Sportsfilter - Whats the S.P.? June 18, 2014 12:58 PM Subscribe
Any news on the other subsite ideas? I ask as the world cup is on right now, and you could try out sportsfilter for the world cup only maybe?
There are quite a few people on mefi who love teh footy, and many more who love the World Cup, and it would give us a place to chat about it and not clutter up the Front Page with World Cup posts (unless they have general interest, like the FIFA corruption FPPs and the troubles in Brazil FPPs). In this meta post, someone asks for a general World Cup thread, but that isn't really possible.
(I am joking when I say the infrastructure must be in place, all you need is a new logo! (And having seen his photoshopping skills* I recommend cortex!))
I know there has been a downturn in the uptake of moderators here recently, but I am getting the impression people are flagging things more, so I think it could work. Or I'm sure there are people who would voluntarily mod sportsfilter for you for the duration of the world cup. FanFare seems to be doing ok and the starting niggles are being ironed out, and sportsfilter is likely to be way way less a contentious place, and much quieter, as sports fans make up a smaller subset of mefites overall.
* I am thinking of the amazing donut/AK-47 photoshop. Seamless.
There are quite a few people on mefi who love teh footy, and many more who love the World Cup, and it would give us a place to chat about it and not clutter up the Front Page with World Cup posts (unless they have general interest, like the FIFA corruption FPPs and the troubles in Brazil FPPs). In this meta post, someone asks for a general World Cup thread, but that isn't really possible.
(I am joking when I say the infrastructure must be in place, all you need is a new logo! (And having seen his photoshopping skills* I recommend cortex!))
I know there has been a downturn in the uptake of moderators here recently, but I am getting the impression people are flagging things more, so I think it could work. Or I'm sure there are people who would voluntarily mod sportsfilter for you for the duration of the world cup. FanFare seems to be doing ok and the starting niggles are being ironed out, and sportsfilter is likely to be way way less a contentious place, and much quieter, as sports fans make up a smaller subset of mefites overall.
* I am thinking of the amazing donut/AK-47 photoshop. Seamless.
We don't have any other new subsite plans in the works, no; FanFare is coming along well but is still pretty early days as far as that goes and we have several more broad media categories to add to that still along with a lot of specific functionality, so that will be probably the main focus of new development stuff for a long while yet.
As far as sports stuff in general, we don't really have any kind of plan for it on FanFare at this point since sports coverage and content organization would require a lot of assumptions that differ from what we've been aiming for with TV/movie/etc stuff structurally. Might be something we can look at more seriously down the line, but right now it's not really on the table.
Specific events like World Cup or other big marquee things would be maybe more doable sooner—still something we'd have to figure out how to handle both in terms of nascent FanFare culture and implementation-wise on the backend, but less onerous a task than general sports stuff—but it's not something we're in a position to crank out in the very near term, so in the case of this particular World Cup folks are just gonna have to make do with what the site as it exists can accommodate.
posted by cortex (staff) at 1:04 PM on June 18, 2014
As far as sports stuff in general, we don't really have any kind of plan for it on FanFare at this point since sports coverage and content organization would require a lot of assumptions that differ from what we've been aiming for with TV/movie/etc stuff structurally. Might be something we can look at more seriously down the line, but right now it's not really on the table.
Specific events like World Cup or other big marquee things would be maybe more doable sooner—still something we'd have to figure out how to handle both in terms of nascent FanFare culture and implementation-wise on the backend, but less onerous a task than general sports stuff—but it's not something we're in a position to crank out in the very near term, so in the case of this particular World Cup folks are just gonna have to make do with what the site as it exists can accommodate.
posted by cortex (staff) at 1:04 PM on June 18, 2014
There already is a sister site called Sportsfilter. It's not an official subsite, but there's some membership overlap and it uses a lot of the same discussion conventions as MetaFilter.
posted by pb (staff) at 1:05 PM on June 18, 2014 [8 favorites]
posted by pb (staff) at 1:05 PM on June 18, 2014 [8 favorites]
sports fans make up a smaller subset of mefites overall
There are so many sports haters here, it really wouldn't be worth the effort just to give them more places to be haters.
posted by 0 at 1:13 PM on June 18, 2014 [4 favorites]
There are so many sports haters here, it really wouldn't be worth the effort just to give them more places to be haters.
posted by 0 at 1:13 PM on June 18, 2014 [4 favorites]
Specific events like World Cup or other big marquee things would be maybe more doable sooner
This sounds good to me. This is what I envisioned for sports content on fanfare. World Cup, Super Bowl, World Series, NBA finals, Stanley Cup, NCAA Final Four, and other similar events.
posted by cashman at 1:13 PM on June 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
This sounds good to me. This is what I envisioned for sports content on fanfare. World Cup, Super Bowl, World Series, NBA finals, Stanley Cup, NCAA Final Four, and other similar events.
posted by cashman at 1:13 PM on June 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
Yeah, what cortex said basically. If there was an easy way to tack it onto FanFare for just this World Cup, we might be able to do something, but live blogging is way more important in sports than TV shows and wouldn't be something we could police really. It might be a weird fit for FanFare but as a special one-off thing, it might work. We'll keep thinking about it.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 1:44 PM on June 18, 2014
posted by mathowie (staff) at 1:44 PM on June 18, 2014
Maybe the thing to do is to try and get people more active on SportsFilter. I will admit, I don't really go by. I'm a baseball person and they don't usually seem to have much going on there in general, much less in my sport in particular.
