broadway vs. sports

[bwaylvsong]

Posted: 8/9/05 at 9:33am

Sports is one of those things that I never understood. What's so exciting about a bunch of guys chasing a ball? Broadway is one of those things that I always understood. Every show you see not only entertains you at the moment but gives a lifetime of memories. Anyway, the Tonys are our Super Bowl, right? I know of people that traditionally schedule their party the same night as the Tonys, that people who would otherwise watch the Tonys are obliged to go to. However, nobody in their right mind would schedule a party the same night as the Super Bowl (unless it was a Super Bowl party), or even the World Series. Why is it that theater lovers are looked down upon or just ignored, while the world just about stops if sports lovers want to watch a game? Also, why does anybody not like (or claim not to like) the theater. I know that everyone has a right to his or her own opinion, but I cannot imagine somebody liking something as stupid and unentertaining as sports, and disliking something as wonderful as the broad way fever.

Please respond with your opinion.

[Lavieboheme3090]

Posted: 8/9/05 at 9:48am

You have to think of it this way. First it’s a matter of geography. Broadway is one street in one city. I know there are many exceptions, me being one of them. However, there are literally hundreds of professional sports teams all over the U.S. A personal taste in music, I don’t enjoy scream metal, and my friends who do, don’t enjoy watching musicals. For a lot of towns there sports teams are everything. Its a do or die business, a lot of those dads are just as bad as any stage mom out there. There is also the idea that art is luxury. A lot of people don’t have the time invest in understanding an art form. That’s just my opinion though. Sports are something that is very mainstream, simple to understand, and though you may not enjoy them, there are just as many kids who dream of a super bowl ring that dream for a Tony award.

[wowobball2000]

Posted: 8/9/05 at 9:49am

I happen to love both theater and sports. I suppose that I am one of those rare hybrids who values her father's Giants season tickets just as much as the tickets sitting on her dresser saying that she has a seat to Wicked on Octopber 30th.

However, to get into the issue sports has competition and team spirit that simply can't be matched on Broadway. Not to mention the fact that its tough to make money betting on a Broadway show.

Theater lovers are a minority in the country when compared with sports lovers which is why no one "in their right mind" would schedule another party on the same night as the Superbowl.

This is simply my take on your Broadway vs. Sports question.

Posted: 8/9/05 at 9:54am

It's the same reason "Disco Sucks'-- The easiest way to indicate your manhood is to bash theatre.

What I find most annoying is the presumption that a man will always be interested in sports. During the years when the Bulls were performing well, total strangers would try to get me into sports discussions. I would answer every assertion with "Who?" (And if you think America is a tolerant nation, try to tell a total stranger in line at the post office that you have no idea what position Michael Jordan plays.)

So now when cab drivers launch into long ruminations on the Cub's chances, I cut them off with "Sorry don't follow foot ball. What do you think of that new Miller at the Goodman?" and then show shocked stunned disbelief that he has no ide who Arthur Miller is. "F*ck man do you have any idea how many Tonys that mofo has won? I can't BELIEVE you don't know who he is! Do you live in a CAVE?"

[Forester]

Posted: 8/9/05 at 9:55am

"Anyway, the Tonys are our Super Bowl, right?"

Well, the World Cup of soccer is a much bigger event in the world. However, you're correct.

"However, nobody in their right mind would schedule a party the same night as the Super Bowl (unless it was a Super Bowl party), or even the World Series."

Outside of North America, people would still schedule their party the same night/morning/afternoon as the Super Bowl. However, very few people would schedule a party during the soccer world cup, the Championship League finals unless the party have people watching those events.

"Why is it that theater lovers are looked down upon or just ignored, while the world just about stops if sports lovers want to watch a game?"

What? Since when have theatre goers been looked down upon? Sports feeds on people's desire, sadness and anger.

"why does anybody not like (or claim not to like) the theater."
I don't understand this question.

"I know that everyone has a right to his or her own opinion, but I cannot imagine somebody liking something as stupid and unentertaining as sports, and disliking something as wonderful as the broad way fever."

I can. Imagine being loyal to one thing all your life. Generations of your family have follow the same thing, through the upside and downside of that team. Some teams have been crappy for so long, yet their fans remind loyal. Imagine that sucky team all of the sudden made it to the championship and all those tears in the past is suddenly replace with ecstacy of triumpth. That to me why I love sports so much. It's the unknown for the future.

I've grew up during the 1980s Yankees team, and all New Yorkers would tell you how much they sucked back then. I was still loyal to the Yankees. My friends were all Mets fan (I grew up in Queens). When they finally started to win, that feeling was the greatest.

Drama exist in sports. About three weeks ago, South Africa faces Australia in a rugby match. It was to see who would win the Nelson Mandela cup. In the stadium, the man himself was to present the trophy to the winner of the match. The drama, the South African rugby team never lost a match when Mandela was present for a match. A second drama, the week of the game, Mandela celebrated his birthday. So, you can see the dedication of the team to win the match for Madiba. I was in the stadium and there was so many tears flowing when the national anthem was sung. They also showed the players on the big screen during the anthem and many of them also had tears and was just at awe when they were introduce to Mandela. That to me is drama.

