Wow, Lal. This is...uh, timely. Because Rave has me knee deep into football fandom with her ridiculously real but romantic erotic Stevie/Xabi fics of anguish, and then her epic crossover, The District. I mean, all the players, from at least three teams, play roles in this fic (Liverpool, Barca, Real Madrid, and others). They are speech writers and interns and journalists and campaign managers and pollsters. They all interact as canonly as possible in an extreme American political West Wing pundit AU. And it's delightful. Brilliant. Fucking funny as hell. It's Rave, for fuck's sake. I'd read anything.
And yet.
Many of these boys masquerading as grown ups are delinquents, misogynists, idiots...and the footballer culture DOESN'T GIVE A FUCK. So then you have people scraping to get by blowing all their money on an overpriced jersey with the name of some total dickwad on it because he can score. Entitled, irresponsible, etc. etc. people. And it's a business, this situation.
I mean, what you are describing could happen here, too, with our own American football. Hell, it does. It does...although there is perhaps less cultural forgiving of crimes? IDK. I mean, pro basketball is just. FULL OF THIS SAME SHIT. And it makes you crazy enraged? ME TOO.
And yet.
Sports was my first fandom. I grew up taking the MUNI bus out to Hunter's Point to Candlestick Park to watch the 49ers play every other week. We had season tickets to the Giants (baseball) one summer, and I literally sat in the sunny stands, or foggy stands, and learned to keep score on a score sheet and memorized batting averages of my heroes. When I grew up, I found a Giants.com chat room where we discussed everything from the day's line-up to the pitching rotation to what colors are good luck for fans to wear to why LA can suck it. I'm an athlete, too. So it's in my blood to love this stuff.
And I don't know what to do about Rave's fics. I really don't. The jovial, hilarious, clueless, calculating, etc. ways she paints these players is..compelling and funny and romantic, alternately. But...are these men worthy of that kind and fun portrayal?? I know the Beckham's aren't. Steven Gerrard probably is. Rave inserts killer awesome women into the lives of these men, women that hold them accountable: ex wives, current wives, bosses, lobbyists, sisters, etc. (Recall the way she wrote Lily to Sirius and James in SBP.)
no subject
And yet.
Many of these boys masquerading as grown ups are delinquents, misogynists, idiots...and the footballer culture DOESN'T GIVE A FUCK. So then you have people scraping to get by blowing all their money on an overpriced jersey with the name of some total dickwad on it because he can score. Entitled, irresponsible, etc. etc. people. And it's a business, this situation.
I mean, what you are describing could happen here, too, with our own American football. Hell, it does. It does...although there is perhaps less cultural forgiving of crimes? IDK. I mean, pro basketball is just. FULL OF THIS SAME SHIT. And it makes you crazy enraged? ME TOO.
And yet.
Sports was my first fandom. I grew up taking the MUNI bus out to Hunter's Point to Candlestick Park to watch the 49ers play every other week. We had season tickets to the Giants (baseball) one summer, and I literally sat in the sunny stands, or foggy stands, and learned to keep score on a score sheet and memorized batting averages of my heroes. When I grew up, I found a Giants.com chat room where we discussed everything from the day's line-up to the pitching rotation to what colors are good luck for fans to wear to why LA can suck it. I'm an athlete, too. So it's in my blood to love this stuff.
And I don't know what to do about Rave's fics. I really don't. The jovial, hilarious, clueless, calculating, etc. ways she paints these players is..compelling and funny and romantic, alternately. But...are these men worthy of that kind and fun portrayal?? I know the Beckham's aren't. Steven Gerrard probably is. Rave inserts killer awesome women into the lives of these men, women that hold them accountable: ex wives, current wives, bosses, lobbyists, sisters, etc. (Recall the way she wrote Lily to Sirius and James in SBP.)
But irl? who is holding them accountable? No one.
Look. I even have an icon. Ugh.