At this time last week I was gearing up for the big dog show, my premier sporting event of the year. Two televised nights of dog after dog after dog. Like many other sporting events, there’s plenty of ritual, build-up, and flair. Sometimes the judges out-flair the dogs. (Google Ms. Betty Regina Leininger if you don’t believe me. She’s a wonder in purple and yellow diamonds. A wonder.) While the commercial time may not sell at ‘Merica football rates, the athletes excite and inspire lovers of canines everywhere.
To be honest, I couldn’t contain myself once the show started. Facebooking the event hadn’t been my goal for the evening, although I have been known to Facebook snark throughout the celebrity fashion parades also known as awards shows. The tabloid giggle factor always gets me there. But the dogs, oh the dogs bring me joy. All the different groups and breeds—fur babies of every shape and size, some even furless, like the beautiful Xoloitzcuintli. Of course, the Sporting Group is my favorite as it is home to the German Shorthaired Pointer. Alli and Joey wouldn’t have my vote any other way, even though I’ve never thought the breed winner to be any better looking than my beauties. Plus, Baby Walter’s repping the Sporting Group as well, so my allegiance is solid.
Not that I don’t love the Dobermans, the Mastiffs, and the Bull Terriers, cuz I do. I love them all. I love watching them run around the show ring. I love the way they look at their handlers. I love. Sure, some dogs are a little funny looking or so odd looking you love them for their quirks. Sure the dog people go a little overboard, but so do the football fans, the baseball fans, and the soccer fans. We love our breeds like they love their teams; we just make our own scene in our own way. You’ll never see anyone dressed up like a Poodle at a dog show. (Yet.) Plus we don’t have to worry about our favorite athletes getting arrested. I just love it. That’s the key really.
It brings me joy to go online and look at the breed judging and see all the GSPs lined up. There’s something spectacular and funny about it, even more so in a breed with more unified coats, like Golden Retrievers. Imagine a whole row of Buddies, proudly looking up at their handlers, poised and affectionate, alert, yet loving. Making it into the Group Finals is a pretty incredible feat, a national broadcast, with dog geeks like me watching their every move, commenting on favorites and speculating on winners.
Yes, I may be a bit over the top with the Facebooking during the show, but I was surprised that some friends told me to quit commenting or even to shut up. My response was to not respond to tell them to block me. I mean, there were at least a couple of funny posts, as evidenced by the likes and the fact that more friends said they enjoyed the commentary. And something beautiful did come out of the few negative reactions because I realized I will never apologize to anyone for annoying them with my joy.
Social media is such a strange beast. We each have our own pages, feeds, and accounts. We all choose what we display about our lives. It may be honest or a complete fabrication, but there is a selection process, sort of a branding process as to what we choose to share. If someone who had never met you looked at your page, what would he or she say about you? What’s important to you? What do you value? Or maybe the more interesting question is how would you be judged? Judging is more about the lens through which the judge views life than the one standing judgment.
You take selfies, you’re a narcissist.
Drug pictures: Junkie.
Political rant 245: Ron Paul is your new god.
You post about your cats, you’re a crazy cat lady. Bet you’re single.
Oh, you’re one of those people who always has to post when you go to the gym or ran a mile cuz otherwise it’s like it didn’t happen.
Political rant 556: Obama stole your birthday.
All you post about is drinking, you might have a problem.
All you post about is drinking, you must be fun.
Underground music scene guy. I get it, you’re cooler than I am.
Quiz 2365: Which 70’s Porn Star are You? You got Long Jeanne Silver… umm…
You had a baby. So did everyone else.
You had a baby! You had a baby!
Political rant 132: All Republicans are evil.
More home remodeling pics? Rub it in, jerk, I live in squalor.
This could go on for a hundred pages, but my point is pretty simple. You choose what you put out there and yes, putting it out there allows for it to be judged. BUT, in my experience, if you share your joy, it doesn’t really matter who or how you’re judged.