Do they moderate it anything like MeFi though? Obviously, MeFi's mods are a unique case, but even if stuff was reviewed less actively but with the same spirit, maybe I should make an effort to hang out there more. Sports sites sometimes seem to have some of the worst comments on the internet. Even the sites that "moderate" like MLBTradeRumors.com, often do so clumsily, largely aided by word filters, and with values and quirks very different than we are used to seeing here. (You can get a comment delayed by days on MLBTR for using a trigger word, even if innocently. Say that a second baseman could bum an outfield glove and play left for a day and you're held up in the queue because you said "bum," which is a flagged word because people sometimes use it to needlessly slag players. The list of words isn't even public, so you're often surprised by what gets tripped up. It's annoying.)
posted by DirtyOldTown at 1:51 PM on June 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
Do they moderate it anything like MeFi though? Obviously, MeFi's mods are a unique case, but even if stuff was reviewed less actively but with the same spirit, maybe I should make an effort to hang out there more. Sports sites sometimes seem to have some of the worst comments on the internet. Even the sites that "moderate" like MLBTradeRumors.com, often do so clumsily, largely aided by word filters, and with values and quirks very different than we are used to seeing here. (You can get a comment delayed by days on MLBTR for using a trigger word, even if innocently. Say that a second baseman could bum an outfield glove and play left for a day and you're held up in the queue because you said "bum," which is a flagged word because people sometimes use it to needlessly slag players. The list of words isn't even public, so you're often surprised by what gets tripped up. It's annoying.)
posted by DirtyOldTown at 1:51 PM on June 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
There are so many sports haters here, it really wouldn't be worth the effort just to give them more places to be haters.
Yeah. Ages ago I stopped visiting any sports thread because dumping an I HATE SPORTS comment was totally accepted. That may have been my skewed perception. Perhaps I hopped into threads before moderators arrived. However, it seems more likely that no one was flagging those comments; therefore, they weren't being moderated. I do drop by sports threads now. Even when they go well they are generally not terribly popular.
I'm not sure sports conversations work well here, because sports is akin to breaking!news!Filter. Discussing a game as it's played doesn't really fit here.
posted by 26.2 at 1:59 PM on June 18, 2014
Yeah. Ages ago I stopped visiting any sports thread because dumping an I HATE SPORTS comment was totally accepted. That may have been my skewed perception. Perhaps I hopped into threads before moderators arrived. However, it seems more likely that no one was flagging those comments; therefore, they weren't being moderated. I do drop by sports threads now. Even when they go well they are generally not terribly popular.
I'm not sure sports conversations work well here, because sports is akin to breaking!news!Filter. Discussing a game as it's played doesn't really fit here.
posted by 26.2 at 1:59 PM on June 18, 2014
I am not generally asking for liveblogging, more that when the world cup is on there are 3 games a day to discuss, and we could have threads for each and discuss them post-match. I am envisioning something like metafilter but with sports posts only,
Also, I think I am watching the same game as elizardbits.
posted by marienbad at 2:03 PM on June 18, 2014
Also, I think I am watching the same game as elizardbits.
posted by marienbad at 2:03 PM on June 18, 2014
... when the world cup is on there are 3 games a day to discuss, and we could have threads for each and discuss them post-match.
Don't forget - we need First Watch and Rewatch tags, and a separate spoiler-zone thread for people who have read the books.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 2:08 PM on June 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
Don't forget - we need First Watch and Rewatch tags, and a separate spoiler-zone thread for people who have read the books.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 2:08 PM on June 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
Also, I think I am watching the same game as elizardbits.
i am feeling lost and confused in this terrible new world where such things can happen
posted by elizardbits at 2:10 PM on June 18, 2014 [2 favorites]
i am feeling lost and confused in this terrible new world where such things can happen
posted by elizardbits at 2:10 PM on June 18, 2014 [2 favorites]
Also, I think I am watching the same game as elizardbits.
If it is the game I am thinking, what happened was one team got old also possibly they tried to change their system to make better use of a new player when that player may have been better used coming on as a sub against tired legs.
posted by juv3nal at 2:11 PM on June 18, 2014 [3 favorites]
If it is the game I am thinking, what happened was one team got old also possibly they tried to change their system to make better use of a new player when that player may have been better used coming on as a sub against tired legs.
posted by juv3nal at 2:11 PM on June 18, 2014 [3 favorites]
Can book-readers please keep this thread free of implications about ludicrous displays, they haven't shown the latest episode in my timezone yet.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 2:11 PM on June 18, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by EndsOfInvention at 2:11 PM on June 18, 2014 [3 favorites]
Couldn't you just input a match as an episode? Show= league. And why not let people liveblog if they want to?
posted by bleep at 2:12 PM on June 18, 2014
posted by bleep at 2:12 PM on June 18, 2014
I've often enjoyed the soccer/hockey/football threads on Something Awful--the gameday and discussion threads have some amount of chaff, particularly when a goal is scored, but they really know their shit sometimes.
