online archive
5:00PM
OCT 25 2007
A guide to psycho fan behavior
Frank Deford on why pro sports should be ejected from the Olympics: The Olympics is fine for what it has become — a nice showcase for second-tier individual spectator sports. While some fans welcome diversity, the globalization of the soccer economy has also aggravated xenophobic violence in stadiums all over Europe. A review of ESPN Guide to Psycho Fan Behavior by Warren St. John. How has sports writing evolved in a world where sports fans are inundated with more information than they can possibly process? ESPN columnist Bill Simmons may be the best case study. A review of Welcome to the Terror-dome: The Pain, Politics, and Promise of Sports by Dave Zirin. A review of Strides: Running Through History With an Unlikely Athlete by Benjamin Cheever. A review of The Blueprint: How the New England Patriots Beat the System to Create the Last Great NFL Superpower by Christopher Price and Never Give Up: My Stroke, My Recovery, and My Return to the NFL by Tedy Bruschi. The Extortionist: Scott Boras has changed baseball forever, and probably for the better. What’s in a (Nick) Name? A good nickname can show the reverence fans or the media have for the athlete, and it can demonstrate a wicked sense of humour, but always, it should demonstrate that sport, at its essence, should maintain a sense of fun.
