One Sports Fan Left Behind

ONE FAN LEFT BEHIND Many magnificent, heartwarming occurrences take place in sports every day. Unfortunately, in recent years, these wondrous accomplishments have been overshadowed by untoward events. We are constantly bombarded with accounts of scandalous, reprehensible behavior, both on and off the field, from the once-wonderful world of sports. Players, coaches, fans, owners, front office personnel, mass media, trainers, corporate America and game officials have all contributed to this sad state of affairs. Fair play, sportsmanship and high ethical standards have given way to self-aggrandizement, greediness and ‘win by any means necessary’. Sports have become merely a vehicle for the entertainment business. Moreover, expansion has diluted the talent pool, ineluctably resulting in an inferior level of play. This innovative book is bifurcated into distinct parts. Part one is an account of how sports have played such a vital role in the life of the author, that it is nearly impossible to simply extinguish sports, cold turkey. This section deals with the difficulties encountered in the struggle to resolve this agonizing dilemma. One Fan Left Behind is the story of how various family members, other individuals, and significant events have been influential in causing the author to develop a deep love for sports. Some of the most significant moments in his life have revolved around sports. The book contains several vignettes that explain how sports have helped to shape me into the person that I have become. The reader gains a better understanding of the conflict that arises when the author tries to give up something that has been so dear to him for such a long time.. Part two explores several factors that have played a part in causing sports to evolve in such a way that it is no longer enjoyable. In the beginning, there was the sport. It happened to be entertaining. A business aspect was necessary to keep it going. Today, it is a business, and the business is entertainment. Sports merely serve as the vehicle whose primary function is to keep the enterprise thriving. Prices for tickets, parking and concessions are so exorbitantly high that they can not easily be worked into the budget of the typical American household. Fans are shut out from the arenas; they have to resort to television. Sporting events are now staged as TV productions, as opposed to being covered by TV. One Fan Left Behind voices cogent arguments as to why this is bad for the game. Sports are inherently entertaining. However, a problem is created when the athletic contest is staged primarily as entertainment. The end product, when entertainment becomes the over-arching goal, is exemplified by the Harlem Globetrotters, Roller Derby and TV wrestling, etc. These may be marvelous theatrical activities, but they have forfeited the right to be considered as authentic sports. It is sad to see that major sports are heading in that same, unseemly direction. Many of the valuable lessons which can be learned through sports have become increasingly difficult to discern. The fun has virtually disappeared. Children are often deprived of the opportunity to play in a joyful, creative manner. Many young participants do not come to truly appreciate and love their sport. It is seen merely as a means to an end. Far too often, youngsters are pushed into parent/adult oriented, highly structured and overly supervised programs which are replete with stress-inducing pressure. The current epidemic of childhood obesity can be attributed, in part, to the lack of physical activity, as children devote more time to electronic games, and less time to actively participate in sports. Moreover, there is a trend toward children being required to pay money in order to get to be on a team. This shuts out some of the youngsters who would benefit most by participating in sports. As sports have become more of a goal-oriented activity, where the ultimate goal is a lucrative professional contract, many children have come to overlook the pure pleasure of playing a game just for the fun of it. Sadly, they often eschew working on the fundamentals, to concentrate on mastering those things which are more attention-getting. As a result, we now have many big time athletes who are woefully unskilled in the rudiments of their sport. A regular season game has come to have little or no meaning, in and of itself. A game’s importance lies only in the way that it affects the post season picture. There are so many meaningless games that we have come to accept the fact that the athlete can not perform at his best for every game. Fans do not protest, or even object, when teams openly stop trying to win games, once their seat in the playoffs is secure. As it is structured today, an NBA team could try to garner as many ping pong balls as possible, with impunity. Fans understand the nature of this corrupt business, and blithely accept it. Today, success must be validated by further success at some point in the future. If he or she does not replicate his success at the next higher level, a stellar athlete is considered to be a fraud. A team championship has little meaning unless it proves to be the beginning of a dynasty. We have even invented the word “three-peat””. I am not the only one who is turning away from traditional sports. Many franchises, particularly in the NBA, are in financial trouble. Boxing is certainly not the attraction it was during the Ali era. Attendance at NASCAR events has peaked, and is now rapidly declining. The rapidly increasing popularity of Xtreme and fantasy sports may be taken as an indication that traditional sports leave much to be desired. I am not railing against sports. It is just that I have witnessed many changes through the years, and the net result of these changes is that sports are now conducted in a manner that I find to be neither enjoyable, nor worthwhile. It is sad to see what has happened to something that I once loved so dearly. Perhaps, if enough people were to read One Fan Left Behind, and become familiar with its message, we could start a movement to help restore sports to their rightful place among America’s finest institutions.