How often do fond memories of great performances past get in the way of present enjoyment? Like baseball fans, opera fans are often passionately knowledgeable about yesterday’s greats. This piece from the New York Times claims that baseball fans have an edge over opera fans when it comes to enjoying the present even while appreciating the past.
….Could baseball have a lesson for music lovers that would allow us to appreciate the past and the present at the same time? What is behind this ability of baseball fans to connect the present action to the sport’s past glory and still appreciate the moment-to-moment excitement of the players on the field? These aren’t distinct functions of sports fandom; they are closely related to each other, and they inform each other. A fan appreciates the successes of the past more as he or she sees contemporary players working to succeed now, and vice versa….
What do you think?