[ Golden Gater Online - December 11, 1997 ]
Chandra Levy
Staff Writer
Sports(person)ship is not the name of the game anymore. At least not when you've made it to the top. When you're in the big leagues, you can rant, rave, cry, bite and strangle all you want and receive a slap on the wrist, or at worst a two-game suspension and a million-dollar fine. To the big boys (and girls), that's chump change and the consequences are worth the attention that one can grab from the media. The more of an ass you can make of yourself, the bigger a celebrity you become. And of course, that means more endorsements, a bigger ego to maintain, and sometimes, even a bigger fan following.
One would think that if someone makes it to the big leagues with a multi-million dollar contract, becomes the idol of millions of little wannabes and if they're an adult, they could at least behave like one.
Where does it all begin?
Do we blame the parents who drag their kids out of bed each morning at 5 a.m. and schlep them to little league or soccer practice? The high school coaches, who, like drill sergeants, transform indolent adolescents into competitive freaks? The colleges and universities that lure these kids with scholarships and other fringe benefits? The major league team recruiters and athletic equipment companies that convince a college student that $1 million and possibly a year in the big leagues is more important than an education that can last a lifetime? The media bandwagon that jumps to cover the latest controversy, sticking the microphones and cameras in the athlete's face, only to report what they think will bring in the ratings? What about the athletes, do we blame them?
Most likely, they're all factors that add up in the creation of million-dollar athletes and million-dollar egos.
At the college level, at least the egos are a little bit smaller, depending on what division you are in. SF State, which will be switching from a Northern California Athletic Conference Division II school to the California Collegiate Athletic Association Division II, is lucky in that sense. Most of our athletes never had to deal with the pressures of scholarships and major league recruiters luring them with wads of the green stuff. As our school does not receive a significant amount of coverage by the media and probably never will, the big egos will never surface through.
The future of sports is looking grim. Of course, we'll still have the World Series and the Super Bowl. We'll still have Nike and Reebok endorsements coming out the woodwork. The game will go on, but the humanity is almost gone.
[ Golden Gater - December 11, 1997 ]