Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

The tortuous relationship between hipsters and stick-and-ball sports

The hipster goes through between one and five stages of sports appreciation, always in the same order

Just having fun - Image by g-stockstudio/istock/Thinkstock
Just having fun

Hey Mr. Hipster Dude!

With the passing of another Super Bowl of Crap, do hipsters actually pay any attention to all the sports crap that’s going on? If they do, WHY? I usually ride my motorcycle on days like that, ’cause there are not that many idiots texting while attempting to drive on the roads.

— Stinky, Alpine

Sponsored
Sponsored

I may or may not have touched on this in the past, but the tortuous relationship between hipsters and stick-and-ball sports is fraught with insults and indecencies from both sides. The tension goes all the way back to childhood, when many young hipsters realize that they lack the necessary genetic talent to excel in sports. Hoping to develop some alternative skill that will impress chicks, the young male hipster gets himself a guitar, and thus a future indie rock musician (or wannabe) is born. The young lady hipster’s falling out with organized sport happens similarly, although young women are more likely to turn hipster despite an athletic proclivity (rather than on account of a lacking in that department) because society lavishes much less praise on the successful female athlete, so there is less to be lost by embracing more artistic pursuits.

In later life, the hipster’s distaste for organized sport matures, like a fine wine exposed to the mitigating effects of an oak barrel. Driven by an ironic sense of nostalgia, the hipster goes through between one and five stages of sports appreciation, always in the same order.

Stage one engenders an affinity for nonmainstream sports such as cycling, rugby, golf, and cricket; all of which offer an opportunity to develop a wealth of trivial knowledge unlikely to be shared by the average American.

Stage two permits the hipster to adopt a soccer team, preferably in an international league rather than MLS, over which the hipster can obsess with all the fervor of a devoted Raiders fan. However, the real joy in soccer fandom comes from delivering smug diatribes about the global popularity of soccer, which this particular hipster will probably call fútbol.

Stage-three sports hipsters become enamored with baseball. So long as they remain in stage three, they walk a fine line cultivating a self-aware revelry in the All-American “Casey at the Bat” traditions and superstitions of the National Pastime.

Stage-four sports hipsters don’t just like hockey, they live for hockey. Very rare, but unmistakable when seen in the wild.

Stage five, the existence of which remains hotly debated by hipster scientists, culminates when the sports hipster embraces football, basketball, or as is often the case, both. Remaining hipster while enjoying the mainstreamest of all the sports presents an existential problem. But so long as the hipster professes an admiration of a notoriously terrible team such as the Cleveland Browns, who haven’t seen the postseason since the 1990s, hipster credibility is maintained. Loser-picking provides a suitable cushion of irony. As I mentioned, a sizeable minority of the scientific community claims “hipster” and “armchair quarterback” are mutually exclusive terms. Once a hipster embraces the Oakland Raiders, and any incidental fantasy-football leagues that might arise, the transformation into basic bro is complete and probably irreversible. Because so few hipsters make it to stage five, the data are sorely deficient. Regardless, to answer your question, there were probably more hipsters out riding their café racers than watching the Super Bowl.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Trump names local supporter new Border Czar

Another Brick (Suit) in the Wall
Just having fun - Image by g-stockstudio/istock/Thinkstock
Just having fun

Hey Mr. Hipster Dude!

With the passing of another Super Bowl of Crap, do hipsters actually pay any attention to all the sports crap that’s going on? If they do, WHY? I usually ride my motorcycle on days like that, ’cause there are not that many idiots texting while attempting to drive on the roads.

— Stinky, Alpine

Sponsored
Sponsored

I may or may not have touched on this in the past, but the tortuous relationship between hipsters and stick-and-ball sports is fraught with insults and indecencies from both sides. The tension goes all the way back to childhood, when many young hipsters realize that they lack the necessary genetic talent to excel in sports. Hoping to develop some alternative skill that will impress chicks, the young male hipster gets himself a guitar, and thus a future indie rock musician (or wannabe) is born. The young lady hipster’s falling out with organized sport happens similarly, although young women are more likely to turn hipster despite an athletic proclivity (rather than on account of a lacking in that department) because society lavishes much less praise on the successful female athlete, so there is less to be lost by embracing more artistic pursuits.

In later life, the hipster’s distaste for organized sport matures, like a fine wine exposed to the mitigating effects of an oak barrel. Driven by an ironic sense of nostalgia, the hipster goes through between one and five stages of sports appreciation, always in the same order.

Stage one engenders an affinity for nonmainstream sports such as cycling, rugby, golf, and cricket; all of which offer an opportunity to develop a wealth of trivial knowledge unlikely to be shared by the average American.

Stage two permits the hipster to adopt a soccer team, preferably in an international league rather than MLS, over which the hipster can obsess with all the fervor of a devoted Raiders fan. However, the real joy in soccer fandom comes from delivering smug diatribes about the global popularity of soccer, which this particular hipster will probably call fútbol.

Stage-three sports hipsters become enamored with baseball. So long as they remain in stage three, they walk a fine line cultivating a self-aware revelry in the All-American “Casey at the Bat” traditions and superstitions of the National Pastime.

Stage-four sports hipsters don’t just like hockey, they live for hockey. Very rare, but unmistakable when seen in the wild.

Stage five, the existence of which remains hotly debated by hipster scientists, culminates when the sports hipster embraces football, basketball, or as is often the case, both. Remaining hipster while enjoying the mainstreamest of all the sports presents an existential problem. But so long as the hipster professes an admiration of a notoriously terrible team such as the Cleveland Browns, who haven’t seen the postseason since the 1990s, hipster credibility is maintained. Loser-picking provides a suitable cushion of irony. As I mentioned, a sizeable minority of the scientific community claims “hipster” and “armchair quarterback” are mutually exclusive terms. Once a hipster embraces the Oakland Raiders, and any incidental fantasy-football leagues that might arise, the transformation into basic bro is complete and probably irreversible. Because so few hipsters make it to stage five, the data are sorely deficient. Regardless, to answer your question, there were probably more hipsters out riding their café racers than watching the Super Bowl.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Woodpeckers are stocking away acorns, Amorous tarantulas

Stunning sycamores, Mars rising
Next Article

Southern California Asks: 'What Is Vinivia?' Meet the New Creator-First Livestreaming App

Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader