What happens when someone takes a picture of you? Well, if you’re like us, you either try to look halfway decent or you make a ridiculous face. Regardless, though, you try to do something memorable — it’s your frozen moment to do something that says, “I’m this good-looking, this funny or this interesting ALL THE TIME,” even when that is typically not true. Now imagine you’re a professional athlete playing on the grandest stage. Every minute of your existence is potentially being recorded up close for posterity, and you know it. The trick, though, is that we’ve been embedded in this sports hyperculture for long enough now that fans know it, too. So how do you be a hero now when everyone thinks you’re faking it? How do you project being genuine, when your perception adds a layer, the audience perception adds a layer, the camera adds a layer? It’s hard to sell yourself in high-definition. Paul Pierce and his Game 1 theatrics; Tiger Woods and his constant grimacing; Kobe Bryant’s smile and kids at the podium; Kevin Garnett’s championship breakdown. Instead of merely watching, a viewing public that has become used to manipulation is constantly wondering and judging: real or fake. Or, at the very least: instinctive reaction or conscious decision. Woods and Pierce were undoubtedly hurting; Kobe certainly loves his kids; and that wasn’t the first time KG has been emotional. But each of us knows how we act when a picture is taken, and we have to wonder if we’re being sold a little extra grimace, a slightly bigger smile or maybe just a little more emotion than we’re willing to buy. We pine for genuine moments (that certainly still do exist). But we also wonder if, as players celebrate or hold their heads in defeat, they are wondering, “What do I look like on TV?” It leaves us in a strange place in the sporting world, circa 2008, where athletes know they are being watched, fans know athletes know they are being watched and, finally, athletes know fans know athletes know they are being watched. So what are we really seeing?

Fasola-link! World Custard Pie Throwing Championships.

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