With this being an Olympic year, many don’t really know the full scope of what goes into making an Olympian. The physical and mental progression from one level to another, as well as the financial expense to complete the journey from a young aspirant through the ranks to being recognized as an elite athlete is a lifelong pursuit. For many, the journey ends too early. For others, the financial strain is too great to overcome. Then there are others whose physical attributes make it impossible to reach the pinnacle of athletic success.
For professional and elite athletes, achieving that level of excellence in their sport comes at a price. When we look at a country’s price for the cost of athletics today, we realize how much money is really involved. When we compare the costs involved to the cost just 50 years ago, it’s just another indication of how our society has become so consumed with wealth. Just look at what the New York Yankees did by signing a baseball player to an unprecedented multi-million dollar contract last year. To top it off, if that athlete is injured and unable to play, he is still obligated to pay his full salary. This was unheard of 60 years ago.
We all need to remember that 60 years ago, many young people played minor league baseball and Pop Warner football. I myself can remember every Saturday playing baseball rain or shine. I had a four-finger leather baseball glove that my father bought and I think that was the only expense we paid for me to play ball. When I entered high school, my parents didn’t have to pay additional fees for me to compete in interscholastic sports, whether it was cross country, swimming, or track. The school district covered our school uniforms, warm-ups, and transportation to and from away competitions. Just think that 60 years ago there were no real financial impediments preventing our parents from participating in interscholastic sports. Today, that is not the case. With school budget cuts at the forefront of debate in school districts across the country, so many sports programs have been cut or the fees to participate are staggering. When the costs to participate in interscholastic sports rise, many hopefuls are denied the opportunity to do so simply because many parents do not have the additional financial means for their children to participate in extracurricular activities.
Going back to my college years, how fortunate I was to be able to participate in intercollegiate sports through a partial athletic scholarship that paid for the expenses incurred. We should remember that enrollment in state school universities was relatively low compared to today. In general, the cost of pursuing an athletic career was much less expensive than it is today. So much so, in fact, that today’s athletes spend more on high-tech gadgets to record and even improve their performance. I can fondly remember that all we had during the cross country and track season were stopwatches.
When it comes to money today, there has been a gradual disintegration of behavior. It was during the course of my long professional and athletic career that I witnessed a decline in personal and professional behavior among many professional athletes. The professionalism and camaraderie of the 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s have given way to an ideology of self-absorption, self-serving, self-indulgence, and self-profit in which the individual is completely consumed in monetary compensation and disinterest without the slightest consideration. by his teammates. , competitors and fans. The sense of camaraderie that was once the primary motivation for being an athlete has been lost.
What has replaced playing for the “Love of the Game” now where players in all professional sports and most college sports have also embraced the self-serving philosophy. When and where they play because of the excessive amounts of money offered to them, the professionalism, the respect for each player, the fans and the general public has diminished so much that the players now expect the adoration, the attention and the publicity to be given to them. grant. This is not because of their skill, their respect for players, coaches and fans alike, but because of the amount of money they are paid. Whether or not they actually produce the professionalism that needs to be displayed when people reach that level of athleticism, it is not displayed more often now.
I remember when I first competed in a sporting event. The excitement, the joy and the respect I had for myself, my coaches and the other competitors made me realize that just being able to compete was an incredible experience. Whether I won or came in last was not the main focus. My coaches realized that winning wasn’t the most important thing, but competing is about being able to push yourself to do your best. Sure, everyone likes to win, but even if you lost or came in second every time you tried, you did, and that’s winning.
Today, a large number of high school and college athletes are attracted by the prospect of lucrative professional sports contracts. Many have succumbed to the temptation to forego a college degree or not graduate and opt for the professional contract only to find that once their career ends or an injury prevents them from competing, they are left with too few qualifications to start a career. race. outside of sports.
Most of these people are not mentally, emotionally and educationally capable of understanding the scope of the responsibilities that professional sports contracts entail. What has happened today in professional sports is that they have really encouraged some of the most unprofessional type of behavior on the part of the athletes themselves. I’m not saying that all professional sports athletes have indulged in this type of behavior, but the media has continually exploited some individuals to the point that the general public further encourages student and professional athletes to engage in unethical behavior. professional.
“For the love of the game or sport! A time not so long ago. The days when players and athletes actually played and competed for the enjoyment of the sport itself and not for the amount of money they are or will be paid In the world of professional sports Winning is the ultimate goal The key here is to recruit the caliber of players that when they actually play or compete a higher degree of excellence is displayed Always doing the best they can will produce the winning effect which is so important in today’s professional sport.
Today’s aspiring young athletes must be taught restraint and resist the urge to forgo an education in pursuit of that lucrative contract that seems like a sure bet when in fact it is a short-sighted and misguided attempt to disrupt a child’s life process. individual. What really matters is the students and student athletes when they participate in their respective sports and are responsible for their behavior on and off the field of play. They must show a level of personal esteem and show courtesy, respect and genuine camaraderie towards everyone.
Is it any wonder considering that so many schools continually fail to fund physical education and so many other rewarding cultural activities in the primary and secondary school systems that today’s students and aspiring young athletes find it so difficult to have the same availability of programs that were considered an eternal part? of an educational experience just 60 years ago? Until schools across the country realize the importance of athletics and the arts in the educational experience and find ways to prevent families and individuals with disabilities from participating just because these programs are too cost-prohibitive, many athletes, musicians or promising theater artists will be denied opportunities. to reach your full potential. The net result is one of the reasons our society has drifted away from the moral values of a not-so-distant age. A very sad comment for today.