On a Lighter Note

by Michelle Lasley

Michelle Lasley is a mother, wife in Pacific Northwest learning to balance green dreams with budget realities.

January 11, 2011

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BOSTON - DECEMBER 01:  Andre Miller #24 of the...
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Tonight, we were able to go to a Blazer Game, in a catered suite. My friend Kate, who went with me, warned me that once I experience this type of game-viewing, I won’t ever want to go back. She is right.

So, besides the awesome catering, the TVs allowing you a great view when you’re not in the great seats looking at the floor, it was a good reminder for me of the importance of Game Night. I’ve spent a lot of years chastising sports, our beer and circus culture, more anti-establishment than anything. (I’m working on another post titled Marketing & I Love Big Brother to give you a hint.) I grew up with my step-dad who constantly watched ESPN. I might not know all the rules of the game, but there was a time when I had all major baseball teams memorized and collected their cards. I could follow and pair most sports with the correct teams, and I can still follow a game with little to no problems. And really, I know how to boo the opposing team. Although, my tennis years chide me from that behavior as it really is not polite.

Things I enjoyed about tonight.

The bit that entertains me the most is the booing, and how much I don’t mind that. My mother always raised us that was poor sportsmanship, and she hated watching the evolution of back-talk, always convinced one year is worse than the year before. Now, I think of it as more just part of the game culture. We all know sports players are paid obscene amounts of money, the seats are obscene in their pricing, the food is obscene in its cost. But, we go for the environment. We go for the show. So, why not get caught up in it?

I also really appreciated the National Anthem. Attending a liberal arts school, reading a People’s History of the United States and getting caught up in Utah Phillips sometimes encourages my anti-establishment mode of thought. But, I love our constitution, and pride is an important thing to have. So, when we all sit quietly, hands behind our backs or over our hearts, and listen to those words describing a fight for freedom and the joy seen when the flag was still there over the rockets red glare and bombs bursting in air and the flag was still there. A society who enjoys its symbols overjoyed when the new symbol of freedom stands tall. And more than 200 years later, we try to honor that tradition – right or wrong – at our new Colosseum events: Basketball (and baseball and football).

So, not only do I now have an appreciate for big brother, I also want me some beer and circus.

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