Did you read it? Because you cited the wrong text!
… bolding mine to emphasize the paraphrased quote.
To the OP, technically, I suppose, Whitman did not write it… but he say it so the attribution is correct.
So you intentionally bet real money in order to turn something that you wouldn’t otherwise watch into something you would watch? This seems like the opposite of rational, but then again, people do the same thing with alcohol to turn things they wouldn’t do into things they like doing and don’t seem to recognize the absurdity of it, so I guess it’s par for the course with humans doing self-destructive things just for a bit of perceived entertainment. Of course, there’s no difference between perceived entertainment and actual entertainment for most people, but there definitely is for me - I can point to one specific moment in my life where my dad did something that let me know that just because I thought what I was doing was entertaining me didn’t mean that it actually was in real terms. Ok, he really just said something like “turn that show off; it’s for babies”, but when he effectively told me that I could no longer be legitimately entertained by something designed for babies, I should be more circumspect about the choices I make for entertainment. If you intentionally do something stupid just to have fun, you may want to reconsider what you’re doing.
Personally, if I put money on a sporting event, it would be because I thought I had an edge in research over the market. I also wouldn’t be able to stand watching the game play out, but would prefer just to see the results. I do casual prediction games for sumo tournaments (no money, but pride), and it really helps that the competitions are like around 5am in the morning in my time zone so there’s no real way I can watch live.
I’ve watched exactly one day of American football since 2013 and that was when three friends and I traveled to a newly opened sports book in West Virginia for an outing last year. Football’s only redeeming quality in my eyes is how great a sport it is to gamble on.
I watch one sport because I find the skill and competition enjoyable but I can’t say that I actually care about the outcomes very much.
You aren’t special and your opinions about what is or is not entertaining have no relevance to other people and do not in any way make sense outside of your own head. If other people say they find sports entertaining, you should assume they are correct, because they know better than anyone what entertains them, and their opinions about entertainment are more valid than yours in terms of their subjective experience.
Part of being a grownup is getting past the stage of “what I enjoy is correct and what you enjoy is wrong.” That is, if I may be perfectly frank, utter crap and the sort of thing one expects from dull-witted teenagers, not functioning adults. Every single moment you spend in your life criticizing what other people enjoy watching, listening to, or doing for entertainment is completely wasted. In fact, it’s more than wasted; it’s bad for you. It’s a net negative in your life and everyone else’s. I used to be as guilty of this as anyone and I am a much smarter and better person for coming to the realization that, when I criticized other people for enjoying different movies, shows, music and diversions than me, I was being an insufferable asshole.
If other people like stuff you don’t, what you should do is be happy they are enjoying something, and ask nothing more than they let you enjoy the things you like.
I missed this - anything which will repair such losses may be regarded as a blessing to the race.
Ok so forget that part of my post
As far as being delighted by the Mets comeback…I’ll bring up Harpers recent grandslam walk-off. If one can’t enjoy that just as a human being…I don’t know whats wrong.
Baseball is a great game. Though better in person. anything can happen in any game. On TV…well…i’m getting old and my attention span* is affected, but its still great to clean the house to.
*Not only that but my ability to handle tension. For the Red Sox, I’ll usually watch just the first game of a playoff series and then check in time to time on the following games. If the tension is really bad, I’ll go to sleep just so i can wake up and check when the game is over. You can imagine how bad that 17 inning WS game was…how many times I’d wake up, check, and say “Are you shitting me”.
I was just checking Twitter when Kinsler had his horrible error, so all I’m reading is a screen full of “OHMYGODS!! NOOOOOO”…I think i cried a little cause i knew how bad he felt, how bad this would affect the bullpen, how much the difference is between being up 3-0 and 2-1 is.
I’m ranting…baseball is great. The Sox this year not so much. They’re unbearable this year…but it could be worse. They could be the Orioles.
It’s very rational. I’m essentially buying drama. I’m buying tension. I’m buying a feeling that wouldn’t be there if I didn’t have some kind of personal stake in the game. It’s a feeling that beats the hell out of watching any movie or TV show or playing a video game. I bet enough to make the game interesting, but not enough to really hurt me if I lose.
Edit: as to the above post, there is no sport that brings the tension and drama like baseball. Not everyone has the patience for it…it’s kind of like cranking a jack-in-the-box. When something happens, it HAPPENS!