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Ever have something that because of either peer pressure or other reasons, you really wanted to like, but the harder you tried to get into it, the more you realised that you really hated it?
I'll share some of mine, and invite you to do the same. Remember, I'm not talking about things you hate, but rather things that you really want to like, but just can't for some reason.
Professional sports. Growing up in a blue collar town like Buffalo, culture tends to be bipolar, running either on the upper end of highbrow (world-class symphony performances, art galleries filled with works by the masters, lectures by postmodern philosophers, and so on) or extremely lowbrow (Chinese auctions, meat raffles, volunteer fire department picnics and Monte Carlo nights, modding 1960s-era muscle cars, mullet rock, and the like).
The lowbrow end predominates, and the majority of Buffalonians are rabid sports fanatics. It's not just the Bills and Sabres; it's watching ESPN 2 to see football games between small, obscure Midwestern colleges, or taking baseball statistic geekdom to a higher level. I've always wanted to be a sports fan, and I understand the basic rules of most popular North American sports for the most part. Still, though, I just can't get into a game; I could care less who wins or loses, and I don't understand the strategy. I have no clue what John Madden or Don Cherry is talking about. I can't grasp the concept of "offsides" in any sport.
I WANT to be able to appreciate sports, but I just can't.
Classical music. It sounds nice, and it seems intricate and well-thought out. My impression is that to be a classical music fan, you have to have a golden ear. If I hear something by ... oh, Mozart, I can't tell whether it's the Buffalo Philharmonic or the London Symphony Orchestra playing it, and whether one rendition is different than another. Apparently, it really matters. Classical music fans seem to anaylize a performance with an intensity matched only by ... well, John Madden discussing a split inverse straight-t passplay backfield formation versus a 4-3 short yardage rollout special teams defense on a turf field.
I'll share some of mine, and invite you to do the same. Remember, I'm not talking about things you hate, but rather things that you really want to like, but just can't for some reason.
Professional sports. Growing up in a blue collar town like Buffalo, culture tends to be bipolar, running either on the upper end of highbrow (world-class symphony performances, art galleries filled with works by the masters, lectures by postmodern philosophers, and so on) or extremely lowbrow (Chinese auctions, meat raffles, volunteer fire department picnics and Monte Carlo nights, modding 1960s-era muscle cars, mullet rock, and the like).
The lowbrow end predominates, and the majority of Buffalonians are rabid sports fanatics. It's not just the Bills and Sabres; it's watching ESPN 2 to see football games between small, obscure Midwestern colleges, or taking baseball statistic geekdom to a higher level. I've always wanted to be a sports fan, and I understand the basic rules of most popular North American sports for the most part. Still, though, I just can't get into a game; I could care less who wins or loses, and I don't understand the strategy. I have no clue what John Madden or Don Cherry is talking about. I can't grasp the concept of "offsides" in any sport.
I WANT to be able to appreciate sports, but I just can't.
Classical music. It sounds nice, and it seems intricate and well-thought out. My impression is that to be a classical music fan, you have to have a golden ear. If I hear something by ... oh, Mozart, I can't tell whether it's the Buffalo Philharmonic or the London Symphony Orchestra playing it, and whether one rendition is different than another. Apparently, it really matters. Classical music fans seem to anaylize a performance with an intensity matched only by ... well, John Madden discussing a split inverse straight-t passplay backfield formation versus a 4-3 short yardage rollout special teams defense on a turf field.
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