I was just reading a post on Ryan's blog, Aimless, and it inspired me to think about how absurd it is for Americans, particularly American males, to be as obsessed as they are with being a consumer of spectator football and other spectator sports.

Ryan posted a short critique of a person's Technorati profile:

I am a seeker of truth. I am a student of astrology... I plan to become a life coach and continue my astrological studies. Until then, join me as I search for meaning in everyday life.

Yes. I agree that this short quote seems silly.

I'm not a believer in astrology either, but I do think it's fun to think about the similar character traits and personality styles that people share with the character traits and personality styles of other people who share their astrological sign. The descriptions of the zodiac sign personalities are general enough where they can be applied somewhat effectively, but there really is no scientific basis for believing that astrology is anything more than a fun way to pass the time.

Cultural practices throughout time

The way I see it, though, is that people have been using science-ish knowledge systems, like astrology, throughout human history. Astrology, numerology, and other "pseudo-scientific" knowledge systems are not cultural practices that appear to be dying off any time soon. Shamanism is not entirely "scientific", but I don't that cultural practice dying off anytime soon, either.

What about the practices of "laying on hands", spiritual healing, handling snakes, voodoo dolls, Jesus candles, and leaving out Floor #13 in high-rise buildings? Are these practices going to disappear?

Other people's cultural practices sometimes seem very different from my own. I don't even realize sometimes that I do things in an "American" way, until I compare them to, say, my wife, who is from Kazakhstan, or people I have met from Mexico, Sierra Leone, and Brazil. We do things a little differently here than they do it there.

Sometimes I find other people's cultural practices and beliefs to be in contrast to my own, and somtimes I find them to be silly. However, I do know that it is better to laugh at yourself than it is to laugh at others.

Silly American Cultural Practices

There are many cultural practices in America that I participate in somewhat, but not with the passion that many other Americans put into it. I'm talking about FOOTBALL. I'm talking about the American cultural practice of placing an incredibly HUGE value on the passion with which we engage in consuming (watching, reading about, thinking about, communicating about...) American sports.

Now this is an American cultural practice that, to me, seems ABSURDLY important to Americans, especially American males.

I'm a consumer of American sports too, just like many other Americans. I like watching a game, and I mean baseball, football, basketball, hockey, or whatever. I may even might watch more than one game in a weekend every once in a while. I own a few t-shirts (all OSU Buckeye gear) that communicate my participation in sports. I own two or three baseball hats that do the same (Boston Red Sox and OSU). I have been known to participate in a conversation about sports every now and again. I have read the sports pages (mostly USA Today and Dispatch) and looked over the websites from time to time. I've even attended a dozen or so live games, both professional and unprofessional (Red Sox, Celtics, Bruins, Buckeyes, Blue Jackets, Indians, Virginia Cavs). In my opinion, I have a pretty moderate interest in participating in the sports obsessed culture of the American male.

On the other hand, I know guys (and girls!) who read the sports pages everyday, hang out on the sports webpages everyday, sometimes several hours a day, watch the sports news on TV every night, watch ESPN everyday, talk with their coworkers about sports everyday, talk with their friends about sports everyday, talk with their family about sports everyday, and talk about sports with people they hardly know everyday... Now, that seems absurd to me. That seems like a colossal waste of time to me.

Now, to criticize this cultural practice with people who are obesessed with it is to come up against an intense amount of defensiveness, usually in the form of personal attack. I have been known to both participate in and criticize the American sports obsession. However, since it is such an entrenched cultural institution, I am accused of not being "guy"-like or "American"-like when I criticize the practice. When I express the fact that I don't share that passion for sports and I get personal attacks in response it only makes me see this sports obsession as a ridiculous part of life here in America.

Lord of the Flies, anyone?

America's obsession with consuming sports seems like a throwback to the days when every male was a warrior and/or a hunter and there was a clear purpose for engaging in sports. So, what really is the clear purpose of slugging beer and pretzels, sitting around a glowing box of light, and yelling, "TOUCHDOWN!!!!" with a bunch of overintoxicated, gassed-up, screaming crowd of people? Is it really just a social bonding practice? Is it a ritual of nationalistic furor? Is it a moment to revel in the vestigial cultural practices of our early hominid ancestors?

I'm not sure what exactly is the nature of the American sports consumption obsession. There are many cultural practices that we participate in and perpetuate the participation in, as Americans. Many of them seem absurd to me, so I realize that I am picking on football and other sports consumption. However, I do think it deserves a thought.

We can't forget, however, The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Jerry Springer Show, American Idol, Lost, "reality-TV", MTV, Court TV, COPS, CNN, pop music, dining out, boob jobs, horror movies, crime drama TV, and a whole slew of other American culture ridiculosities.

Also, it wouldn't be fair of me to leave out some of my own obsessions that, although I still have a passion for, seem slightly ridiculous to me, and those would include 80's-era hair bands, binge drinking, break dancing, being a vegetarian, getting no less engorged over the thought of a Jeep than the thought of a beautiful and sexy woman going out of her way to please me. Yes. These are cultural practices that I share with many other Americans, and they are RIDICULOUS!!!!

No less ridiculous than the belied that the 30 day time period of a person's date of birth influences that person's personality style and character traits, and thus, influencing the that person's life and the lives of other people who interact with that person.

- docrivs (blog website email)