Sports overrun with worst of fans, media, leadership
Why bother trying to hide the conspicuous? Why not at least try, “Cut it out or get out”? But nothing. Pretend there’s no problem and carry on.
nypost.com
There is little worse than wasted anticipation, a pizza stuck to the top of the home delivery box, a Starbucks coffee cup that leaks, a second date with a woman who only orders menu items marked “Market Price.”
It was with great anticipation and enthusiasm that I recently attended a Division III college football game between conservative church-affiliated schools in Western Pennsylvania, thus it held the promise of appearing and being enjoyed as a football game as opposed to a circus of regrets that forces folks to be compromised by everything less.
What a waste of Pollyanna optimism. The game’s outcome was largely determined by back-to-back out-of-bounds unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. First downs were attached to the as-seen-on-TV immodest first down-signaling by the receiver or ball carrier, and post-play muscle-flexing appeared requisite.
At one point a player caught a pass, rose, then blew kisses toward the stands, where gratuitously cruel words were shouted at the visiting team’s cheerleaders, especially one who was overweight.
By halftime I wanted a piece of every fool responsible for doing this to football — from the pandering, no-upside, pro-swagger media, to TV executives who mindlessly sell and stress images of garbage ball to the nation as a sport, to the Roger Goodells and Rob Manfreds of our world who spend their quality time in their counting houses rather than tending to the quality of their businesses — as per their soulfully and solemnly boasted duties.
Given that he had an entire offseason to work on what clearly was vandalizing the NBA scene — increasing incivilities among in-house fans, players, coaches and even team executives as too often aided by public address announcers and antisocial media typists who confuse basketball with holy wars — one would think that Adam Silver had both the time and inclination to launch a P.R. campaign to restore the NBA as marginal family entertainment.
After all, why bother trying to hide the conspicuous? Why not at least try, “Cut it out or get out”? “Grow up or be gone”?
But nothing. Pretend there’s no problem and carry on. Thus the Lakers-Nuggets NBA opener last week was polluted by “fans” who weren’t there just to cheer on the Nuggets, but to taunt, mock, curse and belittle the Lakers — as “good fans” now must do no matter how it leaves everything, including basketball, in need of a commissioner who doesn’t wait until it’s far too late — one lowlight being a chant of “Who’s your Daddy?” late in the Nuggets’ victory.
Hey, but as long as the public keeps throwing away their money on league-sponsored parlay sucker bets, what else is there for commissioners to worry about?
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