Being a sports fan doesn’t mean being a fan of every sport. I still don’t understand ice hockey beyond the idea of hitting the little burned burger-bun into the net.
Soccer is a lot like hockey, except it is closer to a real sport, in that an actual ball is used.
I’ve never watched professional basketball, although I have been a great fan of college ball for most of my life – so it is a little disappointing that the next year after watching playoffs, learning names, figuring out which teams are in what division, and generally becoming a fan of the Oklahoma City Thunder, the NBA goes kaput.
Some of the players are putting on charity games for court-time, but the NBA season has already lost two weeks, and the lockout shows no signs of opening those barred doors. There is every possibility that the season will be completely lost, if you believe some of the doomsday pundits. Who knows? They may be on the money.
Money is at the heart of the issue, after all. Salary caps, revenue splits. Paychecks. Ticket sales. Money, money, money.
No matter the sport, at the professional level it is about the money, with rare exception. There was always that quote from Ernie Banks of the Chicago Cubs: “It’s a beautiful day for a ballgame. Let’s play two!” He was expressing his love of the game, an endearment that kept him on the Cubs’ payroll for 19-years – his entire career.
Now, no matter the sport, the players go where the money is.
For those of us who labored under the false hopes of one day playing in The Bigs, it is blasphemous to talk about the payday. Professional players already have the greatest reward given in the working world – they PLAY! Ask any of them what they do and they’ll have to use the word to describe their job. I’m a baseball player. I play defensive end for the Chargers. I play tennis. I play (substitute any sport or position here).
Play, play, play.
Money, money, money.
Sure, they all deserve paychecks. People – even players – have to eat. Bills to pay, shoes to buy, Hummers to trick out in 18-carat gold. And injuries can happen, cutting short a career. Gotta have money set aside for Old Man Alan.
Except – layoffs happen in all job environments. There are no guarantees for anyone on a payroll.
The difference is, in most work environments the workers work.
Work, work, work.
For very little (by comparison) money, money, money.
Of course, in professional games, it isn’t just about the players. The owners are doing their part as well, those rich men (primarily) who dabble in sports because they have the money to buy a team. Some are so wealthy they’ve inherited the family sports franchise. They are sports figures by ownership and money, and then have the audacity to quibble about the cost.
Hey now! Everyone knows a boat is a hole in the water into which the owner’s money is poured. Don’t like it? Sell the boat. Don’t complain about the owner’s box. If it’s the money, sell. You former owners can buy tickets to the games, just like everyone else.
How hard can it be to get together on some financial fundamentals and get the ball back on the court? There are a bunch of working stiffs who would love to be paid any amount to play a game for a living.
And if that isn’t possible, is it too much to ask to be able to watch others doing it?
