That idea that you had to lecture a family member if you disagree with them politically was always so funny to me. Every family when you get 10-15 people together you're going to have different kinds of people and different kinds of thoughts. Unless you're a maniac you're still able to sit down and have a pleasant meal.
And thank Christ things have cooled down. My only question is this: what happens if Trump wins again? Do the media and all mainstream institutions catch Trump Derangement Syndrome all over again and scream their heads off for another four years? Or would they just be too burned out to do it this time?
My not-so-hot take is that Bud Light getting punished by the right in terms of beer sales (and in what seems to be sustaining) for doing fairly low visibility promotions with Dylan Mulvaney on social media caused a lot of corporations and whatnot to reconsider the activist demands from otherwise useless HR and marketing departments.
The temperature may have been lowered, but I still think a lot of people feel they *have to* care about everything, in order to be considered .a Good Person. But the vast majority of people out there really, really don't need to have takes on every single political issue, complex economic question, and international conflict. Most of the time, people (on all sides) have no idea what they're talking about anyway, and all it seems to be doing is making them miserable.
It's really OK to care more about your job, your relationships, your health etc than, say, conflicts in the Middle East. Hopefully we're starting to realize that.
Apropos of this shift, BR Sports (the Turner streaming on Max thing) has a promo that runs every commercial break (presumably bc they haven’t been able to sell ads) that’s Earnie Johnson talking about how sports is the best break from the craziness of the outside world. I couldn’t find it on YouTube to link here, but watching it and thinking of 2020 is kind of amazing.
The craziness has seemed to die down all across American institutions with the exception of academia, which is still as "2020" as it was three years ago.
Good article. But I would like to add another paragraph to reasoning: the politics of the average person is changing. I see it in friend groups who were quite liberal and supportive of the 2020-2022 causes now distancing themselves from those positions, if not embarrassed by them.
Plus the long term consequences of Covid and progressive policies helped create a challenging economic environment felt by nearly everyone. So it’s unsurprising people are moving right on the political spectrum — and perhaps this is even true for your rank-and-file sports writers who are feeling the pinch, if not in their pocketbook, but diversity advocacy becoming a luxury belief they can’t afford in a shrinking industry.
Just aside, it was kind of surprising to watch Chamath from the All-In podcast, go from a BLM promoting 7-figure donar to
the the Democrat Party to being ‘red-pilled’ over the last couple years as his takes have aged poorly. He’s far from alone with Democrat donations (especially small dollar) are down and grassroots enthusiasm non-existent.
Large subsection of people in the House of Strauss comments section indirectly making the argument that, actually, there has been no vibe shift and we’re just waiting for the next catalyst.
But also clay hosts a political talk show every day In the old rush Limbaugh time slot. Sports is his side business now. He’s mainly political. To primarily view him through a sports angle lens is wrong. He’s now a full time political commentator who also talks about sports a lot.
I disagree...the culture war is still prevalent in sports...the culture war overall is also just getting steam...the current political state in this country has not settled and the world events are at their highest threat level since the early 1960s (that is quite an accomplishment)...not a Trump fan personally but his policies were working...the dangers we face today are significant and who would have ever thought that less than 75 years after WWII...the Jews are once again persecuted...most fans do not want to read about politics and it’s pretty smart to stay away from them when you have 50% of the country split...
The big bosses have realised something I’ve said here many times, sports is an escape for most people and they don’t want to be reminded of the shit in the real world, and when they do push that people turn off and you probably lose some for good
I don't like Biden much, but I'd gladly sign for 100 years of him if it gets people to shut up, act like normal human beings, and let people have conversations that don't involve politics.
At this point in time if you listen to guys like Clay Travis or Dan LeBatard while disagreeing with their “politics” it’s probably because you’re addicted to the outrage. There’s an ocean of apolitical interesting sports coverage, but sometimes people make the mistake of expecting it all to be that way.
IMO, you massively undervalue Donald Trump's lost the 2020 election as a driver of the return of sports reporting normalcy. If DJT reclaims the White House in 2024 I expect a quick regression in sports reporting. I would be overjoyed if proven wrong.
