To the editor:
Professional baseball is just one of many super profitable forms of entertainment.
Lately, Canadians have been going bananas over the Toronto Blue Jays.
It's kind of odd don’t you think when only three of the Blue Jay players are Canadians and Toronto is the city most of us love to hate.
We have an inherent craving to be a member of a distinct tribe, especially if the champions of our chosen tribe have a chance at putting the boots to the champions of some other tribe.
Professional sports give ordinary people an opportunity to be warriors, to live and die with their tribe, without risking physical pain or injury.
Billy Flynn, the cunning lawyer in the movie Chicago, summed up our fascination with fantasy when he sang, “Give 'em the old razzle dazzle. Razzle dazzle 'em.... Give 'em the old hocus pocus. Bead and feather 'em. How can they see with sequins in their eyes?”
Flynn was giving advice to showgirls, but they are also in the business of selling daydreams.
Lloyd Atkins
Vernon