$ports...What is it Good for?

Alas, sports is quite the antithesis of entertainment today. You may well ask, sports….what is it good for? A sport is commonly defined as an organized, competitive, and skillful physical activity requiring commitment and fair play.(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

That is not what I think of when I think of sports today. It is a great time of year for sports fans. The Masters Golf Tournament has started. The start of Major League Baseball has commenced. The NBA playoffs are about to begin, seething with upset possibilities and the NFL Draft is but a scant two weeks away. The NCAA men’s tournament just ended with a desperation bank shot a smidgeon away from being the greatest finish ever and Uconn women’s’ team continued an amazing win streak just a few days ago.

Yet, I cannot get excited about sports today. The problem I have with sports is that the greed of the players AND owners has stripped away any semblance of purity from the games. There have been too many holdouts, contract extensions, player agents, salary arbitrations, mid-level exceptions and million dollar crybabies.

When I was young, I remember going to my first baseball game and holding my breath when I saw the green of the outfield grass as I walked up the ramp to my seat. Today, the only green I see that makes me hold my breathe is the almighty dollar sign. Today’s player only cares about the dotted line instead of the foul line.

We cheer on the very players whose enormous salary we help pay, yet they could not care less where or who they play for….as long as the price is right.

This year, I will get my sports pleasures from watching my three year old grand-daughter play soccer. I will stop off and watch a few innings of a high school baseball game and I will smile at the little league team at the ice cream shop while I wait in line for an ice cream cone.

I am a practical person. I realize grown men and women have to earn a living. But the amounts of money that the players make cannot be justified for any reason, bar none. The greed of wanting more money than can be spent in three lifetimes has ruined any love that I had for sports. These men and women are accomplished at their profession and have worked hard to develop their God given talent. Yet, it does not entitle them to a Kings Ransom and salaries that the average person will not be able to comprehend. The business side of sports has completely soured me on the pleasures of watching these fine athletes. No one is worth that kind of money...not athletes, not movie stars and not even heads of corporations.

Sports. You can have it, I don't want it. It's too much for me anymore.

So, the sports world will trudge on without me, not even know that I am gone and will continue to prosper. Sad, isn’t it?