‘Elevated threat level’ in the sports world
Some say sports ‘rock’, but not like they do right now…with widespread scandal. The Chicago Tribune has a good commentary on the front page of their Sports section today, in which writer Rick Morrissey openly agonizes with the rest of fandom over the corruption of what should be one of the last venues of pure human spirit and drive.
Here are some good questions leading into the piece, which didn’t entirely make it to the online version:
If allegations against ref Tim Donaghy are true, was he acting alone or part of a conspiracy?
If the new cycling doping allegations are true, does it matter who wins the Tour de France?
If the allegations against Barry Bonds are true, does the home-run record mean anything?
If it’s all a fraud….Why should we still care?
Good questions, all.
Morrissey’s piece, call it catharsis:
We love our sports. We are a nation that cares deeply about our games, our teams and our athletes, sometimes more than we should. Sometimes a lot more than we should. But we care. It’s generally a good thing.
Why we care is a broad topic involving escape, tribalism, passed-down family loyalties, vicariousness, the thrill of competition and the pleasure of watching human beings strive for athletic excellence. It helps explain the body paint in the stands.
But there is something about sports that sets it apart from most other forms of entertainment. It’s real. Or at least it’s supposed to be real…
We hold this truth to be self-evident: that when we watch a sporting event we expect the sweat and the emotion to be real. We expect the blood to contain red blood cells, not red food coloring.
His sense of betrayal is palpable.
This is an especially painful time for anyone who cares about sports. We are being asked to consider a very unpleasant question: What’s real anymore?
That’s a hard one to answer in this entertainment culture…and sports fall right into that category.
If a reality show is supposed to be real, what else can be considered real? Someone who takes an amphetamine to stay alert during a baseball game? Someone who uses HGH to get stronger?
Perhaps. But it’s also very real that excessive steroid use can lead to heart disease and cancer. Those with their heads in the sand say it’s the athlete’s decision what goes in his body. The realists among us argue that the growing percentage of high school athletes using steroids are emulating the stars without full knowledge of the dangers involved.
As long as there has been a round object around, even if it was made of stone, there has been cheating. That’s another self-evident truth. And cheating is everywhere.
But it takes major scandals to have these public debates about it, to commiserate and do group hand-wringing. To teach the kids the real definition of hero…
Maybe we have been living in a fantasy world all along. Maybe we’re looking for purity when it’s extinct.
Maybe the question we need to ask ourselves is whether we want real. Some of the evidence suggests we don’t.
We knew it wasn’t going to end well for the ship in “Titanic.” We didn’t know the Bears were going to take on water the way they did in the Super Bowl. That’s real drama.
Isn’t it?
Yes, Rick Morrissey. Painful as it was, that’s about as much drama as a Chicago fan’s heart can take.
Until the Cubs make it to the playoffs…
Now this year’s White Sox, talk about unreal…