The Boys On The Radio

Each morning I get up and I turn on CBC Radio [unless it's the weekend because I don't like the "fun" programming they have]. I listen to Metro Morning and The Current and then somewhere in the middle of Q, I turn it off. Not because I'm particularly displeased with this particular program, but it's just enough already and my smelly butt needs to get off the computer and shower. Anyway, Q is self-described as an "arts, culture and entertainment magazine." So I guess it's kinda right there in my wheelhouse, though I will admit that sometimes I'm happy to turn it off as the hipster/pretentious vibe really annoys me. Apparently the fine folks @ Q have added a weekly panel discussion on sports. Or perhaps it was always there, right after I turned the radio off. It's 15 minutes and airs on Mondays. Apparently. I never remember hearing it [and I love to mock CBC Radio's horrible coverage of sports, so again, right in my wheelhouse]. It seems that discussing sports on a culturally-minded radio show has really pissed some people off [and really - I think people that listen to public radio rank the highest in terms of those likely to be vocal in complaints]. Sports are apparently not culture...

Or are they? For this, I turn to Wikipedia. Those fine folks define culture as such: 1. excellence of taste in the fine arts and humanities, also known as high culture; 2. an integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for symbolic thought and social learning; 3. the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution, organization or group. Hmmm. With the exception of the first point, I think that sports and their fans and the organizations that support them - yes, they are culture. And therefore, they deserve a spot on Q, as it certainly does not discriminate between high culture and...other things ["other things" being defined as a feature interview with the winner of the Canadian edition of So You Think You Can Dance or even a dissection of pop culture phenoms like The Beatles and Michael Jackson]. Personally, I think most of the people complaining are likely those that were bullied in high school by classic jock types [for the record, I was bullied a bit high school, but not by the sports fans] and that decades of therapy and art appreciation hasn't helped them to fully recover.

For me, it makes perfect sense. I attempt [in vain] to describe my outlook on life. An elitist who also likes LoCoDe [that's lowest common denominator] things. I do love the highest of high culture - obscure modern art, opera, idiosyncratic museums and the like. Just as much, I also love the low-brow - deep-fried pickles @ Hooters,
people getting hit in the groin/falling down for cheap laughs and yes, of course - sports [though I admit I'm only wild about baseball right now - probably due to my current environment, influences and surrounding culture]. All of this shapes me and I do think that a discussion on certain cultural aspects of sports is just as valid as a 30 minute interview with our latest Canadian Idol. There isn't a lot of solid sports journalism out there [same with entertainment reporting] - but, if encouraged, I think it's the type of thing that all sorts of people can enjoy, not just hardcore fans. It works both ways - if museums would like hockey fans in town to see the Maple Leafs to visit our fine gallery, they should also expect to know a thing or two about the culture of sport.

[ps - 100 day project of projects is going well. i'm mostly just working on the tarot cards right now as they are the easiest to pick up and work @ absentmindedly throughout the day. joseph is hooking up his digital drawing tablet this weekend, so hopefully i will have some photos to show off soon.]