I’ve gotten to the point in my life (I’m 38) where I find it less and less enjoyable to attend professional sporting events.
It’s not so much the play on the field that has me turned off. It’s more the tactics employed by the stadiums and arenas that seem designed to control your mind and spirit once you enter their gates.
Have you ever wondered why the music has to be so loud between innings or during time outs? How about the on-field antics and all the nonsense on the video screens and televisions? Are they meant to keep you entertained — or are they intended to keep you from thinking?
I’m of the opinion that the management of these venues know full well that the best way to exploit their patrons is to control their minds before, during, and after sporting events. Create a big enough buzz and numb people’s brains and they’re probably less likely to think twice (or think at all) about overpriced beer and souvenirs.
The atmosphere at sporting events has become eerily similar to that of nightclubs. It’s become an “experience” instead of a spectator sport. Keep score? Talk strategy with your guests? How can you while Sir Mix-a-Lot’s Baby Got Back is blaring in your ears at 140 decibels?
The next time you’re at a sporting event at The Joe, The Palace, Ford Field or Comerica Park, take notice. Ask yourself why these venues engage in a constant barrage of mind-control tactics. Especially when you’re passing over $9.00 for a beer that costs $1.50 on the other side of the street.
Bill Dow
I agree Steve. I’m especially sick of the loud and obnoxious music blaring at Comerica Park, even during batting practice. It takes away from the pastoral setting of baseball. That crap maybe OK at a Pistons game during the stop in the action but it ruins the experience of watching baseball. But then, maybe baseball is just a sideshow at these mall-parks.
Scott Russell
I wholeheartedly agree. I like to keep score and can’t concentrate with the blaring music – most of which I have never heard before. Can’t people sit and talk to each other without being entertained?? What does this say about society?