Field Theory by Hadyn Green

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Field Theory: How's that working out for you? Being clever?

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  • Andre Alessi, in reply to Hadyn Green,

    Possibly the most controversial comment posted in this thread: Yachting is totally a sport.

    Ballroom dancing is a sport too. Sometimes you just have to admit that nothing makes sense.

    Devonport, New Zealand • Since Nov 2006 • 864 posts Report

  • Tom Beard, in reply to Craig Ranapia,

    By urban liberal "creatives" who work for fashionable ad shops? Sorry, not trolling for a fight but it needed to be said.

    There are egotistical blowhards on both sides.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1040 posts Report

  • Hadyn Green, in reply to Megan Wegan,

    What I, at least, am asking, is to be allowed to have my fun, without being told on a pretty regular basis, that the RWC is A Problem and Here’s Why.

    This. So much this. I now sit on my hands and keep my mouth shut around certain company who want to tell me how bad rugby is and how stupid I am for liking it.

    Not here though. Here I'm quite happy to tell you all to get fucked and ask things like "So no Richie also means no Mils right? Because you can't have one get to 100 tests before the other, that'd be way too mean."

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 2090 posts Report

  • Russell Brown, in reply to Megan Wegan,

    What I, at least, am asking, is to be allowed to have my fun, without being told on a pretty regular basis, that the RWC is A Problem and Here’s Why.

    See above, re: unsolicited information as to how many people go to things in Proper Countries.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report

  • Tom Beard, in reply to Andre Alessi,

    And chess is a sport.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1040 posts Report

  • Hadyn Green, in reply to Megan Wegan,

    no, no. Yachting = sport. Mountain Climbing =/= sport.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 2090 posts Report

  • Danielle, in reply to Russell Brown,

    unsolicited information as to how many people go to things in Proper Countries

    Additionally, only 2.5 countries give a shit about rugby so therefore it is laughable to care and the only sport you should like is football as it is far more popular worldwide. The more people like a thing, the better it is! Of course.

    Charo World. Cuchi-cuchi!… • Since Nov 2006 • 3828 posts Report

  • Hadyn Green, in reply to Tom Beard,

    Chess is a game; Ballroom Dancing is a competition bordering on a sport.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 2090 posts Report

  • recordari, in reply to Russell Brown,

    If there was a Cultural Cringe World Cup I think we'd be favorites for that too.

    Oh, I don't no. We have no franchise on cringe, AFAICT. At least ours was short. Seven minutes of a bad idea is a long time, no matter what sort of stamina you've got. So to speak.

    AUCKLAND • Since Dec 2009 • 2607 posts Report

  • giovanni tiso, in reply to Russell Brown,

    re: unsolicited information as to how many people go to things in Proper Countries

    Kind of asking for it if you tweeted about it, it seems to me. You have six thousand followers. What did you think was going to happen?

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report

  • recordari, in reply to giovanni tiso,

    What did you think was going to happen?

    Victim blame.

    AUCKLAND • Since Dec 2009 • 2607 posts Report

  • Craig Ranapia, in reply to BenWilson,

    Yes! Totally. I stopped being po-faced about horse racing after my first Melbourne Cup. It’s not about the stupid gambling. It’s about the hats, and the hotties under them.

    I’ve got a cousin – really Aussie bloke – and he did his first full dress Melbourne Cup a couple of years back. Under duress from his (now) fiancee who is very much a She Who Must Be Obeyed kind of gel, need I add. The photos that did the rounds were georgeous – she was as pretty as a spring shower, and he looked indecently pleased with himself. As he well should. One of those moments where you suspect the human race might not be irredeemably fucked after all.

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report

  • Hadyn Green, in reply to Danielle,

    the only sport you should like is football

    I am also willing to add football to the non-sport list.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 2090 posts Report

  • Megan Wegan, in reply to Hadyn Green,

    This. So much this. I now sit on my hands and keep my mouth shut around certain company who want to tell me how bad rugby is and how stupid I am for liking it.

    Yeah. I...am not good at keeping my mouth shut in those instances, though.

    I would start the yachting conversation here, but that would be a massive threadjack. We can have it over a beer one day.

    Welly • Since Jul 2008 • 1275 posts Report

  • recordari, in reply to Craig Ranapia,

    I’ve got a cousin – really Aussie bloke – and he did his first full dress Melbourne Cup a couple of years back.

    I had to read that several times before I worked out your cousin wasn't the one looking pretty as a spring flower in a dress. Not that this wouldn't be a good thing, or anything.

    ETA: Double negative city. Entende de merde.

    AUCKLAND • Since Dec 2009 • 2607 posts Report

  • LegBreak,

    The claim (heard less frequently in recent times to be fair) that the RWC is the 3rd biggest global sporting event has a lot to answer for.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1162 posts Report

  • NBH,

    Rather than the umpteenth grumpy conversation about whether people are justified in publicly enjoying or not enjoying the World Cup, I'm genuinely more interested in this emerging threadjack about what defines a sport vs a game vs a competition.

