I have made a discovery of importance. All my life I have turned to the sports page when the daily newspaper arrives.
The Earth might have been under attack from aliens and I did not care. The sports page was my main interest. What did the Reds do the night before and were they out of last place? What were the high school scores and who made the touchdowns, winning basket or drove in the winning run?
It was a habit but a good one and as a result, I was able to be part of the conversation (or argument) at school or work as I grew older.
I loved those days and I would be willing to bet that many of you did the same thing and hopefully still do. Although I’m sure I was concerned about what was going on in the city, county or world, the sports world dominated all other events. And I’m sorry to say, this went on until a few years ago.
Today I have reached what some call those golden years. I am still a sports fan but not like I once was. The games just don’t seem the same. As a kid, I could name the player at every position on the Reds team and that would go on for years. They never seemed to change and although they were never the Yankees of my era, they were my heroes.
Today players move around from team to team so fast I can’t keep up. For example the opening day roster this season for the Reds may have a majority of players from last year’s team, but many of the players are new team members whose names I cannot pronounce.
And there are so many professional teams in all sports you cannot keep up with the players let alone the teams. I always felt team loyalty meant something. Not in today’s sports world. The dollar has taken over.
The golden years have brought about another change. When the daily paper arrives, I eventually get to the sports page. But I first check the obituary page to see if I’m on it or any of my friends are there. And then I go to the sports page.
Our local paper does a great job covering the local sports scene, but many of the big city papers are more concerned about the scandals that many of the players seem to favor over their athletic ability. “Pac Man Jones,” the Bengal’s gifted cornerback, gets more press with his off the field antics than he does as a football player.
And he is not alone in the world of sports. Is it his fault or does our society thrive on this type of garbage? Your guess is as good as mine, but I don’t have to like it and I’m to the point where I may start avoiding it.
