Just Trying to Watch the Game

God, I just wanted to watch game 5 of the world series even though I don’t really follow baseball anymore and I don’t know who any of these players are (although I learned fast about the red head) and here comes George H.W. Bush, the fanny grabber, and George W. Bush, the war criminal, throwing out the first pitch. Last year we had to stomach the Cleveland Indians with their racist logo but the series was redeemed with a last minute win by the underdog Cubs and everyone was ecstatic.

What’s going to redeem this series? I used to watch with great anticipation who was going to sing the national anthem at the world series and the NBA playoffs cuz they were often great. Who can forget Marvin Gaye crooning at the 2006 NBA All-Star game, or all the times Robert Merrill sang at the Yankees’ games? Or Roseanne Barr pissing everyone off by scratching her crotch at the 1990 games? Not only has this series provided a lackluster lineup, but with NFL players taking a knee or turning their backs in protest, what we got was the sight of all the Dodgers and Astros with their hats over their hearts.

Was anybody talking about the fact that baseball players, unlike so many the NFL and NBA players like LaBron James and Steph Curry, were standing there, silent? Well, no, of course, because they’re almost all white. Where are all the black and Latino players? Then I wanted to know if anyone was talking about their absence so I went online and looked at what Dave Zirin had to say. He’s the host of the podcast the Edge of Sports and a columnist for The Nation. I didn’t find anything specifically about this year’s series, but in an article about the 2015 world series Zirin had this to say: “Here is that pitiless mirror baseball holds up: The National Pastime has become perhaps our clearest cultural reflection of how globalization, de-industrialization, and the subsequent gentrified looting of urban America have wrung so many US cities dry. Baseball, with its need for leagues, coaching, equipment, and players has suffered more than any other urban endeavor. This game that was once a cohesive glue, a “great teacher” of integration and the values of immigration, should never be a symbol of what divides us, but this is where we are. At least within the borders of the continental United States, baseball has, tragically, become the new lacrosse.”

But what really got me was his link to Chris Rock’s explanation of why there aren't any black players. You have to watch this: 

I hope all you stalwart fans enjoyed game 5, which sounds like it was pretty crazy, if way too long at over 5 hours. I’ll check out who’s singing the national anthem on Tuesday, but I’m not expecting Gil Scott Heron or Public Enemy.

Addendum: Why the fuck are they choosing the police to sing the national anthem??!! Three games that I counted and I may have missed some.