Part of the fun of sports is that it allows us to blow off some steam and ridicule the "other" in a safe way. No one should ever let team loyalty go past the general mockery phase of fandom, but a little good natured rivalry is good for the soul. When I say I hate Auburn, I don't actually mean that. I hate them in the "sports" sense of hatred. My hatred for those who went to Auburn usually only lasts for three hours a year.
And there's nothing wrong with that. But one shouldn't let the colors of their alma mater prevent them from trying to engage their rival fans. The best example is that LSU fans take pride in the fact that we will "Tiger Bait!" the opposition fans, right before giving them free beer and food. Take the "hatred" in stride, and most fans can tailgate together and hopefully, forge some friendships. When you act like a jerk, you give the entire fanbase a bad name, which is why there are hundreds of absurd internet stories about how LSU fans raped and killed fans during their last trip to Baton Rouge.
In the end, we're all more similar than we are different. We all are on this internet thing, and we all love our school, and we take pride in their athletic accomplishments. We like the give and take, as long as there is give and take and not just the intent to inflame. And, of course, we all like the Drive-by Truckers. Or should.
I am much obliged to Poseur for this posting, and to Joel for his encouraging words.
It almost makes up for being called a liar, for being told that Georgia fans are vile and are the league's second most obnoxious fans, for being informed that Georgia fans have no basis for gloating, and for being told that I lack credibility. Almost.
To top it all off, apparently, I have a problem with adjectives and adverbs, too. It just hasn't been my week.
over 2 years ago
T Kyle King
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I know you heartily appreciate any deserved criticism of the brash manner in which you frequently employ accurate adverbs and descriptive adjectives
But I sincerely think your doing a very commendable job.
Oops. I just saw this.
Kyle, I trust you’ll take this observation as it was intended.
This “badly” thing? It startles my eye when I read “I feel badly”. What is that? I suppose there may be reputable style guides that accept “badly” there, but it makes no sense to me, and I would consider such a guide suspect for that reason alone. Did you go to the 2008 Tech game? If so, did you feel badly about what went on in the third quarter? And were you feeling coldly and wetly at the time?
by NCT on Feb 15, 2010 1:32 AM EST via mobile reply actions
But wait, there's more.
I respectfully submit, furthermore, that when one says that one feels well, one is using “well” as an adjective, and not as the adverb form of “good”. I feel good, even though I ought not to feel well (because someone who spends this much thought and time on language in a football blog can’t be a well person).
by NCT on Feb 15, 2010 1:40 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
It's a perfectly cromulent word.
“A noble vocabulary embiggens the smallest man.”
(That’s not a backhanded knock on Kyle… just a Simpsons reference.)
by vineyarddawg on Feb 15, 2010 2:51 AM EST up reply actions
Fear not; I took it in the sense in which it was intended . . .
. . . but I normally get around the “coldly”/“wetly” thing by saying “I am cold” or “I am wet.” In such circumstances, the adjective “wet” is modifying the pronoun “I,” whereas, when I say “I feel badly,” the adverb “badly” is modifying the verb “feel.” I freely admit that I may be incorrect upon this point, but that is my explanation for why I use those words as I do.
You’re right, though, that I wouldn’t say “I feel wetly,” so I must concede the point. Furthermore, James Brown undoubtedly agreed with you upon the “I feel good” formulation, which carries considerable weight here in Bulldog Nation.
As someone who has referred to an RBI as an RIWWB at the end of a sentence in a postgame baseball writeup in order to avoid ending a sentence with a preposition, I welcome constructive criticisms of my use of the language . . . while bearing in mind, of course, that I have, on occasion, referred to the Strunk & White manual as The Elements of Style and How to Remove All Trace of Them From Your Writing.
Go 'Dawgs!
Fair enough
I’m a fan of Strunk & White. In fact, my folks gave me a newly issued illustrated version for Christmas a few years ago. Unfortunately, I typically am a failure at one of the cardinal rules of that and most style guides inasmuch as I tend to be a writer who errs on the side of using too may words to get a point across (he demonstrates without even trying). I tend to write how I think (which includes parenthetical phrases).
One last thing on bad/badly: if you were forbidden to use “bad” or “badly”, in “I felt _”, I am almost certain that any other word you chose (sad, saddened, dejected, disappointed, ashamed, despondent, mournful, gloomy, pessimistic) would be an adjective (or, as in some of the examples, a past participle used as an adjective) (but with the possible exception of the colloquial “I’m feelin’ poorly”).
And I leave you with a fun tidbit a colleague of ours from Augusta once passed along to me. Did you hear about the lawyer who apologized for the lengthy letter? He said he didn’t have time to write a short one. (That’s the story of my professional life.)
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