Here we are in an odd spot with sports. On this day, June 17, the following sports are active: Major League Baseball (only makes sense since baseball is the summer game), the playoffs for hockey's Stanley Cup (all natural ice has melted, but what the hey?), the NBA playoffs, the World Cup playoffs, and the big golf season. This is not to mention that the professional lacrosse season started a few weeks ago.
For the enthusiastic professional sports fan it's an embarrassment of riches. For the rest of us it's a big shrug. Baseball is the game of summer, and considering the scandals about steroids and the use of human growth hormone, that title is getting a little shaky. Would you want your kid to look at Barry Bonds as a hero? Hockey should have ended months ago. Basketball is a thugs' game. Soccer is for girls who would be better off in a chorus line. Golf is for rich guys willing to pay hundreds of dollars for clubs, balls and thousands for green fees. And all of the above have been ruined by professionalism. How can a game be called a sport when grown men are paid a lot of money to play it?
A sport should be a sport; a form of recreation for a fella or gel who puts in 40, 50, 60 or more hours a weeks manning a desk, a computer, a machine tool or a tractor. A true sportsman challeges himself and his fellows for the joy of the sport. In teams sports it comes down to my club verses your club; my town verses your town. It's not a matter of my rich team owner can buy better players than your team owner.
So when you watch the Dodgers or the Angels or the Sox or the Yankees remember that there was a time when baseball was a better game because it was a local game: Baseball History: 19th Century Baseball.
And instead of making country clubs rich and tennis and golf equipment manufacturers rich, why not try something a little less, oh, I don't know, magic equipment heavy? Bocce and petanque are the simplest of games, but they're challenging. There's no proper pitch or court require. Just a bit of wasteland near a railroad track or a track at a high school or a vacant lot. You get together with your pals, male or female or mixed, bring some balls, a jack and a flask of Chianti or Pernoud. You play, drink a little bit, talk, joke and relax. And isn't that what it's all about? Why watch some guy getting paid for doing something that you're willing to do for free? You may not be the best, but you're having a good time and you've only invested in a few balls and a little hootch.
Finally, the above illustration is a bit of an anachronism. Petanque was not really invented until the late 1800s. Also, atute readers may have noticed that your faithful correspondent has succumbed to the modern (and awful and ugly) practice of separating paragraphs by spaces instead of teh more common and proper practice of indentation. This is due to the way that blogger.com has set up their macros. I apologize for this miscarriage of justice.
And finally finally, paying to watch a guy or girl play a "sport" is like paying someone so you can watch them drink your beer or whiskey. The pro gets all the benefit while you get to ... watch.
