Life without Sports

For more than a couple of years, I have been becoming disenchanted with sports, specifically the high
salaries being paid for people to play a game.  I am not the only person who perceives the vast investment in all forms of the entertainment industry as a way for the extremely wealthy to keep the everyday person distracted from what is really important.  I have more than once bemoaned the fact that most people can more readily name the judges on The Voice or American Idol than those on the Supreme Court.  The simple fact that a reality TV icon was able to parlay his extremely rude but entertaining treatment of people on his show into a presidential campaign, is proof enough.  To me, salaries over 10 million dollars a year for an individual in sports or the entertainment industry or business, when millions of Americans work 40+ hours a week and still live near or below the poverty line, most likely without health care benefits or paid sick leave, and when far too many schools, inner city and rural, struggle to provide the basic tools necessary to learn, speaks volumes about our priorities, or lack thereof.  Yes, I understand that there will always be haves and have nots, but when we justify such a wide gap between them, we dismiss the toll that living in a forced subsistence manner has on families.

I wrote a story about 10 years ago which addressed the issue of athletes and high salaries, a problem which has become far worse since that story was written.  If interested, please click the link below

https://wurdsfromtheburbs.blogspot.com/2010/08/change.html

But I digress.

Despite everything I have said above, I still spend too much time on sports, watching sports, checking on the scores, talking about them.  While I do not consider myself a true sportsaholic, I don't have a FanDuel account, and have never called a Sports radio show, I admit to spending too much time engaged in them as an audience, as opposed to a participant.  In short, I was a hypocrite when it came to saying that athletes salaries were too high, when my actions in supporting them play a part in making those salaries high in the first place.  And so, when the sporting world came to a halt last week due to the Covid-19 outbreak, I wondered how I would fare. 

Well, it has been a week and I am proud to say that I have not missed sports all that much.  Yes, I admit to grabbing the remote when I returned from work a few days ago and began to check for the scores before I remembered that there were none, but for the most part, it has been a smooth transition.  In fact, since I tended to watch sports on TV, I am not watching quite as much TV in general, although I do check in for updates concerning the stock market and virus progression.

Perhaps the nicer weather makes it easier to exist without sports, plus we are occupied with the prospect of moving in the next few months.  But I have always enjoyed reading and am finding more time for that hobby, and I am even engaging in conversation with my daughter and wife a bit more frequently.

The big test, of course, will be how I react when sports returns.  Will I be like the dieter who gains back most of the weight after losing 20 pounds, or will I resist the temptation to automatically tune to whatever sporting event is on, or to check the scores of the local teams.  If there is an NHL and NBA playoff season, it will not be easy to not watch if either of the two local teams are playing, or to not check the scores while they play.  I expect that it is far easier to not miss sports when there are none to miss as it is to not watch sports or check the scores when they are in full action. 

I doubt that I will ever not enjoy sports.  There are a lot of positive things about playing a team game and learning to work in conjunction towards a common goal, as well as pushing one self to fully realize one's potential if athletics are an area where one excels.  And, of course, amateur sports, where it still exists, is often a great place to spend one's sports dollar as it is at that level that all future sports professionals learn the best (and unfortunately, worse) of what sports is about.

As in all things, balance is the key.  I hope I am able to find that balance once sports returns, as I am also hopeful that we can somehow alter our societal perspective on sports so that we can learn the valuable lessons that teamwork and self discipline can provide without directing such high levels of money, admiration and importance to a person who happens to run a bit faster, jump a bit higher, or have better hand-eye coordination than average.