Fantastic Mr. Speed,
I'm always digging and probing to see what people are really thinking and why they are thinking it. I've done that since I was in Junior (I don't think anyone uses that term anymore) HS. One particularly astute classmate knew what I was up to. He used to say, "You like messing with people's minds."
I often make statements ironically, but I am really interested in the way that people, especially sports fans think. The mentality of the sports fan can be habitat to the strangest, most unusual flora or fauna. In particular, I try to uncover a method of reasoning and then change the context to expose some structural flaw or bias.
In the end, though, I'm not at all interested in a particular team or a specific player; not in this regard. A few years ago, I was having quite a few debates with Lakers' fans about the Lebron James - most of the ones I talked too hated the guy. They were actually hoping that he would fail whenever he stepped on the court. Every success that Lebron had was discounted: the only reason the Cavs beat the Warriors and destroyed the 'Perfect Season' was that the Warriors didn't have its best players; while every failure was magnified: despite the Cavs not having two of its best players the year before (Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love) the Cavs loss to the Dubs in six games was evidence that Lebron had 'choked again.'
Strange to say the least, no?
At any rate, I'm mostly just interested in why people hold the opinions and have the beliefs that they do, and it doesn't matter if it's sports, politics, or art criticism.
To quote Nino Brown in New Jack City: "It's always business; never personal."
