veganfan21 wrote:
Tall Midget wrote:
I don't believe most people here view Bernstein as a mouthpiece for the thinking fan, especially since the reaction to his views is largely negative. Rather, they see him as someone who has flaunted his pedigree to maintain an authoritative position within the Chicago sports radio landscape. I would also add that he has mastered the craft of forwarding "complicated" (if turgid or downright incoherent) analyses to promulgate the view that his particular brand of thinking is superior to rival schools of thought, particularly the "meatball" approach to understanding sports. The influence of his ability to dramatize and popularize the act of "complicated analysis" is visible in the way his acolytes--most obviously Holmes, drinky, and Goff--mimic his conceptual approach to sports talk radio.
Sure, I agree with everything here, which is why I tried to be as general as possible in my post because I know most of us don't see him as a mouthpiece for the thinking fan.
Not that you're doing this, but as another general observation, I would caution against throwing the baby out with the bathwater here because much of what Dan wants to label as the "correct" way of a fan should behave is in fact the way many fans behave during/after games, etc. The difference is Dan is being unnecessarily absolutist about this and drawing lines in the sand between the meatballs and the refined fans. Extending the allegory you forwarded earlier, I wonder if Dan's zealousness about proper fans reflects a psychological mechanism by which he justifies to himself and his educated, wealthy network of friends his chosen line of work. In palling around with doctors and other white-collar professionals, I wonder if Dan is trying to characterize sports/sports commentary in ways more palatable to bourgeoisie ways of thinking and being.
I've given this consideration before, and I don't think so. It's certainly possible, but I think it's more complicated than that. To me, it's more nature than nurture. Dan has a personality which lends itself to what he deems "logical" behavior and thought, and he grew up in surroundings which probably deem sports to be unimportant pastimes which are worth discussing in casual conversation but not lending one's identity to. He found sports to be a worthwhile outlet as a youth, however, as evidenced by his conversation with Harry Caray. Still, he had to work his way through the ranks as a play-by-play guy in Rockford, Illinois. This cultural experience was likely shocking to a Deerfield-raised, Duke-educated English major. He felt as though he had been enlightened, and his goal from that point forward was not only to be a "real" journalist but to educate the masses regarding how "real" people and professionals viewed sports. He didn't realize that he wasn't the first to view sports as a pastime, but that socio-economic forces caused lower income communities to rely on sports as their main source of entertainment and comradery, and thus, their identity. Since then, his views may have swayed, but he created his identity when he started his show, and he has maintained it ever since. To change now would be impossible.
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