Cue Cards is a series designed to assist with the common small talk about high-profile recent sporting events that is so omnipresent in the workplace, the bar, and other social settings.
Yesterday — Thursday, September 11
- Goliath beats David easily — After France’s upset of Spain in their FIBA Basketball World Cup quarterfinal game, it was easy to feel like upset was in the air, and to get a little nervous about the United States’ game against Lithuania. Not to worry though, after a slow start, the United States outscored their opponent 53 to 24 in the second half. The U.S. team moves on to the finals in Madrid where they will face the winner of France vs. Serbia.
Line: It’s starting to look like the U.S. team, even missing some of our biggest stars like LeBron, Kevin Durant, and Paul George, is simply in a different class from its opponents. - It’s us against the world = victory — One of the incongruities of how people within the NFL talk about football is the subject of “distractions”. “Distractions” like from having an openly gay player on your team are seen to be a legitimate cause of concern as something that could derail the performance of the team. But, predictably, when there are real distractions, like when your team is embroiled in a domestic abuse scandal and potential cover up, that “distraction” gets used as a rally cry within the team’s locker room and seems to almost always lead to a victory. So it was last night when Ray Rice’s old team, the Baltimore Ravens played their division rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Ravens won, 26 to 6.
Line: I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised at the Ravens performance. Doesn’t it seem like teams in the middle of scandals always play well and usually win?