Subtle Shift

Nerds are in and jocks are out. How did that happen? One might point to prime-time TV with shows like Community and The Big Bang Theory, or they might point to Hollywood and the steady stream of comic book movies it produces. Or, they might point to the internet itself and all the advanced and readily available technological devices we use the internet on, which were created by nerds and now govern our daily lives. Nerds are the backbone of our Global Village. Video gaming has become a sport in and of itself. Jocks, meanwhile, are murdering people.

Athleticism and athletic competition was always supposed to be about what the human spirit could accomplish. With two hands, practice and sheer willpower, a man could become a living demigod on the field of play. Sports were supposed to be a metaphor for Man itself. If that is so, than man is an unrepentant, drug addicted, dog-drowning, wife-cheating/murdering psychopath who will stop at nothing to win the most meaningless challenge because winning equals money. Jocks have become the worst people alive. Up until the late 90’s people worshipped athletes like Wayne Gretsky and Michael Jordan like Gods. Today, Kobe Bryant has the shadow of a rape accusations over his head. Tiger Woods cheated on his wife and mother to his children at every opportunity. O.J. Simpson escaped a murder conviction to wind up in jail when he tried to steal back his former property he had to sell off at gunpoint from a legitimate collector. Lance Armstrong admitted to having doped after winning seven Tour De Frances. Michael Vicks abuses dogs for some reason. Pete Rose is a gambler/fgame fixer. Now, finally, Oscar Pistorius, a legless Olympic runner who should have been the feel-good comeback-from-adversity story of the century, shot his wife.

There are no triumphs in sports anymore, only cashed paycheques. There’s always been scandals with jocks, but the worst of it use to be boozing, game-fixing, and whore-mongering, which is the basis of any scandal. Today, there’s articles about how the entire football league (European) is controlled by organized crime, and any given game could be fixed.

Nerds, as the alternative to jocks, are flying under the radar as they always have. They’re manning the internet, for God’s sake. Everyone loves the internet because of it’s free access to Game of Thrones and Adelle mp3s. The very image of nerds is changing. Look at this fucker:

He’s got a star mohawk. He’s Starhawk. He’s putting robots on Mars. What’s Michael Vick’s doing? He’s drowning dogs in buckets of water. Starhawk wouldn’t do that. He’s too busy with his Raid party.

Nerds are more prevalent and accepted, and hence: less nerdy. Every loss by jocks is a gain for nerds. Unless Spacejam becomes a reality, jocks aren’t likely going to be making and headway anytime soon.