And sometimes bizarre things happen, like a poster identifying an ex-girlfriend in the crowd in one of the games and getting back in touch with her to find out if the baby she had in the stands was his. (It is the smallest world ever. And no, it wasn't.)
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 2:14 PM on June 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
And sometimes bizarre things happen, like a poster identifying an ex-girlfriend in the crowd in one of the games and getting back in touch with her to find out if the baby she had in the stands was his. (It is the smallest world ever. And no, it wasn't.)
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 2:14 PM on June 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
There are so many sports haters here, it really wouldn't be worth the effort just to give them more places to be haters.
I am a giant sports fan and in the time I've lurked and been active here, sports-related threadshitting has gone WAY DOWN - those comments don't happen all that often anymore, and when they do they're flagged and deleted quickly by mods. Furthermore, I think having a Metafilter-approved sports area* as part of the official site would legitimize sports discussion here.
*not, like, a whole separate thing, just part of FanFare. In one of the early FF discussions, someone suggested having one sports thread per week and I feel like that would be an effective way to do things. Yeah, you'd get folks talking about football and hockey in the same thread, but so what? Metafilter has always been able to handle separate conversations in the same thread.
posted by troika at 2:16 PM on June 18, 2014 [2 favorites]
I am a giant sports fan and in the time I've lurked and been active here, sports-related threadshitting has gone WAY DOWN - those comments don't happen all that often anymore, and when they do they're flagged and deleted quickly by mods. Furthermore, I think having a Metafilter-approved sports area* as part of the official site would legitimize sports discussion here.
*not, like, a whole separate thing, just part of FanFare. In one of the early FF discussions, someone suggested having one sports thread per week and I feel like that would be an effective way to do things. Yeah, you'd get folks talking about football and hockey in the same thread, but so what? Metafilter has always been able to handle separate conversations in the same thread.
posted by troika at 2:16 PM on June 18, 2014 [2 favorites]
I would like to see a subsite sponsored by the Washington Post, hosted by a group of writers who will have to work day and night to moderate the opinions of the paying member masses while being unable to post themselves more than once per week. Interns and "volunteers" are not allowed per the sponsor agreement.
posted by parmanparman at 2:18 PM on June 18, 2014
posted by parmanparman at 2:18 PM on June 18, 2014
"Right now, John Isner of the USA and Nicolas Mahut of France are engaged in the longest professional tennis match of all-time..."
Featuring Xan Brooks at the Guardian blogging his own nervous breakdown: :D
posted by zarq at 2:20 PM on June 18, 2014 [10 favorites]
Featuring Xan Brooks at the Guardian blogging his own nervous breakdown: :D
7.30pm: Let it end, let it end, it's 46-all. It was funny when it was 16-all and it was creepy when it was 26-all. But this is pure purgatory and there is still no end in sight. John Isner has just struck his 90th ace. Nicolas Mahut, poor, enfeebled Nicolas Mahut, has only hit 72. Maybe we should just decide it on the number of aces struck? Give the game to Isner and then we can all crawl into our graves.That thread was awesome. We should do one every week.
7.45pm: What happens if we steal their rackets? If we steal their rackets, the zombies can no longer hit their aces and thump their backhands and keep us all prisoner on Court 18. I'm shocked that this is only occurring to me now. Will nobody run onto the court and steal their rackets? Are they all too scared of the zombies' clutching claws and gore-stained teeth? Steal their rackets and we can all go home. Who's with me? Steal their rackets and then run for the tube.
It's 48-48. What further incentive do you need?
8pm: Don't look now but I think the cow-hide has officially expired. John Isner stands at the baseline. He is facing the right way but he is no longer moving and the string-bag of offal peppers him with aces left and right to bring the score to 50-50. But Cow Hide is still facing the right way and that says something. And he is still vertical, and that says something too. What it says, unfortunately, is that the match is not quite over yet.
8.05pm: In the stands, a woman is laughing. She laughs long and hard and her laugh is the sort of ghastly yodel you normally hear in antique horror movies about Victorian insane asylums. "Wa-la-ha-la-wah," she goes. "Wa-la-ha-la-ha-la!" Will nobody drag her out? Call in the goons in white coats. Get this woman to a lobotomy!
Mahut is serving to make it 51-51. Wouldn't you know it, he does. He makes it to 51-51, finishing up with an ace.
8.20pm: Wow, is that really the time? I must go home; can't think what's kept me. Wa-ha-la-ha-la-ha-la!
posted by zarq at 2:20 PM on June 18, 2014 [10 favorites]
Speaking of the Guardian, I am a huge fan of their live blogs. This is the third(!!) World Cup I've seen at this particular job and their coverage (and podcasts) are a vital component.
Barry Glendenning covers Cameroon v Croatia, which starts soon
Bonus: many of the writeups include musicians analyzing the national anthems.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 2:26 PM on June 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
Barry Glendenning covers Cameroon v Croatia, which starts soon
Bonus: many of the writeups include musicians analyzing the national anthems.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 2:26 PM on June 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
I'm still holding out for MetaCricket.
