World Famous Comics: True Believers: The Tragic Inner Life of Sports Fans
True Believers: The Tragic Inner Life of Sports Fans
By: Joe Queenan Publisher: Picador Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Picador Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 256 Publication Date: April 01, 2004
Why do fans live and die with their teams? For Yankee, Cowboy, and Laker fans the answer is fairly clear: the return on investment is relatively high. But why do people root so passionately for tragically inept teams like the Boston Red Sox, the Chicago Cubs, and the Philadelphia Phillies? Why do people organize their emotional lives around lackluster franchises such as the Cleveland Cavaliers, the San Diego Padres, and the Phoenix Suns, none of whom have ever won a single championship in their entire history? Is it pure tribalism? An attempt to maintain contact with one's vanished childhood?
In True Believers, humorist and lifelong Philly fan Joe Queenan answers these and many other questions, shedding light on--and reveling in--the culture and psychology of his countless fellow fans.
Amazon.com: "To me, the Phillies and Eagles are exactly like nicotine:," writes Joe Queenan in his painful and deeply funny book True Believers: The Tragic Inner Life of Sports Fans, "a preposterously noxious semi-hallucinogenic substance capable of giving great pleasure for brief periods of time, but that will ultimately destroy your health." Targets of Queenan's blowtorch mockery in previous books have included Hollywood, chain restaurants, and baby boomers. But here, he shines the spotlight on himself in an extended examination on what it means to join in the unique self-flagellation that is sports fandom. That flagellation is made more painful when, as in Queenan's case, the fan has sacrificed their time, emotional well-being, and regard among family members to following teams that often suck real bad. But True Believers is less a work of psychological research than a ruminative and passionate explanation of the rules of conduct by which the author believes fans should live. These same rules, of course, are discussed all the time by fans on bleacher seats, bar stools, and living room couches around the world as they desperately hope that this will finally be the year the Cubs or Cardinals or Clippers finally get it together. But rarely have the rules been codified in one bound volume. Queenan shines when attacking the dreaded "bandwagon" fan and when describing his decision not to stop the young son of a family friend from ruining his life by rooting for the Mets. And he's poignant and refreshingly void of cynicism in relating the last days of his father and how they overlapped with a pivotal Eagles-Falcons game. This is a lively and entertaining read that should appeal to any sports fan except those incomprehensible jerks that root for the Lakers and Yankees. --John Moe
strange but solid Queenan is a witty fellow---in a serious way, not in a moronic way like John Stewart or Stephen Colbert. Though Queenan makes some silly remarks about race and politics, the book is very creative and clever. He really hits along the lines of why sports fans are the way they are in a very honest way. Those who dislike this book were likely offended by his frankness or just didn't understand his thesis. A good read. And the one or two historical errors do not ruin the book, though some may think so foolishly.
Queenan is an idiot. I will not read anything this man writes and nor should you - he publicly cries out about and pans Al Gore's documentary "An inconvenient truth" (NPR Movies 6-15-07 - listen to the podcast) using the medium of radio to spread his own ignorant and bitter opinions. As far as Queenan is concerned we should not be paying for documentaries that enlighten us and inform us (but should pay for his books!) He's obviously a humanity hater, a planet hater and a Gore hater and an ignorant idiot. I would not reward this kind of person with purchasing his book.
IGNORANT AUTHOR, TERRIBLE BOOK Unbelievably, Quennan says on page 69 of his book that the Cincinnati Reds were "suprise winners of the 1991 World Series". This is of course disgustingly ignorant of him because the Twins won that series and it was undisputably the greatest world series of all time (according to ESPN)!! He goes on to say that the Oakland A's won in 1990 who actually won in '89 and lost in '88 and '90 for the record the reds won in 1990. WHAT A LOSER DON'T READ HIS PIECE OF CRAP.
Perfect analysis of the American sports fan. Another humorous read by Joe Queenan. If you are a somewhat intelligent sports fan and not one of those people who show up blind drunk at a Mets game with your girl, so that she can flash her derrier tatoo at the Phillies left-fielder, then you'll identify with Queenan's take on the life of a sports fan. This book isn't written for the fan who runs around at an NFL playoff game on a frigid day with his shirt-off, but for the fan who hopes that "shirtless" guy just leaves him alone so that he can watch the game.
Queenan uses his usual style of humor and self-deprecating wit to explain and analyze the behavior, and by his admission the sometimes unexplainable behavior, of fandom.
A quick easy read for any sports fan with a sense of humor and an ability to say "it's only a game" even when you know that this really isn't true.
Must read for all true sports fan. Joe Queenan has written the most accurate and insightful book about sports fans that I've encountered. The anecdotes, stories, and life experiences of the author will give even non-sports fans insight into the psyche of the true sports fanatics. Every true sports fan should read this book. It also would make a great gift for all of the front-running, bandwagon jumping fans that every true sports fan knows.
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