Sunday, June 5, 2011

Brand Identity

So, kind of a big week in the sporting landscape of my hometown, Winnipeg. I mean, you all knew I was from the 'Peg, right? Has to be obvious, being the uncultured rube blogging amongst us.

Before you surf over to some other, much shittier (OK probably better) corner of the internet, relax.... this is not a post about my beloved Winnipeg Jets. Not really, anyway.

I've had a few @questions posed my way over on The Twitter (it's fun to refer to it as "The") regarding the impact this will have on my Blue Jays fandom. "Of course it won't affect anything, c'mon man!". Until I started thinking.... will it?

In my defence, I can't even help it. When you're born and raised on the prairies, it's hockeyhockeyhockeybaseballhockey. Despite the ingrained propaganda, I was always - always - the biggest baseball fan of all my childhood friends growing up, save for my brother by another mother (outdated!) who'd waste summer days with me, throwing around a ball, intentionally making ridiculous acrobatic catches with the soundtrack of Tom & Jerry playing on a radio always nearby.

And yeah, the Jets pulling chute and leaving town gave my baseball love the springboard it needed to overtake that whore hockey as my #1 sporting love. So now that they're back (whatever they're eventually called)..... what of it?

I'll tell you what of it.

Nothing changes. How can it?

If anything, I have hockey to thank (or blame, whatever) for my baseball (borderline) obsession. Turning my full attention to this game, this sport, has allowed me to become the nerd fan I am today.

Baseball is perfect in it's imperfections. The ridiculously long schedule? Just long enough. Different rules for different leagues? Provides for endless debate. The brutal composition of the Jays home - the A.L. East? Makes for an even sweeter rise to the top.

Baseball is fantastic. Though I can't promise I won't occasionally be distracted by that other sport, I can promise you this:

I can't kick this addiction. Any doubts I may have allowed to creep into my mind were erased when I slammed my fist in the couch cushion as that douchebag Mark Reynolds went yard for a 4-spot on our ace.

"What's the problem?" says the wife, walking into the room. "Oh", she says as she sees 3-1 become 5-3. She gets it. She knows. I'm just too far gone.

So you're stuck with me.

(until Tao decides otherwise.... which could be, oh, any day now).

7 comments:

Mike said...

Ah the new dilemma for the Jays fan in Winnipeg...

I feel worse for the people still supporting the Canucks. That's going to get not cool very soon.

For me (also an uncultured Winnipegger) its still
MLB draft > NHL draft

Anonymous said...

Thoughtful blog, Ack. Well done!

Chad said...

Seems dumb to name the team something other than the Jets.

dogandabeer said...

Being 45 and single, I feel that I am qualified to comment (just face the facts, guys).

Hockey holds a special place in out hearts. There, I said it.

Baseball holds a place in our souls. The 90 ft. The 60'6".

Why the 6"???

Cause that's the game, and it is as stable, secure and predictable as Momma's arms, or socks from Gramma at Christmas.

It is comfort with a helping of truth, which means you sometimes lose.

It is like life.

If you do good .300 of the time, you can be a star.

Be a star for your kids and community.

It only takes .300!

Steve02 said...

And does the media feed our hockey-hungry appetite, or are we constantly hungry for hockey because we are fed nothing else 12 months of the year?

Will it push and squeeze the Jays to the 6th page of the sports section to the 7th? Perhaps. After all, we've got to have room to see what your favourite Jet had for dinner last night (during the off-season) on the front page.

Carter said...

It hurts to be baseball obsessed when there is no one in my life to talk about it to. The last guy I had a conversation with told me Rajai Davis would hit 25 home runs and was a potential five tool player and that Johnny Mac was an every day guy somewhere else......aaahhh but i have the internet and this blog. I have the rumors of potential trades and I will forever have the optimism no matter how shitty the jays do. I have been waking upevery morning to see if Lawrie has got the call for the past week. When he was put on the 7 day DL I almost punched my dog in its face. Its hard being a Canadian loving baseball,But its good to we exist. Thank you for the Joy.

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