A man can dream.
posted by Wordshore at 2:43 PM on June 18, 2014 [4 favorites]
A man can dream.
posted by Wordshore at 2:43 PM on June 18, 2014 [4 favorites]
So, part of the reason that I made this thread was so that it could function as a general World Cup discussion thread. That seems to be working fine.
posted by 256 at 3:33 PM on June 18, 2014
posted by 256 at 3:33 PM on June 18, 2014
Also, so far not a single sports-are-stupid comment in that thread, by my count.
posted by 256 at 3:34 PM on June 18, 2014
posted by 256 at 3:34 PM on June 18, 2014
> Ages ago I stopped visiting any sports thread because dumping an I HATE SPORTS comment was totally accepted.
I agree with troika—this just isn't true any more. MeFi can change!
posted by languagehat at 3:50 PM on June 18, 2014
I agree with troika—this just isn't true any more. MeFi can change!
posted by languagehat at 3:50 PM on June 18, 2014
I guess I agree that it's better overall. But we still get a "sportsball" comment or two in most threads. I think I'm mostly just pretty disappointed in today's Washington Football thread. Way too many people in it for the lulz.
posted by 0 at 4:08 PM on June 18, 2014
posted by 0 at 4:08 PM on June 18, 2014
That's not really a football thread, though. It's a cultural politics thread about an action by the PTO regarding a football team's trademarks. Not to say anything one way or another about the lulz quotient, just that that doesn't really seem to track to the question of actual sports-centric discussions.
posted by cortex (staff) at 4:25 PM on June 18, 2014
posted by cortex (staff) at 4:25 PM on June 18, 2014
Also, so far not a single sports-are-stupid comment in that thread, by my count.
Give me a minute....
posted by zarq at 4:32 PM on June 18, 2014
Give me a minute....
posted by zarq at 4:32 PM on June 18, 2014
Sports threads have gotten better. Wrestling threads, not so much. The thing is, there's a decent number of people here who enjoy wrestling, and talking about it, and in pretty much every thread, someone feels free to point out the stunning fact that (gasp) wrestling is fake, and demand to know why we're wasting our time. In response, all I can say is that Game of Thrones? It's not a documentary.
posted by Ghidorah at 5:12 PM on June 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Ghidorah at 5:12 PM on June 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
we still get a "sportsball" comment or two in most threads
Yeah, that rankles me a little too, but it's not just a metafilter thing, it happens everywhere. People that want to telegraph that they're too [whatever] to care about sports are going to do that. It's funny here, though, because when they do it in threads that are about sports, all they're doing is showing that they probably don't know what they're talking about. At least that's how I see it.
posted by troika at 5:55 PM on June 18, 2014
Yeah, that rankles me a little too, but it's not just a metafilter thing, it happens everywhere. People that want to telegraph that they're too [whatever] to care about sports are going to do that. It's funny here, though, because when they do it in threads that are about sports, all they're doing is showing that they probably don't know what they're talking about. At least that's how I see it.
posted by troika at 5:55 PM on June 18, 2014
zarq: "Right now, John Isner of the USA and Nicolas Mahut of France are engaged in the longest professional tennis match of all-time...That thread was awesome. We should do one every week."
That was really good. I have never cared much about tennis or Wimbledon, but reading that post sort of made wish I did. I probably would have been bored to tears actually watching that epic set (especially since I don't understand the rules of tennis very well), but reading other people's reactions to it was incredibly entertaining. It was like being a vicarious tennis fan.
posted by double block and bleed at 6:47 PM on June 18, 2014
That was really good. I have never cared much about tennis or Wimbledon, but reading that post sort of made wish I did. I probably would have been bored to tears actually watching that epic set (especially since I don't understand the rules of tennis very well), but reading other people's reactions to it was incredibly entertaining. It was like being a vicarious tennis fan.
posted by double block and bleed at 6:47 PM on June 18, 2014
I would like sports to be a part of Fanfare or another subsite in the future if it ever is considered again.
posted by Drinky Die at 8:05 PM on June 18, 2014
posted by Drinky Die at 8:05 PM on June 18, 2014
I'm still holding out for MetaCricket.
Stick a static page up that says "Cricket is confusing and isn't quite baseball". Done, and done.
posted by pompomtom at 10:31 PM on June 18, 2014 [2 favorites]
Stick a static page up that says "Cricket is confusing and isn't quite baseball". Done, and done.
posted by pompomtom at 10:31 PM on June 18, 2014 [2 favorites]
I am not a sports person, but I am a World Cup person. Is there really that much to discuss that there ought to be a special subsite of Metafilter for this? The Olympics I could see, as there are so many more countries and different sports and individual competitions within said sports. But generally one match per day is more interesting than just "Country A beat Country B". And even for the really captivating matches, what is there to say, really, beyond liveblogging?
