Worst Super Bowl journamalism yet

Over years, with focus and concentration, I have learned to tune out most of the Super Bowl press coverage. Every once in a while, however, something seeps through, and I must simply stand back and gape at what might be the lowest forms of sports literature known to man. For exhibit A this week, I ...

By , a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast.

Over years, with focus and concentration, I have learned to tune out most of the Super Bowl press coverage. Every once in a while, however, something seeps through, and I must simply stand back and gape at what might be the lowest forms of sports literature known to man. For exhibit A this week, I give you the following paragraphs from Time's Sean Gregory: [W]hatever you think of Manning, I would argue that it's best to root against him in the Super Bowl. Yes, even among his fans. It's Manning's quest for that one missing part, that one imperfection, that will sustain our attention. "From a fan's perspective, the joy is in the conversation," says sports sociologist Jay Coakley, professor emeritus at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. "Peyton's longing for a Super Bowl keeps the conversation going, and if he wins, that conversation stops." In an age of sports parity, in which seven teams have won World Series titles this decade and about a dozen NFL teams were fighting for playoff spots during the last weeks of the season, we can use a dramatic story line. Did anyone really want to see Charlie Brown kick that football (thanks for the reflexes, Lucy)? Would Ernie Banks, the smiling Mr. Cub chortling "Let's play two," be as beloved if the Cubs were winners? Is the sports world really a better place since the Boston Red Sox overcame their "curse" and in 2004 finally won the World Series? To answer his questions: yes, yes, and hell yes. I'm rooting for a Super Bowl that has a meaningful fourth quarter. But part of me also wants Manning to either win it or lose valiantly in the way John McEnroe lost his first Wimbledon final to Bjorn Borg -- precisely so sports fans do not have to recycle the exact same conversation about Manning that has taken place for the last seven years. Hat tip: Slate's Tommy Craggs

Over years, with focus and concentration, I have learned to tune out most of the Super Bowl press coverage. Every once in a while, however, something seeps through, and I must simply stand back and gape at what might be the lowest forms of sports literature known to man. For exhibit A this week, I give you the following paragraphs from Time‘s Sean Gregory:

[W]hatever you think of Manning, I would argue that it’s best to root against him in the Super Bowl. Yes, even among his fans. It’s Manning’s quest for that one missing part, that one imperfection, that will sustain our attention. “From a fan’s perspective, the joy is in the conversation,” says sports sociologist Jay Coakley, professor emeritus at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. “Peyton’s longing for a Super Bowl keeps the conversation going, and if he wins, that conversation stops.” In an age of sports parity, in which seven teams have won World Series titles this decade and about a dozen NFL teams were fighting for playoff spots during the last weeks of the season, we can use a dramatic story line. Did anyone really want to see Charlie Brown kick that football (thanks for the reflexes, Lucy)? Would Ernie Banks, the smiling Mr. Cub chortling “Let’s play two,” be as beloved if the Cubs were winners? Is the sports world really a better place since the Boston Red Sox overcame their “curse” and in 2004 finally won the World Series?

To answer his questions: yes, yes, and hell yes. I’m rooting for a Super Bowl that has a meaningful fourth quarter. But part of me also wants Manning to either win it or lose valiantly in the way John McEnroe lost his first Wimbledon final to Bjorn Borg — precisely so sports fans do not have to recycle the exact same conversation about Manning that has taken place for the last seven years. Hat tip: Slate’s Tommy Craggs

Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner

Tag: Sports

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