I consider myself a fan of sports. Not an enthusiast, but I love the competition and I like the healthful aspect of sports, and I try to stay up with what I find are momentous breakthroughs in athletic achievement (e.g. Tiger Woods).

When I was a kid, I used to follow my NFL and AFL "heroes" regularly. Same with my NBA idols. I ordered a Notre Dame hat to wear in the NCAA final four in 1978.

But now it seems like it's all been ruined...that the MAIN focus of athletes is on themselves and how much money they can make. Marketing, marketing, marketing..."I wanna be like Mike." Barf!

- I go to a professional hockey game, and I see "Home Depot" painted on every rung of every stairway on every tier in the arena.

- I'm assaulted with "in your face" neon advertising of what we later find out to be morally bankrupt companies that destroy their employees financial well-being.

- I grow up with Mile High stadium, only to see it become Invesco stadium. It seems only Chicago's Soldier Field is the only sacrosanct non-commercial stadium name. All this despite the bankruptcy of many of those companies who claimed a sports venue in their own name (e.g. Enron Field, PSINet Stadium etc.).

- Every college football bowl now has a commercial identity.

- The venerable University of Maryland college basketball venue, Cole Fieldhouse, is no longer...it's been replaced with a new facility that wears a commercial identity.

- Many college players forego their education for the dream of "big money."

- Our professional boxing greats are hardly role models. In fact they're convicts. Mike Tyson? Uggggh.

- When I watch the Olympics (formerly a haven for pure amateur competition), all I see is Coke and Kodak advertisements and athletes seeking the big marketing payoff if they get the gold.

- Drug use in sports is rampant! Athletes have too much incentive to enhance their ordinary performance beyond their natural capability (e.g. Ben Campbell, Lyle Alzado, etc.).

- Greedy professional franchise owners use their fans like a bar of soap and constantly threaten to move their team to another city...and frequently do so.

Okay, I think I've made my point.

My question: What the hell attraction is there left in sports for the ordinary fan when we get USED so freaking much? How come we keep getting so abused and there is ever so much more money available to keep making it worse for us? Will these nasty trends ever change? Should they?
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06-28-02, 05:36 PM
Yankees15
Things will change when people stop going to games and stop buying merchandise.
In other words, not any time soon.

06-28-02, 06:51 PM
Rosoph
Wow Strider0, a little upset are we?
I have to agree with Yankees15, not until We the public the fans stop going to the games will these things change. It is a form of entertainment and we pay big money to be entertained. I personally think that most of these players are paid far too much. I also said I wouldn't pay $10 to go see a movie, but I do!
Strider0, I do enjoy your posts! big grin

06-29-02, 04:37 AM
BobLaz
Strider-

You're RIGHT ON with your comments and disdain for the financial aspect of sports. I wrote in my column a while back that it can cost close to $400 for a family of FOUR to attend a Dallas Stars hockey game. The problem with sports now is that they have DISALLOWED the TRUE fan the opportunity to see games--leaving tickets in the hands of corporate big-wigs who could care less about the competition. Great job, Strider frown

06-29-02, 08:24 AM
DorianGreyed
Strider, you're right. Money has ruined sports. I love Boxing, but haven't attended a fight since ALi-Spinks II, and I only went to that because I knew that boxing history was about to be made.
(For those who may ask how I "knew" or if a fix was on, let me put it this way - A Master boxer, possibly the best ever, was fighting someone who didn't know which arm to use when sticking a left jab.) Now, although I still watch boxing on TV, I go to no pro sports, and watch little besides a few Olympic and college sports. ( At least in college hoops, the refs seem to remember the rules about running and walking without the ball hitting the floor. Just how many steps is Shaq allowed before he jams it ? Couldn't he at least bounce it once before starting his move to the basket ?)

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