i live in denver. the broncos recently lost a football player to a violent crime. i do not mean to make light of that situation. many of his team mates are hurt and grieving. i don't mean to make light of their pain. i know they bonded with one another, they suffered physical pain together, spent long hours together in training and on the road. but they were interviewing one of the players today and he made the statement "we went to war together every sunday"
that just irritates the hell out of me for some reason. pro sports has bothered me for years, i stopped watching long ago. about the time the different assorted strikes started happening. i was tempted to watch a couple years ago, but then coaches started to get fired because players were making more money then them and they couldn't afford to have players benched. three or four years ago someone gave me tickets to a hockey game here. it was the first time i'd been to see one and i was expecting it to be the same experience i had at home, a quick paced match. i was surprised at how much they pause the game because it's being broadcast. that was another huge disappointment, seeing how money-centric the whole sport had gotten.
funny how some of these people forget that it's a sport. that they get paid an insanely large amount of money to play a game for a couple of hours every week. a game. the future of countries isn't decided on the outcome of that game. and usually no one dies. when the game is over, everyone shakes hands and goes home. i don't know why this bothers me so, for the most part i can ignore it, but every once in awhile the way-over-bloated sense of self importance that alot of pro atheletes have just gets under my skin. it's one of my few "hot buttons" right up there with public college education. one of my favorite movies is "the replacements" just because it makes fun of those guys. but to use those words, especially when the country IS at war and has soldiers, marines, airmen and sailor right in harm's way bugs the hell out of me.
it's my personal thing. i know it's small and petty. and to balance the negative, i have to say that i love professional lacrosse. it's the exact opposite of so many other pro-sports. most of those guys have to have a second job because they're not going to get rich playing lacrosse. they play for love the of sport. and they don't have over-inflated egos about it. the coach is still the boss. after a game they'll sit there for HOURS, signing autographs. they're so happy to HAVE fans who want their autograph. you go to one of their games and it's amazingly fast paced. and fun. and you don't pay through the nose to supplement their salaries.
and lets not even get me started on taxing me to pay for a sports arena that i personally don't visit. so that a team that i don't own and make no money off of can play. so my commute home on game nights can be totally screwed.
okay. i've vented. thanks.
10 comments:
I, too, dislike when I hear athletes say something like "going to war" or "in the trenches"., They have NO idea what that means. They live in luxury and play their favorite pastime for their career. I recently heard someone liken a petty thing that happened to them to the feelings of a rape victim. I almost lost it. Hyperbole is one thing; no sense of perspective is another.
It bothers you because it was a horrible thing to say.....
Word and word.
PS
Sean, what's up with your profile picture? You look very angry.
funny how some of these people forget that it's a sport. that they get paid an insanely large amount of money to play a game for a couple of hours every week. a game. the future of countries isn't decided on the outcome of that game. and usually no one dies. when the game is over, everyone shakes hands and goes home.
I agree. They need to remember that they get paid to do something they freaking LOVE. Sadly, few people can say that. There are those lucky individuals who like their jobs: they love their's.
A few years ago, I watched the Little League World Series with a group of buddies. It was one of the best sporting events I'd ever watched. Why? Because those kids were still playing for the love of the game. Pro players need to remember that sometimes. And if they can't, they shouldn't be playing.
edw... holy crap. and i thought "go to war" was bad. for the sake of my blood pressure, i'm glad i missed that sound byte.
pw... no, no anger. blah. i just don't take good photos.
chica. uh-huh. the other thing that's really getting bad is that it appears as if these guys are just coddled like crazy instead of given some positive mentorship. you'd think at some point someone would say "hey. don't hang out with gangbangers. if you do, you might get shot. oh. and throwing orgies on a private boat in the middle of a big lake? that's bad. oh. and "no" means no. don't rape girls. just because you're a sports stud doesn't automatically mean they want you."
Ok...I love football. And I love the Broncos. I cried when Elway retired. I've been a Broncos fan since they lost the superbowl to the Cowboys...which dates me significantly. For my fifth birthday I got a Bronco's helmet, and for my sweet 16 an Elway jersey. I LOVE the Broncos.
That said, I the professional sports are no different than any other high paying profession. There are some great people with awesome perspectives on life. At the same time there are some really big chodes who have no grasp on reality.
And, as in all high paying professions, there is acceptable behavior and then there is unacceptable behavior. Degradation of women, parties on boats in the middle of the lake, drugs, hanging out with gangs and hookers are all unacceptable behavior for professionals in any profession. I blame the NFL for failure to properly enforce guidelines.
Also, it is frustrating that they get paid assinine amounts of money to run around on a field and play a game. But they get paid that much because the market supports that payment. The ones that really piss me off are the Paris Hiltons, and the Jessica Simpsons. Sports players at least have to have some talent to be where they are.
That said, this is no excuse for the statement. A game is not war. The 50 yard line is not the trenches. Putting on pads is not the same as putting on a flack jacket and picking up an M-16. To draw the analogy is simply ignorant.
But I love my Broncos.
I disagree Sean! I remember one picture of yourself that you posted.
But it's your blog. :)
So far the only person who wants my snow is Bone...but he hasn't mentioned actually paying me to ship it to him.
And I'm so with you on the Pro-Sports thing...we don't watch anything but the World Cup for Soccer and DH gets mad because the announcers here in the states won't shut up and just watch the game. The keep talking as if that's the reason we've tuned in! BAH!
Amen, Brother!
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