DISGRASIAN™

Chink In The Stands, An Asian American Fan’s Notes

I sat down to write about the fallout that’s ensued since ESPN editor Anthony Federico wrote that “Chink In The Armor” headline a little over a week ago, and I ended up with a bunch of stories about myself. In some ways though, I think these notes better articulate my frustration and anger over many of the conversations that have taken place about Jeremy Lin with regard to race than explicit words to that effect would have. Or maybe I just really like talking about myself.

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For most of my life, I’ve been a sports fan. I was born and raised in Texas, so it was mandatory. More to the point, I was born and raised Chinese American in Texas. I couldn’t look like my peers, I couldn’t be accepted as an equal by many of my peers, but I could root for the same teams as my peers. And somewhere deep down, I probably figured that if I could demonstrate the same devotion to the idols of my peers, they would eventually come around to the idea that I wasn’t all that different from them, and perhaps even accept me as one of their own.

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My father arrived in College Station, Texas from Taiwan in 1965 on a student visa. Continue reading Chink In The Stands, An Asian American Fan’s Notes

Filed under: #1 Fan, Alex Rodriguez, Asian Americans, Chink, Chink in the Armor ESPN, Chink in the Armor Headline, Dwight Clark, ESPN, Fandom, Houston Rockets, Jeremy Lin, Joe Montana, MLB, NBA, New York Knicks, NFL, Pudge Rodriguez, Race Dialogue, Race Discussions, Racist Slurs, San Francisco 49ers, Sports, Sports Fans, Taiwanese-Americans, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas A&M Aggies, Texas Rangers, The Catch, The Dallas Cowboys, Wen Ho Lee

Team Erin Andrews

I never thought much of ESPN sideline reporter Erin Andrews. Pretty, nice rack, whatever. Okay, okay, let me amend that–pretty, very nice rack…whatever.

The point is, I still got to “whatever.” Because Erin Andrews represents everything that’s cliché and uninteresting about sports to me. She’s the archetypal Hot Girl–blonde, leggy, and, again, racktastic–for dudes with no imagination. She’s also the (pin-up) poster girl for the gender inequality that pervades professional sports and its employment opportunities within, whether it’s in front of the camera, on a coaching staff, or on an executive level. Women need not apply to this good ol’ boy network–unless they’re sexy and most closely resemble the cheerleaders. Men, meanwhile, who do the same work that Andrews does, can be as dweeby (ahem, Ken Rosenthal) or as sartorially-challenged (hi, Craig Sager) or as overweight as they want (what’s up, Goose?) with impunity.

But Erin Andrews’ recent beef with The View‘s Elisabeth Hasselbeck–another female-in-sports archetype, aka The Quarterback’s Wife–a beef that, for the record, Hasselbeck started, has not only done away with my ambivalence towards Andrews, it’s also got me rooting for her. You see, Andrews has been a stalking victim twice in the last year. The first time, some perv filmed a Andrews through a peephole while she was naked in her hotel room, and then put the video online. The second time, she received emailed death threats. But she’s been in the news most recently because she’s a contestant on Dancing With the Stars, one of the final five, in fact. A week ago, Hasselbeck criticized the outfits Andrews wore on the show–the women’s outfits are typically skimpy–saying the ESPN reporter was wearing “next to nothing” while not-so-subtly playing the ol’ blaming-the-victim game:

Continue reading Team Erin Andrews

Filed under: Apologies, Barbara Walters, Bithfights, Blame-y Bitches, Blaming the Victim, Boobs, Conservative Women, Dancing With the Stars, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Elisabeth Hasselbeck Apologizes to Erin Andrews, Elisabeth Hasselbeck Erin Andrews Feud, Erin Andrews, Erin Andrews Death Threats, Erin Andrews Stalker Victim, ESPN, Fake Apologies, Female Sportscasters, Nice Racks, The View

AMAZIAN OF THE WEEK! Jeremy Lin

Name: Jeremy Lin

Hails from: Cambridge, MA (via Palo Alto, CA)

Occupation: College senior, Basketball player for Harvard University

Jeremy Lin Knows How To Win

Filed under: Asian Basketball Players, Bests, Bright Young Things, College Basketball, ESPN, Everybody Loves a Winner, firsts, Hardass Asian Parenting, Harvard, Jeremy Lin, Pigeonholes, The Suzuki Method