I could see one thread on the Blue for the entire Cup, or maybe an FPP for a particularly interesting match, but like, really, an entire subsite for "Yup, Cameroon is boned," or "So did anybody even watch Russia vs. Korea?"
posted by Sara C. at 12:00 AM on June 19, 2014
I could see one thread on the Blue for the entire Cup, or maybe an FPP for a particularly interesting match, but like, really, an entire subsite for "Yup, Cameroon is boned," or "So did anybody even watch Russia vs. Korea?"
posted by Sara C. at 12:00 AM on June 19, 2014
"Cricket is confusing and isn't quite baseball"
"It's just notcricketbaseball"
posted by russm at 12:22 AM on June 19, 2014
"It's just not
posted by russm at 12:22 AM on June 19, 2014
So is it ok to make mefi threads about interesting or important games? For e.g. the US team's next game could see them through to the next round, and last night, defending champions Spain were eliminated by Chile!
Last time I did a quarter-final round up and a pre-final post, both of which worked well and had tons of comments, (350 and 206 comments respectively) so I am guessing that would be acceptable this time round?
posted by marienbad at 1:38 AM on June 19, 2014
Last time I did a quarter-final round up and a pre-final post, both of which worked well and had tons of comments, (350 and 206 comments respectively) so I am guessing that would be acceptable this time round?
posted by marienbad at 1:38 AM on June 19, 2014
racist fans
If you are not a sports fan, you don't have any understanding of the depth of this issue and your condemnation comes from a place of ignorance. I have zero interest in discussing sports in a place where ignorant people feel free to shit all over the discussion and call people names.
posted by 0 at 5:04 AM on June 19, 2014
If you are not a sports fan, you don't have any understanding of the depth of this issue and your condemnation comes from a place of ignorance. I have zero interest in discussing sports in a place where ignorant people feel free to shit all over the discussion and call people names.
posted by 0 at 5:04 AM on June 19, 2014
I mean do really think two dozen people suggesting "Department of Football Services" is an interesting discussion?
posted by 0 at 5:08 AM on June 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by 0 at 5:08 AM on June 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
I would love a sports site if it included bike racing. I think we have enough people to get into a Cav vs Sagan vs Thor discussion.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 5:32 AM on June 19, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 5:32 AM on June 19, 2014 [2 favorites]
There isn't much to discuss - the guy is a jerk, his team have a racist name, everyone wants him to change it but he has dug his heels in, and now the trademark people have said they can't use a racial slur. This is a win that is well worthy of the lulz.
posted by marienbad at 5:33 AM on June 19, 2014
posted by marienbad at 5:33 AM on June 19, 2014
On non-preview:
"Cav vs Sagan vs Thor discussion."
Can't see there being much sports to discuss tbh.
posted by marienbad at 5:36 AM on June 19, 2014
"Cav vs Sagan vs Thor discussion."
Can't see there being much sports to discuss tbh.
posted by marienbad at 5:36 AM on June 19, 2014
your condemnation comes from a place of ignorance
The only ignorance is coming from anyone who thinks that they somehow have more valuable opinions over whether or not a vile racial slur is an okay name for a team because of the fact that they are sports fans.
posted by elizardbits at 6:01 AM on June 19, 2014 [3 favorites]
The only ignorance is coming from anyone who thinks that they somehow have more valuable opinions over whether or not a vile racial slur is an okay name for a team because of the fact that they are sports fans.
posted by elizardbits at 6:01 AM on June 19, 2014 [3 favorites]
I could see one thread on the Blue for the entire Cup, or maybe an FPP for a particularly interesting match, but like, really, an entire subsite for "Yup, Cameroon is boned," or "So did anybody even watch Russia vs. Korea?"
You realize there's a billion dollar industry that will spill gallons of ink on each of these matches right? There's obviously something to talk about there, apart from live blogging. Sports journalism is frequently terrible, but there's enough good out there to demonstrate that you're wrong that there's nothing to talk about. The excellent Zonal Marking site that was a Metafilter link earlier this week will have an interesting and substantive write up of each game, even the boring ones, and that's just through the narrow lens of team tactics.
I don't think we need a post for each game (and no one has really suggested it), but a single post on FanFare for each round of the World Cup, for instance, would have a good bit of content even without liveblogging. It's not going to happen, and I understand the reasons, but the problem isn't that we wouldn't have anything to say.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 6:23 AM on June 19, 2014 [3 favorites]
You realize there's a billion dollar industry that will spill gallons of ink on each of these matches right? There's obviously something to talk about there, apart from live blogging. Sports journalism is frequently terrible, but there's enough good out there to demonstrate that you're wrong that there's nothing to talk about. The excellent Zonal Marking site that was a Metafilter link earlier this week will have an interesting and substantive write up of each game, even the boring ones, and that's just through the narrow lens of team tactics.
I don't think we need a post for each game (and no one has really suggested it), but a single post on FanFare for each round of the World Cup, for instance, would have a good bit of content even without liveblogging. It's not going to happen, and I understand the reasons, but the problem isn't that we wouldn't have anything to say.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 6:23 AM on June 19, 2014 [3 favorites]
Having looked at FanFare, it is really a TV/movie/book discussion site, sports posts would look jarring because they don't fit the format well, especially the idea of having a round-up post where the isn't even a particular televised match to discuss - although I like the idea generally.
posted by marienbad at 6:42 AM on June 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by marienbad at 6:42 AM on June 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
I think it would be great to have more people over at SpoFi.
