Dayun Q & A

Came out yesterday, and I missed it then, so I'll post it now. That's one of your greatest resources as a fan. Send the man questions. He put a call out for the "females."

Try "ladies," Dejan, and see if you don't get a better response. How many ladies prefer to be called "females"?

I'm full of the unsolicited advice. He's on the right track with understanding his mail, or, shall I say, his read of the writing of his readers. Permit me the liberty of providing further counsel. Not only is the negativity exaggerated because most amateur writers (and face it, we are all amateur writers) mistake exaggeration for forcefulness. Not only is the negativity sharper because most amateur writers mistake sarcasm for persuasiveness. Wherever there is loss, there will be bitterness. The Pirates have done a lot of losing so naturally we are bitter. Bitterness too easily becomes sarcasm. Since there is a lot of sarcasm on the radio and on the TV - at least on the bobblehead shows - it should be no surprise that Dejan gets a lot of sarcastic mail. I think this reflects more on the way we write than on the way we are. At least that's how I read the hyperbolic and sarcastic comments that I often encounter when I surf the internet to see what people are saying about the team. Brush it off - it's mainly just the distortion inherent to the medium right now.

But Dejan clarifies his objection to this stuff in the above link. He now wants "rational" writing. Good luck with that, Dejan. Sports is a place where rational people go to be irrational. Perhaps because the average Pirate fan is older, wiser, etc., perhaps because there is more than a small hint of truth and markmanship in the sarcastic barbs that flood his inbox, perhaps that's why he thinks there could be a day when Pirate fans will be mainly rational. My point is, even if we are mainly rational, that's not something we necessarily bring with us to the ballpark. Checking your rationality at the door can be, for some people, one of the main attractions of sporting events.

Let knuckleheads be knuckleheads. The very low standard for rationality in sports debate is something that makes sports levelling, and that's a big part, I'd guess, of the enduring appeal of all rooting interests.