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Spidey and the Sports World
May. 7th, 2004 09:01 amYou probably heard about this. Heard about how Major League Baseball was going to place ads for the next Spider-Man film on its bases as part of a big promotional weekend. You probably also heard that Major League Baseball also changed its mind about this, due to an outcry from fans about how wrong this was.
Now I honestly didn't mind this. I am not a purist about things like advertising on the field. I did think that it wouldn't help promote baseball very much, but as long what I see in terms of play itself is unaffected (and as long as advertising revenue is used to improve the product), I really don't care if the players have ads on their uniforms like in other countries or in NASCAR.
But how Spidey's been treated, that's another story.
I might be being thin-skinned about this, but I can't help but feel that the backlash against the promotion is in part due to what the promotion is about. One sports columnist in the NY Times, who I otherwise respect, referred to Spidey as "some cartoon character." Another writer didn't seem to like the idea that we might see promotions with Batman or Captain Marvel or even Plastic Man. The sense is that it's not merely an ad for a film, but an ad for a film about a super-hero!
I gotta wonder. If this was a promo for the new Harry Potter film or Troy, would the reaction have been quite so loud? From some quarters, yes, it would have been. But I get the sense even after seeing the heroes we love become part of the culture, there are still many who look at comic books as somehow being beneath them. And I have long sensed a particular antipathy from sportswriters. I still remember one baseball writer not understand why CBS would buy the World Series and use it to sell its fall lineup in 1990, and then waste its time and money on a show about a "guy who runs fast." (That would be the short-lived and long-lamented Flash TV series.)
Oddly, however, writing about sports for a living is somehow more dignified. And keeping sports free of the taint of "some cartoon character" is important. Lord knows, we wouldn't want our kids (or their parents) forgetting the "heroics" of athletes for a second. Lord knows we don't want them to emulate Spidey's sense of responsibility instead of the self of entitlement too many athletes have. (Granted, Spidey started out that way as well and needed to learn the lesson the hard way, but I can't see too many baseball players ever learning this lesson.)
Me? Any kid I have, I will raise to watch baseball with me, to appreciate the hard work and effort and love that the best players give to the game. But I will also raise these kids to to know that it's just a game, and that the values of many athletes are not my values. At the same time, keeping in mind that super-heroes are of course not real, I will expose my kids to the values that the best heroes embody.
So I guess if there is an anti-superhero bias, it's the loss of those who don't see them as better role models than the bulk of the nation's pro athletes. I know who my heroes are, and some sportswriter can't take that from me.
Now I honestly didn't mind this. I am not a purist about things like advertising on the field. I did think that it wouldn't help promote baseball very much, but as long what I see in terms of play itself is unaffected (and as long as advertising revenue is used to improve the product), I really don't care if the players have ads on their uniforms like in other countries or in NASCAR.
But how Spidey's been treated, that's another story.
I might be being thin-skinned about this, but I can't help but feel that the backlash against the promotion is in part due to what the promotion is about. One sports columnist in the NY Times, who I otherwise respect, referred to Spidey as "some cartoon character." Another writer didn't seem to like the idea that we might see promotions with Batman or Captain Marvel or even Plastic Man. The sense is that it's not merely an ad for a film, but an ad for a film about a super-hero!
I gotta wonder. If this was a promo for the new Harry Potter film or Troy, would the reaction have been quite so loud? From some quarters, yes, it would have been. But I get the sense even after seeing the heroes we love become part of the culture, there are still many who look at comic books as somehow being beneath them. And I have long sensed a particular antipathy from sportswriters. I still remember one baseball writer not understand why CBS would buy the World Series and use it to sell its fall lineup in 1990, and then waste its time and money on a show about a "guy who runs fast." (That would be the short-lived and long-lamented Flash TV series.)
Oddly, however, writing about sports for a living is somehow more dignified. And keeping sports free of the taint of "some cartoon character" is important. Lord knows, we wouldn't want our kids (or their parents) forgetting the "heroics" of athletes for a second. Lord knows we don't want them to emulate Spidey's sense of responsibility instead of the self of entitlement too many athletes have. (Granted, Spidey started out that way as well and needed to learn the lesson the hard way, but I can't see too many baseball players ever learning this lesson.)
Me? Any kid I have, I will raise to watch baseball with me, to appreciate the hard work and effort and love that the best players give to the game. But I will also raise these kids to to know that it's just a game, and that the values of many athletes are not my values. At the same time, keeping in mind that super-heroes are of course not real, I will expose my kids to the values that the best heroes embody.
So I guess if there is an anti-superhero bias, it's the loss of those who don't see them as better role models than the bulk of the nation's pro athletes. I know who my heroes are, and some sportswriter can't take that from me.