Including me. Physio, magic spray thyself.
posted by Rock Steady at 6:51 AM on June 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
Including me. Physio, magic spray thyself.
posted by Rock Steady at 6:51 AM on June 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
> Last time I did a quarter-final round up and a pre-final post, both of which worked well and had tons of comments, (350 and 206 comments respectively) so I am guessing that would be acceptable this time round?
Do it!
posted by languagehat at 7:54 AM on June 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
Do it!
posted by languagehat at 7:54 AM on June 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
Sports journalism is frequently terrible, but there's enough good out there to demonstrate that you're wrong that there's nothing to talk about.
Then make an FPP. The reason FanFare was split out from the Blue was that there were people who wanted to talk about media, but not enough reporting on said media that really constituted "best of the web". So you saw a lot of thin posts about whatever TV show or movie so that folks could have an excuse to talk about that. Especially for TV, because the post would expire before the season ended, necessitating another thin FPP to gin up a space to talk about the show.
If people around the internet are talking about a thing in a way that lends itself to an FPP, and this is also a thing that Mefites will want to talk about, just make an FPP. There are people Asking Metafilter for recommendations of World Cup commentary in X or Y type of media, which makes me think people are basically crying out for more best of the web where sports is concerned. So this doesn't seem to be a situation analogous to FanFare at all.
posted by Sara C. at 8:03 AM on June 19, 2014
Then make an FPP. The reason FanFare was split out from the Blue was that there were people who wanted to talk about media, but not enough reporting on said media that really constituted "best of the web". So you saw a lot of thin posts about whatever TV show or movie so that folks could have an excuse to talk about that. Especially for TV, because the post would expire before the season ended, necessitating another thin FPP to gin up a space to talk about the show.
If people around the internet are talking about a thing in a way that lends itself to an FPP, and this is also a thing that Mefites will want to talk about, just make an FPP. There are people Asking Metafilter for recommendations of World Cup commentary in X or Y type of media, which makes me think people are basically crying out for more best of the web where sports is concerned. So this doesn't seem to be a situation analogous to FanFare at all.
posted by Sara C. at 8:03 AM on June 19, 2014
The reason FanFare was split out from the Blue was that there were people who wanted to talk about media, but not enough reporting on said media that really constituted "best of the web". So you saw a lot of thin posts about whatever TV show or movie so that folks could have an excuse to talk about that. Especially for TV, because the post would expire before the season ended, necessitating another thin FPP to gin up a space to talk about the show.
This sounds exactly like the case for having a space for MeFites to discuss sports; you haven't offered any real distinction beyond your initial claim that there's nothing to talk about. There's plenty of good sports reporting out there (same as there's plenty of good TV/movie reporting), but it's not always well suited for an FPP. "Here's an article with some interesting tactical analysis of Spain-Chile" would be a shitty FPP, but would generate good discussion in a thread where people were just talking about the World Cup. People want to talk about it, there's plenty to say, and there's not a natural space to do that right now.
I understand the objection voiced that liveblogging is more important (I'd say more common, not more important per se, but that's a quibble), and I get from a moderator perspective why you'd want to avoid taking that task on. Aside from that, which is almost certainly a solvable problem in some way, I think sports are a good fit for FanFare, and you wouldn't even have to change the name.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 8:30 AM on June 19, 2014 [3 favorites]
This sounds exactly like the case for having a space for MeFites to discuss sports; you haven't offered any real distinction beyond your initial claim that there's nothing to talk about. There's plenty of good sports reporting out there (same as there's plenty of good TV/movie reporting), but it's not always well suited for an FPP. "Here's an article with some interesting tactical analysis of Spain-Chile" would be a shitty FPP, but would generate good discussion in a thread where people were just talking about the World Cup. People want to talk about it, there's plenty to say, and there's not a natural space to do that right now.
I understand the objection voiced that liveblogging is more important (I'd say more common, not more important per se, but that's a quibble), and I get from a moderator perspective why you'd want to avoid taking that task on. Aside from that, which is almost certainly a solvable problem in some way, I think sports are a good fit for FanFare, and you wouldn't even have to change the name.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 8:30 AM on June 19, 2014 [3 favorites]
racist fans
If you are not a sports fan, you don't have any understanding of the depth of this issue and your condemnation comes from a place of ignorance.
I'm a sports fan and am just fine with spitbull's characterization of the issues.
But, more to the point, the idea that people who don't like something are unqualified to discuss it is foolish.
posted by Etrigan at 11:25 AM on June 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
If you are not a sports fan, you don't have any understanding of the depth of this issue and your condemnation comes from a place of ignorance.
I'm a sports fan and am just fine with spitbull's characterization of the issues.
But, more to the point, the idea that people who don't like something are unqualified to discuss it is foolish.
posted by Etrigan at 11:25 AM on June 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
If spitbull thinks that people are opposed to a name change entirely because of racism and has no experience being a fan of a team and has stated flat-out he hates sports, then yeah I am quite comfortable saying his simple explanation of a complicated thing is ignorant. I am not making a general statement.
posted by 0 at 11:34 AM on June 19, 2014
posted by 0 at 11:34 AM on June 19, 2014
If spitbull thinks that people are opposed to a name change entirely because of racism
I don't get that from his comment. I admit that I could be wrong, but I just don't see it.
and has no experience being a fan of a team
There is a difference between "I hate sports" and "I have always hated sports." That comment doesn't contain enough information to tell us which side spitbull comes down on.
and has stated flat-out he hates sports
This, he actually did do.
then yeah I am quite comfortable saying his simple explanation of a complicated thing is ignorant.