    Wellington • Since Oct 2008 • 97 posts Report

  • BenWilson, in reply to giovanni tiso,

    It is screaming that it's what it's doing, but it doesn't achieve it because under the thin veneer of the joke it actually takes the proposition seriously.

    Just. No. It doesn't. It's actually meant to be a joke. It's long drink of lighten the fuck up and enjoy yourself, you ridiculously serious fans. It's a game. Sorry if I interpret jokes from people in my own country speaking my own language about the game I mildly enjoy differently to you. But I stand by my interpretation.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report

  • Tom Beard, in reply to Hadyn Green,

    This. So much this. I now sit on my hands and keep my mouth shut around certain company who want to tell me how bad rugby is and how stupid I am for liking it.

    The thing is: I'd got over that. After 1985, when the old-guard Cavaliers were shunned and the Baby Blacks came through, I found myself able to enjoy rugby without the cultural baggage that anyone who grew up after 1981 might not be able to fully appreciate on a visceral level. I think the game also changed: it seemed to become a faster, more skilful game, rather than a dour mud-soaked struggle that ended up "King Country 3, Wairarapa Bush nil". And the greater diversity of media (more than two TV channels!) and entertainment choices meant that enjoying rugby became a choice, rather than the default setting.

    But in the last few years, the continued prolapse of the Super-n competition from something tight and exciting to a shapeless, painfully-distended bore has diluted my interest, and made it more and more difficult to get excited. The RWC hype has added to the oversaturation, and it hasn't helped that it's become a magnet for all the PR buffoons who think that the fact that everyone groans at their ideas means they're misunderstood geniuses rather than deluded, unfunny wankers. And now the hype is ramping up to the point where it's no longer about the people who enjoy rugby enjoying rugby: it's become a national duty again. And yes, I resent that, if nothing else then because it's made me want to dislike rugby again.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1040 posts Report

  • Megan Wegan, in reply to Tom Beard,

    dour mud-soaked struggle that ended up “King Country 3, Wairarapa Bush nil”

    For the record: My favourite kind of game.

    Welly • Since Jul 2008 • 1275 posts Report

  • st ephen,

    It’s actually NZers poking fun at themselves about taking the RWC seriously.

    God, thank you Ben! I thought everyone had gone mad. The Telecom campaign struck me as designed to take the piss out of crap like that Sky military ad. OK it was lame, but surely well intentioned - the evidence that we need something to make people stop getting so worked up about this Cup thing is all around us. But it's obviously too late...

    It is screaming that it’s what it’s doing, but it doesn’t achieve it because under the thin veneer of the joke it actually takes the proposition seriously.

    Um, Telecom really thinks we should all stop having sex to help the All Blacks win? No Gio. Just No.

    dunedin • Since Jul 2008 • 254 posts Report

  • Emma Hart, in reply to NBH,

    I’m genuinely more interested in this emerging threadjack about what defines a sport vs a game vs a competition.

    Yeah, me too. If only because yesterday, I hadn't taken on board Gio's wisdom that if I didn't want to be abused by RWC haters, I should never, ever mention it on Twitter. A complete list of forbidden topics would be quite handy.

    I am assuming that
    yachting=sport, mountain-climbing=/=sport is because there's no competition? That you need both an element of physical activity, and an element of competitiveness? In which case, yes, ballroom dancing is a sport.

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 4651 posts Report

  • giovanni tiso, in reply to BenWilson,

    It's long drink of lighten the fuck up and enjoy yourself, you ridiculously serious fans.

    And the punchline is: watch all the games! On Sky!

    Sorry if I interpret jokes from people in my own country speaking my own language about the game I mildly enjoy differently to you

    I forgive you.

    (But really, if you can't see how the retelling of a 20-year old Greg McGee joke by the broadcaster that is bankrolling the sport and has made the end of amateurism possible couldn't possibly stay a joke, I think you need to look at the cultural history of your country a little more attentively.)

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report

  • Danielle, in reply to Emma Hart,

    In which case, yes, ballroom dancing is a sport.

    Yeah, but if the competition has to be aesthetically judged (what a beautiful triple axel!) rather than physically judged (this one got over the line first!), is it a sport? If we're saying the first one is, then American Idol is also a sport.

    Charo World. Cuchi-cuchi!… • Since Nov 2006 • 3828 posts Report

  • Megan Wegan, in reply to Emma Hart,

    To me, yachting isn't a sport - and I mean this at America's Cup level - simply because the thing that seems to define it is how much money you spend on your boat. And the skill required to sail said boat is secondary.

    On the other hand, I've deliberately avoided all things America's Cup for about 10 years now*, so I could be wrong these days.

    --

    * It's amazing how you can do it if you try! Some people might want to look into it.

    Welly • Since Jul 2008 • 1275 posts Report

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