On Morality and the Sporting World

So I was listening to sports talk radio the other day, they had this fellow on who was a beat writer for the yankees way back in the day (around the 50-60s). Back then, the salaries between the writers and the ball-players were pretty equal, so they viewed each other as more or less equals. The players would open and be friendly with the writers, knowing that any slip-up or misjudgement wouldn't be plastered on the back of the post with some ryming headline. The guy also talked about how players were a little more accessible, there wasn't this celebrity image about them, gods playing on a different level. I'm not sure what the best modern-day example would be, I would suspect some kind of local tv-personality. You don't exactly flip out if you see them on the street, but you know, smile, nod and move on with your life. So...flash forward 50 years and the biggest story on the post is what t-shirt a-rod's wife wears to the game. You get players thinking money is more important than team atmosphere, because the money they earn is a mark on their ability. You get players villified or idolized beyond any reasonable level, cause of careless mistakes on or off the field. I mean, I remember when my parents were in town we were wandering through some tourist sports shop, with stacks and stacks of old red sox picture. The ones' that caught my eye were of joe dimaggio and ted williams in the dugout together, smiling, and right after it was varatek shoving a-rod in the face.

If I wanted to get a little high-minded right now, I could say that sports really started taking off in the public's consciousness and became this, almost moral center, right when our classic beliefs died. In the quagmire of post-modernism, our myths aren't formed out of classic historical/mythical heroes, but sports players. They are the modern gods, and we'll defend or vilify them as we see fit.

In the end though, it's just a game, another form of entertainment. The old adage is that the best sports can do is remind us of classical values that are possible, such as strong work ethic and commitment and junk. Bellicheck filming signs isn't the worst thing that's happened to football, heck, it's not the worst thing that happened to football on that day, but it ain't positive either. We've been consumed with doping and dog fighting, and then you have the knicks sexual harassment suit and anything OJ. Let's just get one positive story out of sports okay? I guess Bucholz is pretty good. After his no-hitter, he cut off his press conference to call his parents. And Joba Chamberlain, melt your heart you cold hearted new englanders.

Brady Sucks...

Recently Tom Brady was hatin on Jets fans for calling out "Brady Sucks" after he won 38-14. Now come on Tom, saying a player or a team sucks without any applicability is one of sports proudest traditions. I mean, why else would they announce the visiting team one player at a time, with a notable pause after ever name, if we weren't meant to scream "sucks". But if Tom really wants me to spell out why he sucks, well....

....it's just he is surrounded by an extraordinary team.
I mean, come on, this guy was the backup quarterback at Michigan. Michigan! Not only did Michigan get blown out 39-7 to Oregon, but lost to a 1-AA team two weeks ago. And if Tom was just second-string at a sub-par school, well then, the only explanation for his renaissance is he is surrounded by superior talent that drags him up to excellence.

...at acting.
Remember those awkward and stilted commercials with Tom Brady some three years ago? Well, luckily that faded quickly. And judging by the exponential growth in Peyton commercials, we'll never have to suffer those again.

...at commitment.
I don't think I need to explain, come on Brady, be a man.

...at making football interesting.
Does anyone pay attention to tennis or golf these days? Of course not, one player so dominates each sport that it makes every tournament a foregone conclusion. Honestly, without fantasy football and isolated pockets of Patriots fans, who is going to pay attention to the NFL if the Pats keep on this course? Red Sox fans don't yell the Yankees suck because we deride their playing ability, but because they nearly destroyed baseball in the late nineties. I know everyone asks to watch dominate players at the top of their form playing, but it's the worst viewing experience. I mean, come on, if and when the Patriots blow out San Diego, who will be surprised, and who will care?