And again, none of these is the same thing as ignorance.
First, fans are not the only people who know things about their fandom. Second, given the extensive coverage of this issue right here on MetaFilter, I'd say it's entirely possible for someone to be informed on the topic of The Controversy Over The Name Of The Washington NFL Team without knowing or even caring how to calculate a QB rating.
posted by Etrigan at 11:52 AM on June 19, 2014
I don't get that from his comment. I admit that I could be wrong, but I just don't see it.
and has no experience being a fan of a team
There is a difference between "I hate sports" and "I have always hated sports." That comment doesn't contain enough information to tell us which side spitbull comes down on.
and has stated flat-out he hates sports
This, he actually did do.
then yeah I am quite comfortable saying his simple explanation of a complicated thing is ignorant.
And again, none of these is the same thing as ignorance.
First, fans are not the only people who know things about their fandom. Second, given the extensive coverage of this issue right here on MetaFilter, I'd say it's entirely possible for someone to be informed on the topic of The Controversy Over The Name Of The Washington NFL Team without knowing or even caring how to calculate a QB rating.
posted by Etrigan at 11:52 AM on June 19, 2014
I have an opinion and I don't even know what sport they play or which state they are in: Its a racist name.
Gotta go - England game is about to start! Come on England! (although I am very worried!)
posted by marienbad at 12:00 PM on June 19, 2014
Gotta go - England game is about to start! Come on England! (although I am very worried!)
posted by marienbad at 12:00 PM on June 19, 2014
Its a racist name.
This is an opinion I share and have held for 30 years. I was reacting to the idea of racist fans.
posted by 0 at 12:02 PM on June 19, 2014
This is an opinion I share and have held for 30 years. I was reacting to the idea of racist fans.
posted by 0 at 12:02 PM on June 19, 2014
Up thread someone said something along the lines of "I'm not a sports fan, and there isn't much to discuss without liveblogging." That's the dismissive attitude that makes me not want to discuss sport here. That's as least as difficult and dismissive as "I'm passionate about this topic; therefore, I win." Sports can lead to a liveblog kind of thing, but there's a bigger picture at play.
Regarding how we handle sport here at MeFi, there's a difference between people who are ignorant of the topic and people who don't care. I don't understand why people who don't care about the topic should define how we handle it as a community. I don't watch TV, but if you want to have 20 threads dedicated to Game of Thrones then have at it. I just skip those threads, because I don't have a horse in that race. I'm not saying that TV shows are unworthy of MeFi. Go over each GoT episode like the Zapruder film if you find value in that discussion.
And maybe what I love about sport is what other people like about Game of Thrones. I love the grand pageantry of sport, the immediate battle within the larger war, the development of characters, the way sport showcases larger things about our culture, the occasional amusement of the boneheaded play.
posted by 26.2 at 12:15 PM on June 19, 2014 [2 favorites]
Regarding how we handle sport here at MeFi, there's a difference between people who are ignorant of the topic and people who don't care. I don't understand why people who don't care about the topic should define how we handle it as a community. I don't watch TV, but if you want to have 20 threads dedicated to Game of Thrones then have at it. I just skip those threads, because I don't have a horse in that race. I'm not saying that TV shows are unworthy of MeFi. Go over each GoT episode like the Zapruder film if you find value in that discussion.
And maybe what I love about sport is what other people like about Game of Thrones. I love the grand pageantry of sport, the immediate battle within the larger war, the development of characters, the way sport showcases larger things about our culture, the occasional amusement of the boneheaded play.
posted by 26.2 at 12:15 PM on June 19, 2014 [2 favorites]
although I am very worried!
my prediction is that uruguay will prevail by the power of their glorious cheekbones and england will weep bitterly into their postgame pints
posted by elizardbits at 12:36 PM on June 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
my prediction is that uruguay will prevail by the power of their glorious cheekbones and england will weep bitterly into their postgame pints
posted by elizardbits at 12:36 PM on June 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
I'm mainly taking "is there really that much to say about each individual game" from the fact that my local bar which has signs in every window proclaiming that they will play all World Cup matches tends to skip matches that aren't broadcast live on ESPN unless someone in the bar asks them to find it and put it on.
There seems to be a fair number of matches that there's really not much interest in. Not every match in the first round is a big gamechanger with lots of in depth commentary happening. Matches that do have that kind of importance are great to make an FPP about, in my opinion.
posted by Sara C. at 12:37 PM on June 19, 2014
There seems to be a fair number of matches that there's really not much interest in. Not every match in the first round is a big gamechanger with lots of in depth commentary happening. Matches that do have that kind of importance are great to make an FPP about, in my opinion.
posted by Sara C. at 12:37 PM on June 19, 2014
American MeFites may wish to follow this twitter stream during World Cup matches.
posted by Wordshore at 12:55 PM on June 19, 2014
posted by Wordshore at 12:55 PM on June 19, 2014
I'm mainly taking "is there really that much to say about each individual game" from the fact that my local bar which has signs in every window proclaiming that they will play all World Cup matches tends to skip matches that aren't broadcast live on ESPN unless someone in the bar asks them to find it and put it on.
