Sport News Reporters and TV Hosts

I realize I may be the exception, but ESPN spokesmen and woman, along with other sport TV hosts are comical. Does it not seem slightly humorous that sports reporters and talk show hosts become incredibly emotional over sports? Theoretically, sports are played with the goal of fun and physical health in mind. Why would anyone get emotionally disturbed about people trying to have fun while participating in healthy competitions? The sport's analyst and TV reporter often appears heated, emphatic or even melodramatic about a sport team because they want to hype up the American viewer. They simply focus on the personalities and squeeze emotion and importance out of the most insignificant details. When the caring American sports fans turns on ESPN to watch their favorite team play or to hear their team’s game recap, ESPN’s profit increases (aka brilliant marketing strategy).

When I turned on ESPN two nights ago and heard four men in business suits debating passionately as to who should have won between LSU and Arkansas, I laughed. They were dressed in the type of clothes a court lawyer, or important businessman wears, just to talk about what millions of people converse about every day; sports. Any person who has a passion for a team could easily go on ESPN, start banging on the table and crying over the injustice suffered by their team, and at the end of the day probably receive a salary raise. Sport networks want people to care about sports by having their reporters be emotional and super enthusiastic, which then converts more people into sports fans, and helps pay their salary.

How can these TV sport spokespeople be taken seriously? I would argue that they cannot, which makes this a humorous situation. Seeing a man or woman so adamant about why a certain team will win the Super Bowl, or talking about other trivial sport matters, I find laughable. Due to their intensity and emotion, I often find these entertainer sportscasters more interesting than the game. Let the sportscasters roll out on the field and show us their prowess. That would be the best laugh of all.

Working Out: Can Stretching Really be Funny?

Since this is a blog about sports, it is necessary to investigate the preparation required of serious athletes to perform at their full potential. Along with eating and drinking healthily, stretching their muscles properly before and after a workout is crucial. The athlete stretches with the hope of quick muscle recovery and prevention of injuries. Here is a picture of Shaquille O'Neal, having his hamstring and lower back stretched out by a rather petite athletic trainer.

Why are you laughing? Could it be because Shaq’s leg is as tall as the man, and his thigh is as thick as the waist of the trainer? One might describe this picture as comical, if not ridiculous. The juxtaposition of tall and short, and large and small makes one laugh because of the extreme differences. Shaq, the great basketball star of 7’1,” weighing around 325 pounds, has a trainer who is at most 5’4” and 130 pounds. This anomaly often occurs in sports, when the professional player is incredibly stronger, larger, or taller than the trainer or assistant. One might also note that Shaq’s shoe is dramatically larger (and probably weighs more) than the trainer’s head.

Americans find comical anything that seems out of place. In this picture, the small trainer does not seem to fit in with the basketball court with the characteristically large basketball players. The strain and concentration the trainer is putting into just holding up Shaq’s leg is hilarious. It is not the fact that the trainer is trying so hard to keep the leg upright, but rather the idea that he must exert so much force just to keep the leg upright. Americans are not laughing with the small man, but are laughing at him. Why such cruelty? Americans appreciate and admire those people who possess unusual talents or physical abilities (such as being tall and good at basketball), and pass by those with normal abilities and physical characteristics, simply because the majority of people are that way. Americans enjoy the contrast between the exceptionally gifted or talented, and the normal, or seemingly inferior person.

Photo Shopped!

Photo Shopped!

Did I really just include a picture that has clearly been visually modified, and has subtitles to it? Well, I did, and here are my reasons: (1) All the time people play with how we perceive different pictures, especially in our world where computer technology makes it so easy to artificially adapt a scene. (2) These “digitally modified” pictures often cause us to laugh. (3) What is added or modified to the picture usually accurately reflects hidden ideas or beliefs.

The jacked, varying in height male Americans standing in a line are what one calls rowers. And yes, they do get to walk around all day in spandex looking like a boss. The woman to the right is one of Beijing’s 2008 Olympic ceremonial women who helped give out medals to competitors. First, let us look at the pictures composition – where people are standing, and their size. Presumably, the rowers are randomly arranged in order from tallest to shortest, or strongest to weakest depending on how you view it. The tall Chinese woman stands close to the men, as if she wants to be compared to the jacked rowers. One might argue that she is as large as two of the three men, and on top of her size, she is relatively attractive.

Similarly, after closely observing the picture, one must look at its subtitles. Webster’s Dictionary defines “polyandry” as “where a woman has more than one husband.” Thus, the phrase “Olympic Polyandry” refers to the possibility that this single Chinese woman could marry the three rowers, and produce children with incredible Olympic genes. These genes might include height, muscularity, and good looks. The final subtitle in smaller letters says, “And China takes another gold.” While this statement can have numerous connotations, it primarily connotes the fact that China won many gold medals in the 2008 Olympics, and, arguably makes a critical statement on how China is “breeding” their children to become super-humans. Just as the Chinese took many gold’s, this Chinese woman hopes to take many Olympic husbands, demonstrating true “Olympic Polyandry.”

The woman is clearly well above her sex’s average height. She dwarfs the petite man, and is slightly taller than the middleman. She becomes an oddity in the eye of the beholder, as though something extraordinary must have happened to make her so exceptionally tall. The fact that all the men’s heads are turned attentively towards her, proves that she is important and unusual enough for the men to gaze upon her inquisitively. Americans want to laugh at anyone who challenges the U.S. in any way. This woman challenges Americans by being so immensely tall, while at the same time beautiful. Despite the rower’s attempts to look jacked, this single Chinese woman dwarfs the majority of them, and looks beautiful while doing so.