Random Sporting Thoughts

What’s the deal with all the seriousness in sports, second guessing and assumptions in regard to whether or not something done worked or did not based on something that really doesn’t matter all that much? It seems as though sports is taken much too seriously these days and while there are certain aspects that affect society as a whole like drugs and health, the point is that sports are and should remain a distraction. They are an addition to real life and not a substitute nor companion to it.

Tons of commentary on 49ers coach Mike Singletary yelling at QB Alex Smith during the team’s last game. Did it matter? Some commentary focused on the “psychological” damage done to Smith while others praised that it caused Smith to play better. Is either point true? No one can tell for sure. One thing’s certain, QB Smith is not ten years old and probably isn’t all that damaged from being yelled at by another adult and likely has plenty of motivation to play his best. Football, like any sport has its ups and downs and countless things affect play even during a game leading to different outcomes by the minute.

Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas is under scrutiny in some circles for taking a game off and later admitting to faking an injury in a preseason game so that his back up would get more minutes. Screaming sports moralists are supremely offended at Arenas for committing some grave sporting sin, faking to get out of a game. A preseason game that he may not have played much of if he had participated is what these moralists are talking about.

Last week on Pardon the Interruption ESPN NFL Commentator Ron Jaworski spoke about his new book and mentioned that it would be beneficial to anyone wanting to succeed in sports or business. The mention of sports I glossed right over but the mention of business piqued my curiosity. A person who has always been involved in sports can really help someone in real world business? Perhaps in motivation but as a whole I seriously doubt it. Jaws is a nice guy and his book may be entertaining but sports operate in kind of a bizarre economic reality. The money in sports may as well be monopoly money wherein the sums tossed about may as well be imaginary to regular people. How can anyone involved in only sports business even contemplate how to provide bananas, grown in Latin America, picked, shipped, distributed and displayed in a local United States supermarket for 50 cents a pound when a ticket to a single football game is pushing 200 dollars?