Is He Worth it?
How much is enough? Where do we draw the line? Everyone is in a fight to get your dollar. Sports team owners don't just own a team. They are entertainment moguls. They own teams, stadiums, television networks, merchandising divisions. Where does this money come from? Where do you think? US!!!!! Fans pay for it ALL! A player signs a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract suddenly the nosebleed seats are out of your price range. The marketing director is now a major player on a team. Television contracts are so outrageous we pay as much to see a game at home as we would if we were there. We pay premium prices to get the access to the games. How many times have you wanted to go to a baseball game but can't afford any good seat? So you flip on the TV only to see some corporate weenie sitting in the front row of seats that were given to him as a perk. He's the one talking on his cell phone waving to the camera, saying hello to his family that he never sees because he's always "working". Corporate boxes, naming rights, television networks, where is it going to end? We have thrown so much money at these people we've actually caused a problem for them...the Luxury Tax. They have SO MUCH MONEY they get penalized for it and have created revenue sharing. How about giving some of it back to the people that made it possible. At what point do we say enough? Are we ever going to turn off the TV? stop going to the game? turn our backs on our heroes because they've lost sight of what it means in the first place?
I am not against the idea of capitalism. I feel a person should be able to make as much money as possible in every type of business. But we need to evaluate what "as possible"means. What makes an athlete more valuable than a teacher or police officer? Is it because they can do what we can't? What we've always dreamed of? Are we willing to pay obscene money to live vicariuosly through these people? How much does a field of dreams cost?
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Sports on TV: The Myth vs.The Man
"How has sports on TV changed public opinion?"
"Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio?" Those words sung by Simon & Garfunkel are more compelling today then when they were written forty years ago. Gods among men; this is how our fathers and grandfathers spoke of the professional athlete of their generation. The "boys of summer" were not boys at all, they were giants on the field. It used to be a baseball player would get a line drive base hit, before he made it to first base the announcer had made the call that you heard on the radio. A simple blooper up the middle was the "shot heard 'round the world". The next morning you read about it in the paper. You talked endlessly about it with your friends. Your hero could do no wrong. All he had to do was live up to image your created in your head. That image was perfect. That player was graceful, lean and mean. He was seven feet tall swinging a tree trunk for a bat. He could run down a fly ball before the batter knew he'd hit it. All the girls loved him and all the guys wanted to be him. Fathers and sons grew closer as they sat around the radio listening to every sound that came out of the ball park. Our sports heroes were immortal.
On a late summer Saturday afternoon in 1939 things changed. Until then, the only way to see these giants at play was to go to the ballpark. But for roughly 500 homes it was different. As the players took to the field they saw the future of professional sports from their own living rooms. In an instant illusions were shattered and our heroes went from myth to mortal man.
"Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio?" Those words sung by Simon & Garfunkel are more compelling today then when they were written forty years ago. Gods among men; this is how our fathers and grandfathers spoke of the professional athlete of their generation. The "boys of summer" were not boys at all, they were giants on the field. It used to be a baseball player would get a line drive base hit, before he made it to first base the announcer had made the call that you heard on the radio. A simple blooper up the middle was the "shot heard 'round the world". The next morning you read about it in the paper. You talked endlessly about it with your friends. Your hero could do no wrong. All he had to do was live up to image your created in your head. That image was perfect. That player was graceful, lean and mean. He was seven feet tall swinging a tree trunk for a bat. He could run down a fly ball before the batter knew he'd hit it. All the girls loved him and all the guys wanted to be him. Fathers and sons grew closer as they sat around the radio listening to every sound that came out of the ball park. Our sports heroes were immortal.
On a late summer Saturday afternoon in 1939 things changed. Until then, the only way to see these giants at play was to go to the ballpark. But for roughly 500 homes it was different. As the players took to the field they saw the future of professional sports from their own living rooms. In an instant illusions were shattered and our heroes went from myth to mortal man.
Welcome to Sport On TV. This site offers my opinion on the current state of professional sports in general and how they have been influenced by coverage on television. There are many aspects to consider ranging from revenue sharing to the simplest form of human involvement, we the fans!
My interests lie mainly in baseball and the shattered illusions of hero worship and role models.
If you have questions or opinions not covered in Sports on TV please feel free to email your question to rsc1117@gmail.com
My interests lie mainly in baseball and the shattered illusions of hero worship and role models.
If you have questions or opinions not covered in Sports on TV please feel free to email your question to rsc1117@gmail.com
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