Your local bar sounds like it sucks donkey balls from a WC point of view. At the very least, I would suggest it might not be a very valid baseline for determining whether or not a game is to be deemed worthy enough to discuss. Bulgaroktonos hit the nail on the head earlier. What holds little interest for you or me or your local bar is the next person's discuss-every-minutiae-for-shits-n-giggles happy place.
posted by romakimmy at 1:36 PM on June 19, 2014
Your local bar sounds like it sucks donkey balls from a WC point of view. At the very least, I would suggest it might not be a very valid baseline for determining whether or not a game is to be deemed worthy enough to discuss. Bulgaroktonos hit the nail on the head earlier. What holds little interest for you or me or your local bar is the next person's discuss-every-minutiae-for-shits-n-giggles happy place.
posted by romakimmy at 1:36 PM on June 19, 2014
I feel a little guilty cheering for Uruguay, but not enough to stop.
posted by Area Man at 1:52 PM on June 19, 2014
posted by Area Man at 1:52 PM on June 19, 2014
> my prediction is that uruguay will prevail by the power of their glorious cheekbones and england will weep bitterly into their postgame pints
And elizardbits scores again!
> I feel a little guilty cheering for Uruguay
You may not want to cheer for Uruguay, but how can you not cheer for Suárez?
posted by languagehat at 2:20 PM on June 19, 2014
And elizardbits scores again!
> I feel a little guilty cheering for Uruguay
You may not want to cheer for Uruguay, but how can you not cheer for Suárez?
posted by languagehat at 2:20 PM on June 19, 2014
"You may not want to cheer for Uruguay, but how can you not cheer for Suárez?"
Very fucking easily, I say, weeping bitterly into my pint.
posted by marienbad at 2:39 PM on June 19, 2014 [2 favorites]
Very fucking easily, I say, weeping bitterly into my pint.
posted by marienbad at 2:39 PM on June 19, 2014 [2 favorites]
Don't be sad and down, supporters of England and Spain. Only 331 days until Eurovision 2015, now...
posted by Wordshore at 2:48 PM on June 19, 2014
posted by Wordshore at 2:48 PM on June 19, 2014
now i just need holland and belgium to lose decisively to round out this belated 15th century imperialist vengeance and it's all good
oh yes and portugal they too must fall
posted by elizardbits at 2:51 PM on June 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
oh yes and portugal they too must fall
posted by elizardbits at 2:51 PM on June 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
Hey, let's not forget Russia was an imperialist power. I suppose it really only get going big time in the 16th Century with the conquests of Kazan and Astrakhan, but surely some soccer vengeance is warranted.
posted by Area Man at 3:10 PM on June 19, 2014
posted by Area Man at 3:10 PM on June 19, 2014
> Is there really that much to discuss that there ought to be a special subsite of Metafilter for this?
The current Uruguay v. England match thread on the-site-that-can't-be-named has 12,000+ comments.
posted by stp123 at 3:51 PM on June 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
The current Uruguay v. England match thread on the-site-that-can't-be-named has 12,000+ comments.
posted by stp123 at 3:51 PM on June 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
I'm still holding out for MetaCricket.
Stick a static page up that says "Cricket is confusing and isn't quite baseball". Done, and done.
Le sigh. Back to doing posts about poo and waterslides, then. I know my place here.
posted by Wordshore at 4:33 PM on June 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
Stick a static page up that says "Cricket is confusing and isn't quite baseball". Done, and done.
Le sigh. Back to doing posts about poo and waterslides, then. I know my place here.
posted by Wordshore at 4:33 PM on June 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
OK, a couple of data points about how popular the World Cup has been:
If you can only watch one soccer game... ( United States plays Portugal) has 344 comments!! And the game was pretty much liveblogged, despite the mods saying no liveblogging in this bloody thread!
Algeria make history - A thread for Algeria's historic first and an intro to the last round of group games has 120 comments.
It also looks like Football is becoming ever more mainstream in the USA and I have considered setting up a Meta entitled "Footy Resources" for Mefites to post links to interesting and useful information related to footy (anything from practice drills to tactical stuff and anything inbetween.) Would this be ok?
posted by marienbad at 4:21 AM on June 24, 2014 [1 favorite]
If you can only watch one soccer game... ( United States plays Portugal) has 344 comments!! And the game was pretty much liveblogged, despite the mods saying no liveblogging in this bloody thread!
Algeria make history - A thread for Algeria's historic first and an intro to the last round of group games has 120 comments.
It also looks like Football is becoming ever more mainstream in the USA and I have considered setting up a Meta entitled "Footy Resources" for Mefites to post links to interesting and useful information related to footy (anything from practice drills to tactical stuff and anything inbetween.) Would this be ok?
posted by marienbad at 4:21 AM on June 24, 2014 [1 favorite]
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what is happening
posted by elizardbits at 1:04 PM on June 18, 2014 [5 favorites]