Category Archives: absurdity of sports fanaticism

The Monkey’s Paw: A Sports Fan’s Dilemma

There was a time, just a few years ago, when news that someone was buying Newcastle United would have thrilled me. But that was before Jamal Khashoggi. Because, the buyers? Saudi Arabia and Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salman, via their Public Investment Fund (the world’s largest state-owned investment). And here’s the messy thing. I’m stillContinue reading “The Monkey’s Paw: A Sports Fan’s Dilemma”

4,000 Goals In Blackburn, Lancashire

As I wrote before, sometimes sports heroes need to be viewed from a distance. Similarly, a bit of squinting is sometimes needed to understand why someone follows a particular team, when there is no readily apparent geographic connection by neighborhood, city, or even state or county (in the British sense of counties, not the American).Continue reading “4,000 Goals In Blackburn, Lancashire”