Thanks to Katie for the reminder about Jason Kidd's intimate partner violence issues. I'd completely forgotten about that. Obviously, some male athletes have always been abusive, but it was easier to root for my teams when I was ignorant of athletes' abusive behavior (which is NOT to say that I'm sorry allegations and crimes are being reported--that is unequivocally a salutary development).
Also in agreement to Katie, and the numerous individuals who have had the misfortune to experience similar issues. To your point, as a fan, it becomes exhausting acting as an arbiter of justice in viewership. I do miss turning my brain off and not worrying about cascading moral implications.
When I watched with my wife during this playoff run, she became interested in the game, and I started to give her background on each player. Giddey, Irving, MPJ. To see the change in enthusiasm sucked. I stopped. Didn’t tell her about Edwards, Kidd, etc. we watched the Wolves get bounced and she has tuned out basketball again. I think she enjoyed the ride. I don’t know if I did the right thing.
Switching sports, I follow a lot more female baseball fans and writers than men and it has been EYE-OPENING to view the game from their perspective (to the extent I can). The online threats and abuse they face from men for calling out Trevor Bauer, for example, was shocking to me (even though it probably shouldn't've been).
A personal aside on sports predictions. Personally, I've never understood the "well, I predicted Kenosha in August, so I guess I'll stick with them" line of reasoning. Why would you stick with an older preseason analysis made with minimal supporting data instead of looking at the use case in front of you now along with the benefit of a ton of recent relevant data? Always puzzling to me, but I digress.
As for this choice, are we that confident that Minnesota was a true test for Dallas to avoid recency bias? It was their first time deeper than the first round in a while, and this morning trade rumors for Towns are flying. If true, that would suggest the team is already looking to reshape its core. Certainly not a confidence builder. So, I'm not sure that Minnesota wasn't spent and left it all on the floor in Denver.
In any event, a best-of-seven series usually favors the stronger and deeper team. I would feel comfortable picking Boston here.
Thanks to Katie for the reminder about Jason Kidd's intimate partner violence issues. I'd completely forgotten about that. Obviously, some male athletes have always been abusive, but it was easier to root for my teams when I was ignorant of athletes' abusive behavior (which is NOT to say that I'm sorry allegations and crimes are being reported--that is unequivocally a salutary development).
Also in agreement to Katie, and the numerous individuals who have had the misfortune to experience similar issues. To your point, as a fan, it becomes exhausting acting as an arbiter of justice in viewership. I do miss turning my brain off and not worrying about cascading moral implications.
When I watched with my wife during this playoff run, she became interested in the game, and I started to give her background on each player. Giddey, Irving, MPJ. To see the change in enthusiasm sucked. I stopped. Didn’t tell her about Edwards, Kidd, etc. we watched the Wolves get bounced and she has tuned out basketball again. I think she enjoyed the ride. I don’t know if I did the right thing.
Switching sports, I follow a lot more female baseball fans and writers than men and it has been EYE-OPENING to view the game from their perspective (to the extent I can). The online threats and abuse they face from men for calling out Trevor Bauer, for example, was shocking to me (even though it probably shouldn't've been).
A personal aside on sports predictions. Personally, I've never understood the "well, I predicted Kenosha in August, so I guess I'll stick with them" line of reasoning. Why would you stick with an older preseason analysis made with minimal supporting data instead of looking at the use case in front of you now along with the benefit of a ton of recent relevant data? Always puzzling to me, but I digress.
As for this choice, are we that confident that Minnesota was a true test for Dallas to avoid recency bias? It was their first time deeper than the first round in a while, and this morning trade rumors for Towns are flying. If true, that would suggest the team is already looking to reshape its core. Certainly not a confidence builder. So, I'm not sure that Minnesota wasn't spent and left it all on the floor in Denver.
In any event, a best-of-seven series usually favors the stronger and deeper team. I would feel comfortable picking Boston here.
Great points, Grant.