Monday, September 11, 2006
Rant rant rant...
Today's post is about 'experts' and their relationship with snazzy equipment. Or more specifically, people who have the uncanny knack of correlating athletic performance to the number of digits after the dollar sign on the price tag of equpment.
When the opportunity presents itself, such inidividuals will refer to a piece of gear and say something along the lines of, "Oh, i know so-and-so, who uses this-or-that bit of equipment, and he won yada-yada race/clocked yada-yada time/is yada-yada fast". The epitome of such comments usually concern an elite, professional athlete who "uses Brand A" to the tune of race victories or otherwise career success. Implication: Brand A is good, and therefore we should all aspire towards Brand A.
So what? Big deal? Duh! Can someone please explain to me the significance of initiating a discussion along this line? Most discussions go along the lines of bike ownership... yes, what brand or model of bike can indeed be a talking point on how a good athlete performs! Bike forums seem to be full of this silliness, if only because bikes are rightfully considered the most expensive piece of the multisport puzzle. I'm sure there are expert opinions on other bits of equipment as well, but by far the most common culprits stem from the cycling realm of things.
What about training? The hard yards? The early starts? The sacrifices? The advantages over the competition that cannot be obtained with cash? How about all these intangibles?
I have a theory. It is that all these so-called expert commentators are obliged to take pride on behalf of these 'people they know/heard about/admire'. Boasting on behalf of these athletes, unto the ignorant great unwashed, gratifies them. "Oh, i happen to know this little tidbit that you should know about too. See, so-and-so, who is successful, uses it. Uh-huh, thus Brand A is good". The commentator then sits back in the proverbial armchair and smirks, satisfied to have spread the Gospel to one more heathen that day, convinced that that soul may now be considered worthy of ascension into a higher plane of athletic development in the eyes of the God of Talking Shop.
Well, are they getting out there and bettering themselves? Or are they content to remain commentators, happy to orate to anyone who will listen and nod their heads in profound understanding?
Never mind the fact that they are not getting paid to advertise "Brand A", nor are sponsored, talented athletes receiving paychecks as a result of this unsanctioned 'expert' promotional blurb. Seems to me that these preachers have just placed themselves as cogs within the giant advertising machinery that is consumer-centric sports product marketing. As proxy-boasters, they should be paid for doing free advertising, yet they themselves are nowhere near the standard of these athletes they so admire.
You won't see me going around blurbing away: "Hey i know this brand - that fella uses it! And he did so well!" I'd sooner say: "You know, you should try it for yourself and see if it works for you". I'm more concerned about the person i'm addressing in front of me, rather than the person i would have boasted about had i gone the way of 'expert opinion'.
When the opportunity presents itself, such inidividuals will refer to a piece of gear and say something along the lines of, "Oh, i know so-and-so, who uses this-or-that bit of equipment, and he won yada-yada race/clocked yada-yada time/is yada-yada fast". The epitome of such comments usually concern an elite, professional athlete who "uses Brand A" to the tune of race victories or otherwise career success. Implication: Brand A is good, and therefore we should all aspire towards Brand A.
So what? Big deal? Duh! Can someone please explain to me the significance of initiating a discussion along this line? Most discussions go along the lines of bike ownership... yes, what brand or model of bike can indeed be a talking point on how a good athlete performs! Bike forums seem to be full of this silliness, if only because bikes are rightfully considered the most expensive piece of the multisport puzzle. I'm sure there are expert opinions on other bits of equipment as well, but by far the most common culprits stem from the cycling realm of things.
What about training? The hard yards? The early starts? The sacrifices? The advantages over the competition that cannot be obtained with cash? How about all these intangibles?
I have a theory. It is that all these so-called expert commentators are obliged to take pride on behalf of these 'people they know/heard about/admire'. Boasting on behalf of these athletes, unto the ignorant great unwashed, gratifies them. "Oh, i happen to know this little tidbit that you should know about too. See, so-and-so, who is successful, uses it. Uh-huh, thus Brand A is good". The commentator then sits back in the proverbial armchair and smirks, satisfied to have spread the Gospel to one more heathen that day, convinced that that soul may now be considered worthy of ascension into a higher plane of athletic development in the eyes of the God of Talking Shop.
Well, are they getting out there and bettering themselves? Or are they content to remain commentators, happy to orate to anyone who will listen and nod their heads in profound understanding?
Never mind the fact that they are not getting paid to advertise "Brand A", nor are sponsored, talented athletes receiving paychecks as a result of this unsanctioned 'expert' promotional blurb. Seems to me that these preachers have just placed themselves as cogs within the giant advertising machinery that is consumer-centric sports product marketing. As proxy-boasters, they should be paid for doing free advertising, yet they themselves are nowhere near the standard of these athletes they so admire.
You won't see me going around blurbing away: "Hey i know this brand - that fella uses it! And he did so well!" I'd sooner say: "You know, you should try it for yourself and see if it works for you". I'm more concerned about the person i'm addressing in front of me, rather than the person i would have boasted about had i gone the way of 'expert opinion'.
