I gotta chime in on this one, Dave.
Certainly, those of us who have played the game understand
more about jai-alai than those who have not, and those who have
played at the pro level understand more than those of us who play
at an amateur level. That would be true in any sport. Nevertheless,
if someone watches a lot of jai-alai, and does so with attention
to the sport as opposed to just which numbers are coming out,
he can develop a reasonably good understanding of the game. He
can come to know which players have which talents, and what each
player normally looks like on the court, and he can recognize
when a player isn't playing like his normal self.
Jim may not have ever played jai-alai (although I don't know
that for a fact), but he is certainly a dedicated fan. His opinions
are just that, opinions. He has painted some detailed pictures
of the action at Orlando for those of us who read this board,
and I, for one, appreciate it, especially since I can't watch
Orlando on the web. Might I sometimes use different verbiage than
Jim does? Yes. (For example, I wouldn't use the phrase "tipping
nothing balls".....but that's MY opinion.) Has he written
some things that players probably would rather not see in print?
Yes. But that happens to athletes in all sports. Fans talk about
the games, and about how players have performed. Heck, in major
sports, if a player performs poorly, it's all over tv and in the
newspapers. Baseball fans talk about how the closer blew the save.
Have they all been on the mound? Of course not. But they know
a hanging curve when they see one. I'm a hockey fan. I've never
played ice hockey, but when I'm watching a game, I can tell when
a defenseman is out of position, and I can appreciate the beauty
of a head man pass threaded between two defenders, or a defenseman
subtly lifting an opponent's stick with his own to prevent a scoring
chance.
My points are:
(1) While players know the game better than fans, that doesn't
mean that fans don't know anything, and it certainly doesn't mean
that fans shouldn't express their opinions.
(2) Athletes will be talked about. It comes with the territory.
And that's okay, as long as it doesn't get personal. Part of being
a professional athlete is being able to deal with that.
