No, Not Everyone was Kung Fu Fighting
Okay, that was hopefully a little bit of fun in the face of a volatile and sometimes dangerous situation.
There are, though, many aspects to this, some of which are contradictory. We expect a certain level of professionalism, but how can you ask an athlete in the heat of battle not to respond to someone throwing something dangerous?
But if we understand it too much, it gives too free a license to athletes.
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And we know that most people who yell insults are never identified and removed; that leaves the players to take whole games worth of insults. Don’t they deserve some justice, even if it is street justice? However, if they look for that payback, they get kicked out and suspended, and the home fans–the real fans–suffer.
Well, columns, like 30-minute TV shows, cannot solve such deep issues, they can merely present them. This will not be resolved anytime soon, and ambivalence will remain the watchword.
I’m Leaving You
And for that reason, I am going to leave you with this video. It is an interview with the great French footballer Eric Cantona (Can-te-now). Eric was involved in one of the most famous fan interactions in soccer history.
"Twenty years on, the kung-fu kick former Manchester United striker Eric Cantona launched at Crystal Palace fan Matthew Simmons, moments after being sent off at Selhurst Park, still resonates as one of sport’s most extraordinary events, even by the standards of football’s melodramas."
A few years later, he gave this interview. He starts by reflecting a bit, and towards the end is shown the incident; between them is a short existentialist interlude. It is what he says, however, that is so fascinating. And apropos.
He talks about how he regrets his actions, but that he is also proud of them. And he says the reason he did it is for all of the fans who feel so impotent in their lives. But he attacked the most active of those fans.
What is the answer? Je ne sais pas.
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But that is the point. The unique dynamic that is modern sports puts people—both fans and players—in the crucible where the only truths are words and actions. And the only resolution is on the scoreboard.
Right now it reads, Mr. Met, zero, and overreactions, one. Let’s hope the Mets can improve that score, as well as the one that counts wins and losses.
Because if they do, they won’t force us to chant, No-ah is a popin-jay, No-ah is a popin-jay. Seriously, do not make us chant that…for everyone’s sake.