Jiffy Pop on a Coleman grill
>> Saturday
In case you missed it, last night the Brewers debuted a great new fan-draw: drive-in movies.
As if Miller Park tailgates aren't awesome enough,
the Brewers have enhanced America's pastime with the most nostalgiarific and makeout-inducing pastime of America's past... time. Obviously, I think this is a fantastic concept.
For opening night of this promotion, the double-feature was Jaws and Anchorman. What the heck, right?
That's an odd pairing of popular movies, seemingly incongruent with the experience of a Brewers game. But I think that's the right way to go. Tonight, they're showing (as I write this) Major League and The Sandlot. I think this pairing is a mistake.
I understand the intent of showing beloved baseball-themed films as a warm-up to real baseball action. But I think this may leave the tailgate crowd with a sense of baseball overkill malaise. By the time they march up to the gate, the drunken mob has already taken in over three hours of baseball-related content rife with hilarity and the idealized distortion of the game that harkens back to age ten, with which little can compete.
Given this backdrop, I'd expect the Brewers may be uninentionally setting up their fans for the unwanted realization that the real thing isn't nearly as hilarious or triumphant as its cinematic representations. Context matters too--Brewers fans who long for the shabby comforts of County Stadium will be reminded (by the baseball scenes in Major League, of course) that their old hangout no longer exists.
This whole drive-in idea could make for a wonderful expriment in behavioral psychology, though. How would a Saturday night crowd behave after a double-feature of, say, Braveheart and Apollo 13 versus, say, Boys Don't Cry and No Country for Old Men?
Would stories of triumph make for a riled-up crowd screaming for more vicotry? Or would a depressing double-feature make for a crowd salivating for catharsis? Or both? Hmmmm...
I have no idea where I was going with this post.
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