CITIES AND THEIR TEAMS, revisited

Pic to the left: "Urban Scene"

Here are some random Sunday thoughts, some drifting clouds. Am I the only one who thinks about such things? The city and sports items come from the first Banjo52 post, back in March. I continue to think of those subjects as both fluff and heft, mind candy and soul meat.

Hey, those last metaphors are pretty good, don’t you think? Are they actually mine? As far as I know, they are . . . .

Let's say you can afford a long October weekend in only one of the following cities: Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Pittsburgh. Which do you choose and why?

Consider sports as tribalism, or even nationhood. How many of the players have anything in common with you? How many—and who?—would you keep in your tribe? How many of the fans? And in case I need to say it: Why?

Do you care if a pro sports team somehow captures the character of its city? Or is winning the only realistic, reasonable concern? For example, should it be ordained that no matter how good their quarterbacks and receivers are, the Steelers shall be known for linebackers and tough running between the offensive tackles, while it's okay for the Cardinals, Seahawks, or 49ers to be passing teams—flashy and dramatic, frilly and inconsistent? They might as well wear pink.

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