I grew up watching a lot of sports on television with my late grandfather, and just about every time the starting lineups of each team were announced, he would do a "count" of how many blacks/Latins/minorities of any kind were playing for each team vs. how many whites were playing.
You could say it was his first official statistic of the game, and if the number of minorities far outweighed the number of caucasians, well, he wouldn't change the channel, but he sure would make a negative comment about it.
Apparently, his level of joy with regards to watching a sporting event correlated with the proportion of whites to minorities.
My grandfather, who would be 90 today (God rest his soul) was a great man, but he came from a "different" era, let's just say, and the whole equality thing was something he probably needed another couple of decades to get used to.
I bring this up because just last week, in the days following Super Bowl XLVII, a couple of people I know were actually complaining about the "overwhelming" amount of African Americans participating in the game. And they weren't just talking about the players, either. They also had a problem with the black referee; Jennifer Hudson, who sang America the Beautiful; Alicia Keys, who performed the National Anthem; and, of course, Beyonce, the star of the halftime show.
Heck, Richard Dent, the all-time great defensive lineman for the Chicago Bears, even presented the Lombardi trophy to the Baltimore Ravens during the post-game ceremony.
"It's the biggest sporting event in our country, and we have to watch a bunch of blacks?"
I didn't realize Beyonce wasn't an American--someone should probably check her visa.
White people crack me up. I can say that because I am, in fact, a white person, and I can tell you I've never derived any pleasure, or lack thereof, from the proportion of white people to minorities while watching a sporting event.
Being from Pittsburgh and a huge sports fan, the only colors I care about are black and gold. If you're wearing those colors and trying to win for one of my teams, I have no problem with you. In fact, even if you're not wearing one of my team's colors, the only problem I'll have with you is the fact that you're trying to beat my team. Why? Because I'm not a racist and, oh yeah, this is 2013.
Haven't we progressed enough as a society? I guess not.
Speaking of Pittsburgh, one of the things my city has become over the last quarter of a century is a pretty big hockey town. In case you haven't noticed, hockey is a sport played by predominantly white athletes. I'm not a huge hockey fan, but I've followed the sport enough to know I've never once heard a white person complain about the overwhelming number of caucasians involved in the game.
In fact, I'm almost positive that some white people become hockey fans simply because "there aren't so many blacks running around." My ex girlfriend's dad and step mom mysteriously stopped watching the Steelers and became rabid Pens fans, and knowing them like I do, I'm almost positive one of the bigger selling points was the whole "caucasian persuasion."
The NFL is like 65% black, and some white people have a problem with that.
The NBA is like 80% black, and being from Pittsburgh I KNOW some white people have a problem with that.
However, the NHL is less than one percent black, but nobody really complains about it, well, except for black people. I'm pretty sure there are a lot of black people who don't watch hockey because "there are so many whites skating around." However, not to sound like a real 70's era bleeding heart liberal, but I'm willing to give African Americans a pass when it comes to stuff like that. Why? Look around you. White people out-number black people by like 9 to 1 in America.
Just walk outside. How many black people do you see?
Turn on your TV. How many black characters are on your favorite shows? How many black people are anchoring your nightly newscast?
African Americans are pretty much out-numbered everywhere they go, not just in hockey.
Finally, ever watch the Olympics? How many events are dominated by African Americans? Not many, but you never hear anyone say things like, "Man, I can't watch this sand volleyball. Nothing but whites."...."Skiing? I'm not watching a bunch of white people ski down a hill. I mean, you can't even see them because their white skin blends in with the white snow!"........"Curling? They're white AND Canadian!"
You never hear comments like that, of course, but when it comes to track and field..................................
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