Thursday, May 17, 2007

The Bob Sugars of the World


Sometimes you find something or someplace that is really fun and/or special but has been able to fly under the radar of popularity. Maybe it's not totally off the grid, but it's still small enough to still be manageable. And then it blows up. Some celebrity is "seen" there or they set a popular movie there or the damn LA Times devotes 4 pages and the cover of the fuckin' Weekend section to it and the next thing you know it's overrun with crowds and is virtually ruined for those who had been quietly enjoying it for years. I fear this is about to happen to me and I am not happy about it. The good news is that it's always temporary. The novelty wears off and things eventually go back to normal. Is this only a problem in big cities, I wonder?

On that same note, does it bother anyone else when celebrities start showing up at certain sports teams' games just because they're the hot topic of the moment and going to their games is suddenly "cool?" I remember back in '02 I had never seen a single celebrity at an Angels game. Ever. Oh but suddenly they're in the World Series and Pierce Brosnan and John Travolta show up and are suddenly Angels fans. It was ridiculous. A more recent example is Owen Wilson, Kate Hudson, Snoop Dogg, and others showing up out of the blue at Golden State Warriors' games. I shouldn't say out of the blue because anybody could have seen it coming. As soon as the Warriors started going on a run of success and people started talking about them, the spotlight-chasing celebs were bound to show up, no doubt smiling wide under their crisp new Warriors hats. And not only did they show up, but thousands of other bandwagon fans jumped on board too and killed the energy the arena was thumping with before the rest of the country thought the Warriors had a chance. Simmons explained this too (I can't find it or I would link). Snoop Dogg might be the worst of the lot because while Wilson and Hudson have surely been spotted at Lakers and Knicks games, they are not known as legitimate fans like Snoop Dogg who loves to be proud of "his" Lakers when they are on top and any other team when they are flying high, even a team from the Lakers' division apparently. If we looked in his closet right now, how many different teams' jerseys do you think we'd find? 15? 20? I guess all we would need to do is look at which teams have won anything the past 10 years. Pretty sure he was wearing a Cardinals jersey in October last year. I wonder where that is today. And I am not forgetting that he is supposedly a big SC fan either. He's not off the hook. In fact, I am hereby banning him from all contact with the team. Take a walk, Dogg.

The whole thing to me is really a lot like the movie "Jerry Maguire," as are most things in life. Two scenes: 1) when Bob Sugar tries to talk to Rod Tidwell before his big Monday Night Football watershed game and 2) when Sugar is standing with a client and the client sees Jerry and Rod and asks "why don't we have that kind of relationship?" Of course, Sugar tries to hug his client. The reaction being It's too late, Bob! Jerry laid this all out on paper and you fired him, ya prick! Don't try to jump on the Maguire bandwagon now!

Pathetic, heartless, soul-less. Up yours, celebs! Sports teams mean something to people! They are not to be made trendy!

3 comments:

Conrad said...

I'm no celebrity, but does this mean I can't come to an SC game with you?

What spot is about to blow up? I wanna get in on the action. Largo?

Would you feel better if Snoop only wore SC gear to the Warrior's game? Would that solve the problem? Or would you still be mad that a celeb just showed up to a game? (A playoff game mind you. Exciting stuff. You know, kind of how you don't watch soccer, but watch the world cup--yes I know this doesn't entirely fit, since you are an Italy fan, but I hope you understand my point.) Do you think that only true fans are allowed to come to a game? Be mad at the press for showing them, not for the guys showing up to the game and trying to fit in.

j.h.k. said...

Totally baffled by that entire thing.

Conrad said...

"Man, I wish I was born and raised in Italy."