We see it on TV. We hear it on the radio. We read about it in newspapers. Some revere it as if it were gospel. It’s not politics or religion. It’s American sports. Since the 1960s, the American sports industry have grown exponentially. The past 30 years has seen America’s obsession with athletics explode into all-sports networks, zillions of all-sport magazines, all-sports radio and even an all-golf channel. The sad part is that the past 30 years, a time that could have been the new dawn of athletics, may instead turn out to be an apocalypse. Well, maybe not an apocalypse, but unless the fans — who give athletics its support both economically and emotionally — get sports back, dark days are ahead for the sports of this country. Despite popular belief, there is no one cause for why sports — especially professional sports — have gotten away from the fans. Some would point to free-agency, some would point to greedy owners while others would point to greedy players and their unions. It’s a Catch-22. At least in recent years, the greedier the players get, the greedier the owners get and vice versa. Owners have always been greedy, no question. Thirty years ago, free-agency became a reality in pro sports. At first, it looked like a way for the players who had received, as they say on ESPN’s SportsCenter, the “proverbial shaft” for nearly 60 years to fight back. Unions emerged, and strikes followed in pursuit of even higher salaries for players, resulting in sadness and dispair. But not sadness and despair for the players or the owners — for the fans. American sports is a business. Instead of great players staying with one team for 15 years and working to win, most players today stay with a team for a few years, working to increase their market value. Some would point to athletes like Latrell Sprewell, and those like him, as the ultimate evil in pro sports (Sprewell, a guard for the Golden State Warriors, attacked his coach in early December), but Sprewell is not the worst example. More often, when players are just plain greedy they end up being more detrimental than anything a coach-attacking moron could be. Shaquille O’Neal, a gifted NBA center, started out with the Orlando Magic, advanced to one NBA Championship, and promptly left Orlando for the Los Angelos Lakers. I have no problem when a player wishes to leave a team because of his or her level of competitiveness. But it’s a crime when athletes like O’Neal leave good teams to try to make better money. The Orlando fans, who supported O’Neal for four seasons with their hard-earned money, lost one of their favorite players. Hmm, money. More than $100 Million for Kevin Garnett. More than $100 Million for Juwan Howard. More than $100 Million for O’Neal. And each one of them said it wasn’t about money. But the players are only part of the problem. While the athletes have reached new levels of injustice towards the fans in the past 30 years, the owners are just as bad as ever. The NFL is where the owner scum really come out into the light. In the past five years, the Cleveland Browns, Houston Oilers and Los Angelos Rams have all relocated. The reason: the owners wanted their old cities to build publicly-funded stadiums. The result: Cleveland, Houston, and LA were abandoned for Baltimore, Tennessee and St. Louis. Instead of the fans losing their favorite players, they lost their favorite team. The players have no loyalty to their teams. The owners have no loyalty to their cities. The only ones with loyalty are the fans. And it may turn out that their loyalty has been misplaced. A perfect example is the Florida Marlins. Fresh off a World Series championship last fall, the Marlins dismantled their high-priced ball club. The reason: owner H. Wayne Huizega reported that the Marlins lost nearly $80 million in the 1997 season. Whoever was a Florida Marlin fan won’t be for long. The point is that the loyalty of the fans is becoming more and more abused. The more sleezy and slimy the players get, the more fans should be reluctant to pump money into tickets or products that athletes endorse. The fans — who support these bonehead owners and bonehead players — must retake sports or reject them. We can’t accept behavior that is now the norm for pro owners and players. The glory days of Mickey Mantle are over, and only the fans can save professional sports. |