Why the Culture War Died in Sports
That idea that you had to lecture a family member if you disagree with them politically was always so funny to me. Every family when you get 10-15 people together you're going to have different kinds of people and different kinds of thoughts. Unless you're a maniac you're still able to sit down and have a pleasant meal.
And thank Christ things have cooled down. My only question is this: what happens if Trump wins again? Do the media and all mainstream institutions catch Trump Derangement Syndrome all over again and scream their heads off for another four years? Or would they just be too burned out to do it this time?
My not-so-hot take is that Bud Light getting punished by the right in terms of beer sales (and in what seems to be sustaining) for doing fairly low visibility promotions with Dylan Mulvaney on social media caused a lot of corporations and whatnot to reconsider the activist demands from otherwise useless HR and marketing departments.
The temperature may have been lowered, but I still think a lot of people feel they *have to* care about everything, in order to be considered .a Good Person. But the vast majority of people out there really, really don't need to have takes on every single political issue, complex economic question, and international conflict. Most of the time, people (on all sides) have no idea what they're talking about anyway, and all it seems to be doing is making them miserable.
It's really OK to care more about your job, your relationships, your health etc than, say, conflicts in the Middle East. Hopefully we're starting to realize that.
Apropos of this shift, BR Sports (the Turner streaming on Max thing) has a promo that runs every commercial break (presumably bc they haven’t been able to sell ads) that’s Earnie Johnson talking about how sports is the best break from the craziness of the outside world. I couldn’t find it on YouTube to link here, but watching it and thinking of 2020 is kind of amazing.
The craziness has seemed to die down all across American institutions with the exception of academia, which is still as "2020" as it was three years ago.
Good article. But I would like to add another paragraph to reasoning: the politics of the average person is changing. I see it in friend groups who were quite liberal and supportive of the 2020-2022 causes now distancing themselves from those positions, if not embarrassed by them.
Plus the long term consequences of Covid and progressive policies helped create a challenging economic environment felt by nearly everyone. So it’s unsurprising people are moving right on the political spectrum — and perhaps this is even true for your rank-and-file sports writers who are feeling the pinch, if not in their pocketbook, but diversity advocacy becoming a luxury belief they can’t afford in a shrinking industry.
Just aside, it was kind of surprising to watch Chamath from the All-In podcast, go from a BLM promoting 7-figure donar to
the the Democrat Party to being ‘red-pilled’ over the last couple years as his takes have aged poorly. He’s far from alone with Democrat donations (especially small dollar) are down and grassroots enthusiasm non-existent.
Large subsection of people in the House of Strauss comments section indirectly making the argument that, actually, there has been no vibe shift and we’re just waiting for the next catalyst.
But also clay hosts a political talk show every day In the old rush Limbaugh time slot. Sports is his side business now. He’s mainly political. To primarily view him through a sports angle lens is wrong. He’s now a full time political commentator who also talks about sports a lot.
Is some random person high on meth? Wtf is happening here. Even Ethan had to come in to try to cool the jets.
I like how a piece about everyone getting tired of talking about politics spawned this particular comments section.
I disagree...the culture war is still prevalent in sports...the culture war overall is also just getting steam...the current political state in this country has not settled and the world events are at their highest threat level since the early 1960s (that is quite an accomplishment)...not a Trump fan personally but his policies were working...the dangers we face today are significant and who would have ever thought that less than 75 years after WWII...the Jews are once again persecuted...most fans do not want to read about politics and it’s pretty smart to stay away from them when you have 50% of the country split...
The big bosses have realised something I’ve said here many times, sports is an escape for most people and they don’t want to be reminded of the shit in the real world, and when they do push that people turn off and you probably lose some for good
I don't like Biden much, but I'd gladly sign for 100 years of him if it gets people to shut up, act like normal human beings, and let people have conversations that don't involve politics.
At this point in time if you listen to guys like Clay Travis or Dan LeBatard while disagreeing with their “politics” it’s probably because you’re addicted to the outrage. There’s an ocean of apolitical interesting sports coverage, but sometimes people make the mistake of expecting it all to be that way.
IMO, you massively undervalue Donald Trump's lost the 2020 election as a driver of the return of sports reporting normalcy. If DJT reclaims the White House in 2024 I expect a quick regression in sports reporting. I would be overjoyed if proven wrong.