a great kid, a product of some great parenting!!!!!
Fundamental human decency. Appropriate respect and consideration for others. Matt picked a wonderful example of good behavior from one competitor to another. Bravo Matt. We've become conditioned to oppose. Not to help. Not to cooperate. Not to console. Rage media and personal interest narratives amplify opposition: 'He's a fighter!' 'I'm going to fight for...!' 'If you don't fight like hell...'. I'm pleased Isaiah chose to console Bubs and to resist narratives to do otherwise. Bravo Isaiah.
btw, I too like Billy White Shoes Johnson. But I like Cliff Branch the most.
Loved your fresh take on boys and sports. It isn't necessary to participate in athletics to have a full life but there is a certain richness to the experience that cannot be replicated. It isn't just the games or meets. It's the practices, getting your uniform, the anxious feeling before games, the thrill of victory, the hell of losing which is quickly put into proper perspective by the post game popsicle. The drive home with complete game analysis, little brothers eyes full of unadulterated admiration.
Both of those boys did their families, coaches and teammates proud. Heck, they did everybody with a pulse proud. I guess there is hope for us after all.
Someone below referred to the event as a member of the set, “displays of unmanliness”. <sigh>
There was as much or more manliness on display in this event than in any three Jason Statham movies. Honesty. Responsibility. Respect. Desire to do good. Recognition of the humanity of others. Ordering of priorities. One could go on.
We don’t need to blow this up into something it isn’t. But it’s useful as a reminder, a cue to consider recalibration of our sensitivities and priorities. Once winning becomes everything, or the only thing, we lose part of the best thing about our existence in this cold, dark, merciless universe—our ability, and willingness, to love.
Don’t mix up manliness with acting like a soulless automaton. A man that can’t, or won’t, love is but a shell, a flimsy and deeply flawed simulacrum of a human.
After you read this incredible article by the incomparable ML, please listen to today’s Megyn Kelly pod with Dr. Warren Farrell. This story comes up along with so many other important “boy” centric concerns.
“Bull Durham, one of the great baseball films of all-time.”
Yeah, more like THE greatest SPORTS film of all time.
God bless those boys, indeed. In the adult version of this story, the first baseman probably tackles the runner, believing he's heading toward the pitcher to fight.
It was a great moment, and the fact that you chose to build an upbeat story around it is a credit to you, Matt. Your timing is good, too, since "we're dealing with a lot of shit." Not the least of which is that the little bugs with the Light of God in their asses seem to be disappearing for the season.
Interesting. Two kids from flyover country show more courage, compassion, and goodwill than, oh, let's say Sen. Lindsey Graham (R - Rubeville) nodding his head like a bobblehead clown while some Fox propagandist, rage spittle dribbling down his chin and onto his tie, accused the DOJ and FBI of ... <strike>doing their jobs</strike> releasing the hounds on a newborn lambkins who didn't know it was declasse' to take sh!t that doesn't belong to him. I mean seriously, he's been doing it all his life. How was he to know???
Nice column. It warms my heart to know that human decency exists and can even be found if one digs for it a little.
I was actually a decent athlete, great glove at short but couldn't reliably hit a curve, better than pretty good receiver, less as a blocker. But after the 1994 World Series that wasn't (I have a "game ball" sitting on my bookshelf as a reminder) I decided that the owners and the players deserved each other but that neither deserved the fans. At least not this one. So (Ellen DeGeneres voice:) buh-bye now.
The jury’s out on this one as far as I’m concerned. These displays of unmanliness seem somehow staged and done to elicit the response it generally gets. I too sucked at baseball and was told so by my teammates, I’m still here and the only damage done largely disappeared when I discovered what I was good at. Enough of the wussification of sports, “ there’s no crying in baseball”.
Writing that you’re a Cowboys fan and immediately following it with discovering girls causes cognitive dissonance in the reader. All kidding aside, growing up a Skins fan kinda killed football for me. My dreams in football were broken with Joe Theismann’s leg. Now I’m married into a family of comeheres who worship the team formerly known as the Redskins, and they get mighty upset at my sardonic comments during games that we almost invariably lose.
My opinion of podcasts is exactly, if less articulately, the same as yours. Like blogs, they tend to be undisciplined; the information they contain could be condensed to a couple of paragraphs taking far less than 43 minutes to read. That said, thanks for the tip on the Sub-Beacon. Matus and Last were, along with you, what made TWS something I looked forward to.
Good job to both of the guys there, showing both remorse and compassion. Maybe some adults could make a note.
A different kind of baseball story, but equally inspiring:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moe_Berg
“The lion shall lie down with the lamb, but the lamb won’t get much sleep.”
- Woody Allen
Always great to read you. Like bellying up to the bar to hear some great yarns…
great song, great movie; loved Isaiah and his heartfelt encouragement