When was it that professional sports got out of hand?
Television might have had something to do with it: sitting at home, cranking your A/C, throwing back a couple of much cheaper brews, and avoiding the postgame traffic. You wonder why you'd ever go to the game when your TV gives you better sound and image quality than real life.
The game brings you joy - or is it nostalgia? Perhaps you are holding on to the past. You used to play the game back then. Watching makes you remember. You can still smell the clay, can't you? Why do they make us consumers so entranced?
We are, undoubtedly, consumers after all. $40 per month for the Comcast sports package, $20 for the ticket, $30 for the hat - not to mention single-handedly keeping foam finger distributors in business.
But what if the obsession were to end?
What if there were no more television or radio broadcasts supporting the game? People formerly called "fans" decide that reading books is more entertaining than watching games. Some still play the game, but for themselves now. There is little to be made in the game, because it has been de-commercialized. Players make modest salaries, supported by the few that come out to watch. They understand they are lucky to make anything at all, playing a game that was once simply a hobby.
If your friend were to tell you they were paid to play Yahtzee the other day in front of a crowd, you would not believe them. What you don't know is that your friend is probably the best Yahtzee player on the East Coast, and his rival is from the West. T-shirts were sold. Special-edition "East/West Championship Yahtzee" sets were flying off the shelves in the wake of the game. Your friend is sponsored by Red Bull and dons the company's logo on his custom-made dice-shaker. The match is televised worldwide and Pepsi pays to get multiple commercial spots. A paycheck for your friend doesn't seem so crazy now.
Take a step back. Look objectively. Does it seem so far-fetched on second glance? Does it not seem ridiculous when you adjust your focus? We are zombies chained to every update, statistic and player. Is it passion or obsession? What is it about sports that convinces us that multimillion-dollar salaries should be normal? Frankly, it's our own damn fault.
I am as guilty as anyone. I check in on games constantly. God knows I'm watching my Heat on their way to back-to-back titles. I own name-brand sportswear. I don't get paid to play, but I sure wouldn't turn it down. Hell, my whole childhood I dreamt about playing baseball as my job.
Look. The average NBA player makes $5.15 million per year; MLB pays $3.31 million. The NHL is at $2.4 million and NFL players make about $1.9 million. Soccer is off the charts in terms of purchasing and paying players. Samuel Eto'o, who plays for Anzhi Makhachkala, makes about $500,00 per week.
Most athletes do deserve to get paid what they do in our sports-obsessed world. It just gives you an idea of how much power we've given to the whole thing. It is a blessing and a curse to watch such extravagance. It's quite possible, however, that I'm just a jealous guy who missed out.
--
Gregory Vitale is a junior majoring in biology-psychology and English. He can be reached at Gregory.Vitale@tufts.edu.
