John Clayton’s guide to sports fandom
Jun 14, 2016, 8:29 AM
"Just let an outburst go and then trying to let it move. You shout, you shell, you get mad and then you get it out of your system." (AP)
(AP)
When 710 ESPN Seattle’s Mike Salk is angry about sports, everybody knows it. He vents and screams and is generally inconsolable. “The Professor” John Clayton has a different way of showing his love for sports – by not getting as emotionally invested.
“Brock and Salk” asked Clayton Monday if he is ever emotionally inclined or lost sleep over sports in the stereotypical diehard fan way.
“In the big games you get excited about it, but I don’t think there is any invested anger or anything like that,” Clayton said. “Maybe sometimes you see a ruling that you kind of question; that might get you a little bit more invested. But covering 32 teams in the National Football League, I have to be neutral. So it’s not like you get emotionally wrapped around one team.”
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But Mike Salk noted that Clayton doesn’t need to be neutral about everything. Is he ever a typical fan?
“Yeah, I had one last night: The (Stanley Cup winning) Penguins,” Clayton said. “There’s no hockey team in this town, I’m not covering the Penguins, I came from Pittsburgh, watched a lot of Penguin games for a little bit.”
So what was his reaction when Pittsburgh won the Cup?
“It was great.”
Did he jump up and down?
“No.”
Fist pump, scream?
“Smile. I’m very happy.”
As the sports zen-master, Clayton offered the following advice for angry fans.
“Just let an outburst go and then trying to let it move,” he said. “You shout, you shell, you get mad and then you get it out of your system. The faster it gets out, the faster you can get past it.”
To which Salk called shenanigans. When was the last time Clayton actually shouted?
“Maybe Friday,” Clayton responded. “I can’t remember. I shouted ‘Go Penguins,’ I guess.”
