It was a recession; does MSU loss mean a depression?
April 7th, 2009, 11:00 am · Post a Comment · posted by kylew
I’m to the point where I spend more time yelling at the commentators on sports broadcasts for their less-than-thought-out thoughts than I do yelling for (or at) my team of choice.
One thing that annoyed me during the latter part of the just-completed NCAA men’s basketball tournament was the announcers’ insistence that Michigan State’s run to the championship game somehow was a tangible boost to the spirits of a state battered by the economic recession.
Now, the MSU wins probably didn’t hurt. But seriously, did anyone in Detroit come home one night and say, ‘Honey, I just got laid off from my job at the plant, but my spirits are lifted because the Spartans are one win from the title.’
Furthermore, if MSU’s wins were such a lift to Michiganders’ spirits, then why did none of the commentators during the Spartans’ crushing loss against North Carolina have the nerve to say something along the lines of, “Combine this with the economic recession and most people in Michigan are probably more depressed now than ever before.”
If the latter thought sounds ridiculous, that’s a good sign the former thought is equally ridiculous.
More thoughts from March Madness:
• This was probably the worst NCAA tournaments in the last decade. Very few memorable moments, and the teams that produced memorable moments generally got blitzed in the following round. As the AP put it, North Carolina’s win “was about as heartwarming as watching a demolition derby.”
• For those who follow women’s basketball, what do you think of Oklahoma star Courtney Paris’ pledge to return to OU a donation equal to her four-year scholarship because she failed to lead the Sooners to the national title? Some are saying it’s all for show. Some are saying it’s no big loss to her because her dad was an NFL star. Some say it will just be a drop in the bucket of her WNBA millions.
I say give her some credit. I don’t see any other players lining up to match Paris’ pledge.
