Just to chime in a bit on the relevance of this (or similarly contested FPPs) here at Sportsfilter, to quote Dave Zirin, what this kind of thinking (that these discussions aren't sport-related) does is "disregards how the very passion we invest in sports can transform it from a kind of mindless escape into a site of resistance. It can become an arena where the ideas of our society are not only presented but also challenged" (What's My Name Fool? p. 21). So, to justify (from my perspective) why this kind of thing belongs on Sportsfilter ... because not all of us are only interested in the shallow tripe (or mindless escape) of home run record chases or pullin' collectible cards (that's not me dumping on those posts however). The debates about social responsibility are all over this site (from Vick's dogfighting charges through Prius cars and duck livers), and rightfully so!
As an Anaheim Duck, I hate to see real ducks tortured... Guy wins The Cup and they still don't consider him a "real duck." What's a guy got to do? Spitzengle, was Zirin really actually talking about the is-or-is-not-a-sport argument? What was his context for the comment? It's a nice quote, but I'm not convinced that applies to the operation of this site, which has a more narrow focus than, say, the real world. Tommy, man, what a stretch to say that this post has "encouraged discussion." About the treatment of ducks? Yes. About Chicago city ordinances? Yes. About the environmental relevance of the Prius? Yes. But none of those are sports issues. The direction of this thread was fairly predictable since you did little to steer it toward a sports-related discussion other than throw out the name of an athlete. I am all for discussing sports in a cultural context, probably more than most, but this one isn't doing it for me. I vote kill. Disclaimer: I like foie gras.
TCS, Zirin was writing about Chomsky's critique of sport (the kind of sport we talk about most here at SpoFi) as an instrument to instill passivity among the masses. Agreed, some of the discussions have veered away from direct sport relevance, but again, this is bound to happen. Even when it's about sport, it's never ALL about sport. I think the one productive aspect of this thread has been the discussion about the social conscience of pro athletes. While it's couched in a controversy over fatty duck livers, it's really about one athlete's decision to take a public stand on an issue. If this was about chicken livers, then I'd join the chorus and vote to kill the thread too, but there's just something about duck livers that makes this resonate with more than just me ;)
Nice to see a pro athlete take a potentially unpopular position to look out for animals. I HATE the idea of foie gras and Neidermeyer's just picked up another fan.
My girlfriend has just informed me that it is not foie gras that I like, but gravlax. I was a little surprised that duck liver could taste so much like fish, but I wrote it off to their seafood diet. Needless to say, my stance in favor of foie gras has weakened considerably. My stance on dating chefs, however, remains at "strongly recommend."
Tell me again why this story doesn't belong on SportsFilter? Do you mean other than the fact it's a cut and paste job meant to inspire a vegans vs. PETA-haters scream fest and nothing else? Or can we include that in our reasons? Metafilter does these awful threads a couple times a month. I don't see why we have to just because an athlete chimes in. Chicago banned goose liver last summer.
Tell me again why this story doesn't belong on SportsFilter? Do you mean other than the fact it's a cut and paste job meant to inspire a vegans vs. PETA-haters scream fest and nothing else? That may be your perception of what I intended, but that is about as far from what I intended as is possible. What I thought might happen is that a few members of SpoFi might think "Hey, an athlete with a social concience and a sense of responsibility", and try to examine something in their life where they might be able to make a difference. I think it's important to state that I am not a big fan of PETA and their methods. I apologize that there's no dogfighting or home run records involved in this story, but if those sorts of things are the only kinds of posts you enjoy reading, then ignore this one and go on to another thread that is more to your liking. Spitztengle, and vito90, I think you two both understood what I was trying to do with this thread. Thank you for your support. Well, I'm reading your posts as being supportive.
I don't believe for a second that foie gras is inhumane, having actually witnessed first-hand how ducks are treated on a farm. They live a better life then I do.
Your life must be weird. Possibly quite painful.
Chicago banned goose liver last summer. How do the geese feel about this? Where are they storing their glycogen? Won't someone think of the geese?! Tommy - you seem to be taking this rather personally. If you wanted to raise some awareness or start a discussion then you should have posted something a bit more robust than a 189-word article that essentially says "Man who plays for a team called the ducks doesn't like people being mean to ducks" and nothing else. It doesn't say what more PETA want from Chicago in this regard, it doesn't tell me anything about the athlete other than that he's anti-foie gras and drives a crappy car (although I take your point, Holden and would agree that a fair degree of that dust-to-dust study was tripe). Make it a FPP worth the name and inspire the discussion you say you wanted - link other stories of athletes with a social conscience doing something altruistic and maybe that's where the discussion will go. Post this single (and frankly, piss weak) article and necessarily some of the subsequent discussion is going to involve someone asking WTF?
I apologize that there's no dogfighting or home run records involved in this story Your apology vis a vis the absence of home run records, for my part, is accepted. Beyond that, if our only option is either dogfighting stories or seven-sentence nods to a press release from some athlete's PR team then that's the last straw. I'm going to Armchair GM. (crickets) I'm serious. I'm going. (crickets) Fine. (Door slam. And... scene.)