However, you can not compare the two. Two totally different mediums.
Updated On: 8/9/05 at 09:55 AM

[Elphaba]

Posted: 8/9/05 at 10:07am

yuo, it's like comparing apples and oranges, and I question the reason for the thread.

I am fanatic about several sports teams and I love Broadway......it isn't even an issue for me.

Apparently things have happened to you to make it an issue, that remain unresolved.

I have sports and theater memories that will last me the rest of my life.

I like chocolate, and I like historical fiction.......but, neither have anything to do with the other.

Whatever sports fan put you down, ignore him.......not woeth it

[Katecab99]

Posted: 8/9/05 at 10:14am

to each his own...

i really enjoy sports, and i absolutley love broadway. there is room for both.

[Patronus]

Posted: 8/9/05 at 10:16am

Yeah, I am also one of those people who love sports. In fact, I have a lot of interests that don't typically go hand in hand. I am a huge sports fan, I read some comic books, I like to watch professional wrestling and I love musical theatre.

In short, I couldn't care less about what's popular and what isn't. Doesn't matter to me what the masses like and what they don't. If I like it, I like it and I am comfortable with that.

To quote Anthony Rapp, "Labels are for cans."

Hell, I think it's kind of nice that theatre lovers are sort of this small fraternity of people.

The masses are rarely right anyway. Look at the box office numbers for Dukes of Hazzard for instance or the probably opening numbers for Deuce Bigelow: European Gigolo. I'd rather eat broken glass than watch either of those movies, but millions of people enjoyed them. It doesn't make them right or me wrong, it just is.
Updated On: 8/9/05 at 10:16 AM

[sports620]

Posted: 8/9/05 at 10:22am

I am obviously a fan of both mediums. They are just different forms of entertainment. I also have to add that one can't disregard the money factor. Shows are expensive, going to the theater for the average family is more costly than buying a cheap baseball ticket, not to mention that sports are more easily accessible. You can turn on your tv at any point in the day and watch any kind of game and it's free. It is another form of entertainment, you watch the game and for those few hours become connected, feeling both the ups and downs and then happy or sad depending on the outcome. It is much like watching a show.

[liotte]

Posted: 8/9/05 at 10:28am

I enjoy both sports and theatre immensely. It's just two different forms of entertainment. With theatre, you go and watch a show being performed, but in sports, you can yell and scream and cheer with thousands of other fans. It's just an entirely different experience. Plus with shows, I see them over and over again and they stay pretty much the same every time, whereas sports is different every single game.

[bwaylvsong]

Posted: 8/9/05 at 10:35am

I am not bashing sports or sports lovers. I am simply questioning why everybody who likes sports forces it on everyone else, yet some of these people who are diehard sports fans refuse to attend, let alone enjoy, the theater. I completely understand the teamwork, drama, and loyalty that comes with sports, as I'm sure everyone on the planet does. What I don't understand is the lack of an understanding of theater, which also has all of these elements. I am simply saying that if people had an open mind and went to the theater more often, they would learn to love it. Heck, I've been to quite a few sports events in my time, and never enjoyed a second of them. I just can't imagine that with theater, though.

[Forester]

Posted: 8/9/05 at 10:42am

Broadway isn't everybody's cup of tea. That is all right. Sure I wish more people would enjoy Broadway so it could be more profitable, leading to more musicals or straight plays to be produced. However, musical and straight plays aren't everybody's liking. Just like I prefer not to listen to country music, some people just don't like musicals.

Just look within the musical community itself. Many loath Andrew Lloyd Webber, while many love his works. That's all right. It's all about making yourself happy.

[smartpenguin78]

Posted: 8/9/05 at 10:46am

The premise is the problem, it is not "sports fans" who do not understand theatre. As you can see, mant theatre fans are "sports fans". The problem is the vast majority of people, many of whom happen to watch sports, (incidentially I would argue many of them miss the point of sports as well) do not understand or enjoy theatre.

I say embrace the fact that you are different, that you can embrace the theatre.
Although I can't understand why it is so hard to understand, just as you go to sporting events and dislike them, so many will feel with theatre.

ETA: I was once a person who dispized both, as I child I could not understand why people wasted time playing sports or god forbid... singing. It took time knowledge and growth and now I enjoy sports generally and am obsessed with theatre of all forms.

Updated On: 8/9/05 at 10:46 AM

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 8/9/05 at 11:36am

I may be as big a sports fan as I am a theatre fan and at times in the past was quite obessessive about certain teams (the aforementioned Bulls being one of them). At this very moment, my DVR is set to tape Around the Horn, Pardon The Interruption and Sportscenter daily on ESPN.

