Rueter’s Digest: The liminality of the fan experience Photo by Sarina Lincoln. By Sam Rueter [email protected] On Dec. 2, Los Angeles Clippers Guard Patrick Beverley was ejected in the 4th quarter of a game versus the Dallas Mavericks for throwing a crisp bounce pass at a fan’s legs during a stoppage of play. Beverley alleged that the fan made derogatory comments about his mother (“fuck your mother”), whereas the fan maintains that, though he called Beverley a dirty player and invoked his mother, he never used any profanity. “I can accept the ‘Fuck you, Beverley,’ the ‘Fuck you, Pat,’ but out of the lines of my mother, anybody who knows me, man, knows I’m a family-first guy, and there’s some things that are unacceptable,” said Beverley in a postgame interview with ESPN. The NBA fined Beverley $25,000 after the game and he vowed, along with his coaches, to move on from the incident. Though Beverley might be ready to move on, the general sporting public should not. This latest instance of fan and player interaction may have been much tamer than in the past, but it still poses important questions about the responsibility associated with fandom, especially when said fandom is tied to the purchase of a (often very expensive) ticket. On the surface it may seem reasonable to wholly blame the fans who feel emboldened to bully, harass and chide the professional athletes they pay to watch play, but I believe there is a certain hypocrisy in this viewpoint. After all, the most widely decried aspects of the fan experience such as yelling profanities, blindly hating opposing players, drinking incessantly, is the exact same behavior which is constantly valorized whenever players talk about the effects of the “12th man” or notions of “home-court advantage.” In fact, the noise, the bubble of energy, the overall atmosphere of intensity that makes sporting events so great is often comprised of a cacophony of voices and individuals screaming and yelling things not so different than the eccentric Mavs fan sitting courtside at whom Beverley fired a bounce pass. I have been attending sporting events in Boston since I was a toddler and I have heard far worse from fans every single time I have stepped into a stadium or an arena. And yet, Boston sports are consistently held up as having some of the most passionate and best fans in the country. The issue I think then, in Beverley’s case at least, is the proximity of the fans to the players. Most of the ugliest and nastiest fan behavior occurs in the periphery of the arena, where the lack of exposure only amplifies the liminality of the space. These sections are usually made up of fans who take the most pride in their perceived ability to influence or alter a game. Anyone who heard what these folks are actually saying would probably be appalled, but, in their current position as just another voice screaming into a sea of noise, their actions go under-examined. The danger, then, if we begin to overly regulate fan behavior, is an over-sanitization of sports. I will never forget seeing my sweet, soft-spoken father telling LeBron James to “fuck off” during a Celtics playoff game last year. And yet what are we to do? If we kicked out every fan who used the F-word during games in all these leagues and by extension the player, we would lose a lot of money. Additionally, if we tried to codify an unwritten code of subjects off limits for fan taunting (mothers, for example), we would surely run into issues of subjectivity. Furthermore, there are probably many fans who don’t want anything to change. With stadium prices, specifically for the really good teams, going through the roof, fans feel entitled (and they should) to a certain kind of experience at sporting events, which, whether we like it or not, has always meant unloading some profanity and telling grown men we have never met how much they suck. If players are allowed to call each other a piece of shit, why aren’t fans? Now, this doesn’t mean that I think sporting arenas can’t have some sense of decorum. There are obvious, logical lines you cannot cross anywhere, anytime: slurs, racial epithets, threats to the safety of family members. But unless teams, players, executives and media are willing to rethink the way in which they privilege and treat fan behavior (spoiler alert: they won’t, this kind of stuff makes them ridiculous amounts of money), then it seems we are at somewhat of an impasse. If we consistently cosign our own fans’ rowdy, rambunctious, and probably-inappropriate behavior as “helping the team win,” than we can’t get upset when a fan of another team tells us “fuck your mother.” After all, when you live with the liminality, you have to live with the consequences. This Week in Wellness: Finals time By Eva Hill [email protected] With finals week approaching, it seems illogical not to address the stress that nearly every student faces at this time of year. So, I’ve decided to devote this edition of This Week in Wellness to a review of the topics I’ve covered in the past. My first column discussed mindfulness meditation, an extremely relevant topic at this time of year. Whether you meditate regularly or just when you can, or even if you’ve never tried it before, mindfulness can be an incredibly useful strategy for destressing when you don’t have much time. A three-to-five minute meditation could fit into your walk between classes or immediately before going to sleep. You can also meditate to music, timing breaths to the rhythm of a song. Classical music is especially good for this; this week’s music recommendation is one of my favorites to use as a meditation soundtrack. I’ve also covered sleep and supplement use, which I’m grouping together only because prescription stimulants, which are occasionally used by students in the hopes that they will enhance studying or test-taking, have a negative effect on sleep. In fact, not only do these drugs not work as academic performance enhancers, they disrupt the sleep cycle, making it even more difficult to focus and form long-term memories. More recently, I’ve discussed self-care, another important thing to keep in mind during finals prep. Self-care involves taking time for yourself to do things that make you feel better and keep you healthy: for example, taking a nap (either no longer than 20 or approximately 90 minutes long is best) or making yourself some food (see below for a simple hot snack). This is my final column for this semester, so, before I sign off, good luck and be well. Best, Eva This week’s book: As a read to unwind with after a long study session, Agatha Christie’s The Mystery of the Blue Train does its job very well. The story involves, among other things, contested inheritances, jewel theft, mistaken identity and French trains — everything, in other words, that one could want in a vacation read. Christie’s mildly sardonic style gives the book an old-fashioned, if slightly dated, charm and her characters are, as always, over-the-top in a mostly enjoyable way. This week’s music: If you’re looking for an introduction to the world of Baroque classical music, try Vivaldi’s Gloria in D Major as an accessible, energetic piece with plenty of variety and a good combination of both vocals and instrumentals. There are nearly countless recordings of this work, but my favorite in terms of sound quality and performance is the 2001 version recorded by John Eliot Gardner and the Monteverdi Choir, although the choir of King’s College Cambridge also have a great recording from 2002. I’d recommend listening to the full 12 movements to get a feel for the piece as a whole, but in terms of individual movements, my favorites are Gloria in Excelsis Deo, for the powerful vocals and liquid string accompaniment and Laudamus Te, a joyful soprano-mezzo-soprano duet with beautiful harmonic and rhythmic intersection between the soloists. This week’s recipe: Fried potatoes These are one of my favorite dishes to make if I wake up before the dining hall opens for Sunday brunch. All quantities are pretty much subjective and depend on the size of the pan and how many potatoes you’re using. The most important thing on this recipe is to get the browning of the potatoes just right; they have to be cooked through, but if they stay on the heat too long they can get dry or scorched. Ingredients: Potatoes (any, larger work better) Salt Olive or canola oil Peel the potatoes and slice them crosswise into discs approximately 1/4 inch wide. Pour oil into a frying pan over medium-high heat. The oil expands and thins a little as it heats, but make sure it covers the whole pan. When the oil starts to form bubbles, add the potato slices. Be careful not to drop them from too high up to avoid oil splashes. They should be in a single layer on the bottom of the pan (not layered on top of each other). Cook the potatoes until they are brown around the edges, then flip them over. When both sides are browned and potatoes are tender, remove from pan and shake off oil if necessary. Salt to taste and serve immediately.