THE IMAGE OF PRO SPORTS
IS TARNISHED THESE DAYS
I was the skinny kid who, when they chose up sides in gym class, always was the last one picked.
Not that I blame anybody. I brought nothing to the squads I’d finally wind up on. I was uncoordinated, with little talent for throwing, hitting or kicking a ball accurately. If choosing the players had been my job, I wouldn’t want me either.
Consequently, I grew up paying scant attention to sports. To this day, while I admire the remarkable feats which athletes are able to train their bodies to accomplish, I have pretty much no interest in team competition, as such. I’m not glued to my flat-screen TV for Superbowl Sunday or March Madness or the World Series.
Of course, no one can be unaware of professional sports in our culture. Especially so, with players, teams and leagues thrust into the center of our most fevered national controversies.