The whole theatre vs. sports issue is a matter of economics. You can see every major sport (and lots of minor ones) for free on television on a daily basis. You can also get cheap seats for most events for less than the the cost of a balcony seat for a Broadway show (bleacher seats at Yankee stadium are $12). With a top ticket price of $100 and the least expensive seats often going for more than half that, Broadway is the province of the wealthy and the middle class. You have to have a certain income level to even think about attending a Broadway show and if you're struggling financially (as a very large chunk of this country is) the notion of spending hundreds of dollars for a couple of hours of entertainment for you and your family is out of the question.

The vast majority of theatregoers only see one or two shows a year, usually tied to a special event -- a birthday, anniversary, vacation. Theatre will NEVER be the kind of daily habit that sports are to the majority of people in this country, due in part to cost, in part to access (you have to be in New York to go to Broadway; outside New York you have to be near a major city to see a touring company), in part to interest (Broadway simply doesn't appeal to most people -- look at the Tony ratings).

Perhaps if the producers, theatre owners, Equity and the unions got together to make financial concessions and come up with a plan to lower ticket prices, you'd see more people out there take an interest in attending shows. It's a shame there can't be the equivalent of the $12 bleacher seat on Broadway (the Yankees, by the way have a top ticket price of $95; The Knicks also have a $10 ticket, with the top price at $330). As long as even the cheapest seat to Broadway costs several times the price of a movie ticket, Broadway will be viewed by most folks out there as a small elitist little world for people with money to burn.

Updated On: 8/9/05 at 11:36 AM

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 8/9/05 at 11:36am

Updated On: 8/9/05 at 11:36 AM

[Thenardier]

Posted: 8/9/05 at 11:38am

Soccer and Tennis

Go Galaxy!

Updated On: 8/9/05 at 11:38 AM

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 8/9/05 at 11:41am

Go Eagles!

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/9/05 at 11:45am

I like baseball.

I watch the superbowl.

But that's about it.

[worrell4077]

Posted: 8/9/05 at 12:54pm

It's always good to be well rounded in all facets of culture. Be interested in sports, theatre, art, etc. There's always room,it's like what Ernie Hudson and Bill Murray said about jello in Ghostbusters II "I hate jello. Oh come on, there's always room for jello."

I too enjoy theatre and sports. Favorite sports would be football, baseball, golf, and bowling.
________________________________________________________________
"Someone blows their nose and you want to keep it."
-Ghostbusters

[worrell4077]

Posted: 8/9/05 at 12:54pm

It's always good to be well rounded in all facets of culture. Be interested in sports, theatre, art, etc. There's always room,it's like what Ernie Hudson and Bill Murray said about jello in Ghostbusters II "I hate jello. Oh come on, there's always room for jello."

I too enjoy theatre and sports. Favorite sports would be football, baseball, golf, and bowling.
________________________________________________________________
"Someone blows their nose and you want to keep it."
-Ghostbusters

[worrell4077]

Posted: 8/9/05 at 12:54pm

It's always good to be well rounded in all facets of culture. Be interested in sports, theatre, art, etc. There's always room,it's like what Ernie Hudson and Bill Murray said about jello in Ghostbusters II "I hate jello. Oh come on, there's always room for jello."

I too enjoy theatre and sports. Favorite sports would be football, baseball, golf, and bowling.
________________________________________________________________
"Someone blows their nose and you want to keep it."
-Ghostbusters

[JohnPopa]

Posted: 8/9/05 at 1:05pm

Has the cast of 'Hello Dolly!' ever beat Florida State? I THINK NOT.

And don't get me started on Sondheim learning how to run a basic post pattern.

[Wormlett]

Posted: 8/9/05 at 8:02pm

i happen to be another who loves both, actually I grew up a sports fanatic with a secret love for broadway that is recently beginning to escape. I'm torn between deciding if i want to paly soccer in college or pursue singing. You have to realize that it's all quite a culture thing. The same reason many Americans believe soccer is boring, yet the Europeans love it, it's because we grew up doing different things. I grew up playing sports and watching Newsies, yet now I'm watching more and more musicals and falling in love with them. So while to you sports seem boring, to others watching people sing is boring. an interesting enigma though .

[MackieManiac]

Posted: 8/9/05 at 8:14pm

I always tell people that theatre is my Baseball.. I know all the players and stats and think about the end of the season before it begins.

HOWEVER.. I have always resented the fact that if I went to school dressed in a Lakers uniform no one would blink.. but if I went dressed as Velma Kelly I would be committed!

[Hank]

Posted: 8/9/05 at 8:48pm

Are the theatres still open on Super Bowl Sunday? Well I guess you can still catch a 3:00 matinee, get out at 5:30 and still make it to the 6:15 kickoff, but you'll miss all the pre-game stuff.
Kiding aside, I'm one of those guys that likes both, and thanks for reminding me, the Yanks are playing the White Sox right now, so long.