Ok, just to give readers an idea (though many astute ones already know) of how some media outlets take their own viewpoint on situations, regardless of the reality, I present, Exhibit A.
TMZ.com has a video and short post about Beckham signing autographs after participating in a youth soccer clinic in Harlem. The post takes a dig at soccer, saying that of all the things Beckham signed, none were soccer balls.
Except that the video clearly shows Beckham signing a soccer ball, right before he takes off his shoes to give to a fan.
Paul Gardner also takes a bit of a swipe at soccer in his article, saying, "this is not soccer country, not here in Hamilton Heights". He seems to use as an example the fact that some of the autograph seekers of Beckham chant about baseball and being Dominican.
Yet as the start of the TMZ video reveals, the baseball chant only started after some reporter started to ask Beckham what it was like to come to a predominantly basketball community. Those fans looked like they were trying to correct that reporter's impression of them (No, we're Dominican, and our favorite sport is usually baseball), not randomly chanting about another sport in Beckham's face.
In both cases, I think the mistake was probably precipitated by a slight bit of an agenda.
5 comments:
Agenda? Nah, the sports media doesn't have an agenda against soccer.
I am becoming less and less bothered by the ignorance of certain members of the media in relation to soccer.
I think their views have to do with a lack of creativity as well as fear. They are not creative enough to come up with an original story idea, so they have to trot out the same old "no one really likes soccer in the US". Also, since many of them do not understand the game or its history compared to their understanding of other sports (particularly sports journalists, who are called on to be pundits) they call it boring or stupid.
I like to think that the wave that is the MLS is now big enough that these "journalists" will be swent along with it, and there is nothing they can do about it. I am going to enjoy the show of them being tossed about in the whitewash while the journalists who have embraced the game, or at least have accepted it and report on it in a responsible manner, surf on top.
Matt
Nice metaphor, Matt. I like it, although I've never been a great surfer myself. I'm decent on a boogieboard, though.
would not waste time trying to convert some of these media critics into fans. Some people just don't like the game and will write stupid things about it. They may be completely irrational, stupid, narrowminded, etc, but it's their God-given right. Life's too sort, me thinks.
Besides, frankly, I wouldn't even want those people writing about futbol, making statements about it, or coming to the stadium.
I think there are already enough futbol fans in this country, plus open-minded neophytes, to make the game successfull financially. The challenge is still to make a lot of these folks MLS fans, but that will come with time and improvement in the level of play.
Eh, TMZ is the Anti-Christ, I think we all know.
The "mistakes" were due to agenda but also ignorance (willful and otherwise).
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