'Look what they've done to 'my game.' A phrase not so unlike, in meaning, with the 1970's folk song, 'Look What They've Done to My Song;' the intentional meaning carries similar messages and that is: people can take something good and beautiful and turn it into ugly trash...and so it is with the American sport scene!!
Pro baseball player, Ryan Braun won the National League MVP Award a couple of years ago and now he is suspended for the remaining games (2013) for substance abuse. Barry Bonds the 185lb rookie baseball player for the Pirates surpassed most of Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron's home run records when he retired from the Giants after a 22-year career, weighing 235lbs. Bonds claims that his metamorphosis body change occurred due to dedicated weight work. What a hard working guy that Barry Bonds fella.
Thousands of high school graduating seniors sweat out GPA's and test scores hoping to measure up to entry requirements at prestigious American universities only to see 'dumb' athletes get tuition free scholarships and their coaches make millions. We would note that many of today's college athletes end up in trouble with the law and many more fail to graduate. Our Division I Universities are stepping stones for a lot of street-punks to the pros while their hypocritical institutions make millions from NCAA playoffs.
Recently, I have followed a collegiate (summer) baseball league and note another disturbing trend. Our sport society is beginning to promote ill-mannered activities, bad behavior and less than positive sportsmanship attitudes. I advance the following scenario, which occurs at Springfield Sliders home games and Quincy Gems home games: A player from the visiting team is selected at the start of the game and his name given out by the public address announcer as the individual who, if goes hit less, will cause folks in attendance to receive free sandwiches at a local fast food restaurant. That's correct, we create a frenzy of negative cheering against one amateur baseball player. The crowd yells and screams for this player's failure each at bat appearance; the payoff is a 630 calorie burger for the fat-ass fans. These same glutinous losers likely never stood sixty feet away from a pitcher throwing a 93-mile per hour fast ball and these clowns would literally shit their pants facing a 2-to-8 curve ball that is coming at the batters head but breaks 12-inches over the plate! Go sit down fools and try NOT to show your ignorance.
Hypocrisy abounds; it is everywhere. Major League baseball continues its ban on Hall-of-Fame worthy, Pete Rose for betting on games but welcomes back into the game players who cheat with steroid use. Our distinguished officials and leaders read sportsmanship creeds before high school and college games and then laugh at and taunt opponents who fail in noble attempts. Shame on our shabby care taking of our youths' games. Shame on our misstated mission statements, which are trumped by our actions; actions that are disgusting.
Only we narcissistic, self-centered and self-indulged Americans would take 'pause' from such disgusting behavior to put our beer down and stand in the seventh inning to sing, "God Bless America." Oh my, I am sure that God cannot wait to bless His Americans; after all, we are His favorite people.
Oh, I just thought of another song to which we give lip service;. "They Will Know We Are Christians By Our Love."
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