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I've long maintained that the only pro sport I give a shit about is Hockey.
I don't follow other sports and only know what I know about them from osmosis.
Lately I've taken to replying to someone talking to me about other sports with minutia about battleships.
"An Iowa class battle ship has nine 16" guns mounted in three-gun rotating gun-houses..."
And such.
Their eyes instantly glaze over.
I can go for several minutes too.
When they ask what I'm talking about, I say, "you were talking about something I didn't give a fuck about; so I'm talking about something you don't give a fuck about."
You wanna talk about basketball, I'll talk about battleships.
Indeed. Many in-office conversations go on exactly like that. Two sports Dads will fill the air with college swimming and wrestling exploits of their kids - they bond well. Glad to hear your kids enjoy it but I doubt their passion for them will last five years beyond college, if that. Other co-workers speak of upscale vehicles with quotes of performance, and when they plan to upgrade to their Next Car.
ReplyDeleteMe - So Bored. But I either play along and ask questions, or become immersed in my work. I don't like idle chatter.
jrg
So what would you do if you found the guy you were talking to had served on a battleship, and started correcting your facts with data from his personal experience?
ReplyDeleteTake the old coot back to his ACLF.
DeleteMe, I'd buy him a beer (or whatever) and sit back and listen to his stories.
DeleteNot everyone likes the same things, fair enough. If sports guys don't get it just explain it would be like for most of them if a fan of some sport that THEY don't get starts talking about it... like how most Americans feel about Soccer, or sports nobody but a Brit or an Indian understand like Cricket. Eyes glaze over...
ReplyDelete-swj
A significant problem with the Sportsball Aficionado is their inability to talk about anything else and not being able to understand how someone could NOT want to talk about sports. Sports meaning, baseball, basketball and football. Football being, by far, the worst offender with Basketball a close second.
DeleteThey don't understand the explanation.
So I simply start talking back at them with something they're unlikely to know anything about.
When they finally notice and ask what I am talking about, I can offer a change of topic to something we'd both like to talk about.