GenCon mentioned on NFL Total Access.

[Nuclear Platypus]

Of course it did. It's also so painful that most only get a few million dollars a year and its still not enough. Oh boo hoo. Cry me a river, build a bridge and get the frell over it.

Since everyone else is spouting their favorite foosball teams, I'll chip in for Miskatonic U, home of the Fightin' Cephalopods!

Go 'Pods!

 

[jester47]

Even without sports, adolescents will still seek out others who have similar interests and form cliques, and certain cliques will inevitably butt heads with each other. It's simply a part of growing up.

I agree, but I think what my point is that the elitism associated with football in US Highschools can be detrimental. There is a difference between physically fit and large scale social ramifications.

But, while we're on the subject, I've got some links to research articles of my own, found after brief searches on google.

--links--

There is no doubt about the physical and mental benefits of regular exercise.

Speaking from my own expirience,

Your experience is very similar to my own.

Another discovery I made was that geeks can be every bit as elitist and insular as they often percieve jocks to be. Except where some jocks percieve geeks as being losers and freaks, some geeks arrogantly believe anyone who isn't like them to be unintelligent or unenlightened.

This also is true and is the standard in places where the elitism has been around for a while. Note that the elitism occurs on both sides. One demonises the other. Typically, geeks, nerds, loosers, and freaks trick themselves into their mindset as a reaction to what jocks have. Namely status, prestige, and the hot chicks. It is typically human to find a reason in someone else for why you don't have somthing. Thus the jock gets demonised. However, jocks also have a tendency to flaunt thier status and popularity.

This dynamic is more prevalent in places (US) where there is a highschool football team. Comparisons of schools show that schools without football teams have a more cohesive student body.

A good case in point is my former high school. When I was there there was no football team. As populations go, everyone was fairly athletic. There were minimal confrontations between geeks and jock if such classifications could even exist. Four years after I graduated, they implemented a football team. It started being only a 7th grade sport, then they expanded it evey year afterwards one grade upwards. As this happened, several teachers who were in charge of detentions and such noticed that the conflicts among the students became more and more jock vs. geek. This is right in line with several sociological studies.

Why this happens is anyones guess.

Aaron.

 

[Incenjucar]

Of course, blaming D&D for Egbert's problems is about as sane as blaming sports for rioters.

This is true. It's a chicken/egg thing. It is more accurate to say that sports exist in their current state (that is, more popular than intellectual material, and prone to causing conflicts between people) not because throwing a ball is, itself, bad, but because the people who are more likely to spend hundreds of dollars on football tickets instead of ten dollars on a novel are more often susceptable to that sort of behavior.

Nerds can do sports, and jocks can read the classics.

Heck, in jr. high, people tried to talk me in to trying out for football, I just happened to prefer keeping my full mobility and tend to prefer getting my rear slapped by -women- only.

 

[BOZ]

you know, next year if there is a Colts home game during Gen Con, the convention should be cancelled. i mean, why should we inconvenience the athletes and sports fans just for our own enjoyment?

 

[Silver Moon]

I am irritated at the Trekkie reference. Makes a sad statement about journalism and sort of makes me sad that we had a chance in the spotlight to highlight what we were about and we get labeled "Trekkies."

Unfortunately anything remotely connected with Sci-Fi and Fantasy gets hit with that label. It dates back to the 70's and 80's when the media would show up at any Sci-fi conventiion. 98% of the people would be dressed as just normal people but the cameras would only focus on the 2% who were dressed up like vulcans, klingons and C3P0 and broadcast them because they were more photogenic, thus the television audience believed them to be the majority of attendees.

I once went to a very large Comic Book convention where George Takai was one of several guests (the other guests being artists and writers). Of the 6,000 people at the event only 3 came in costume, yet that night's news report had a film clip of only those 4 and talked about "Mr. Sulu and the thousands of Trekkies".

 

[Eridanis]

My brother & I attended the game - we had a great time (especially since we're Jets fans), but had to put up with a guy who sat behind us, and would not stop talking for AN HOUR AND A HALF about how much the Con was a "freakshow" - even though he himself had flown in from New York to attend the con. "I'm not one of those kind of guys who lives in their parent's basement" Amusingly, he was visually indistinguishable from thousands of Con-goers I saw over the weekend. (Overwight, clad in T-sirt, wearing a fanny pack.)

I would have turned around to try to give a mitigating point of view to the people this guy was trapping with his monologue - but I couldn't get a word in edgewise.

 

[Psion]

I would have turned around to try to give a mitigating point of view to the people this guy was trapping with his monologue - but I couldn't get a word in edgewise.

You should have banned him for a week.

Er, wait...

 

[Silver Moon]

According to a local news report I saw on ~Friday, the Jets had to stay 20 MILES from downtown. I bet they were thrilled.

They were lucky to find a place that close. Kriskrafts and I only made it to one GenCon, back in Wisconsin. The trip was a last-minute thing and we were only to find lodgings near the city for Wednesday to Friday nights. For Saturday night the closest available place we would find was almost an hour away.