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To all the people up in arms about "cheating" in Pro Sports

Folks, I have bad news for you:

*Pro* sports are not about "sport". They are about money. If you are a team that wins a lot, you get more money so you can hire better players. The losing teams? Not so much. Note, hire. You hire your players. You do not choose them, nor do you give them cookies. They are the employees of the team, and they are paid to play. If you want to see sports played for the love of sport, watch pickup games. If there are sponsors, if people are raising serious amounts of money for gear and the like, it's not about sport, it's about money.

Lots of money. Billions of dollars. How many of you really know what a billion dollars is? Not just the number, but what it will buy you. I do. Literally. It will buy you, in 1986 dollars, a B-1B transcontinental strategic bomber, crew, (pilot and maintenance), parts, and armament. People will kill each other for ten bucks, and y'all are somehow shocked that people will bend and break bullshit rules when we're talking about billions of dollars.

Give.your.heads.a.shake.

You want your teams to win, not "play well" and lose. No, don't even give me a buncha shit to the contrary. I know sports fans too well. You, the ones with the gear, and the towels and the toys. You want Super Bowl/World Series/Final Four championships, not "Well, we didn't go to the playoffs, but damn, we were great sports all season long." You may be able to lie to yourselves about such things, but if you try that with me, I'll laugh at you like the self-delusional idiots you are. Fans want winners. Period. They pay good...what's that word, oh yes, money to see the games, and buy their little trinkets. They spend money on the players, they want results. It's not the cheating that bothers them, it's when teams get caught, and then even worse, don't have the decency to have a losing season afterwards.

Face it, if the Patriots had ended with Miami's record this year, you'd not hear half the whining, because everyone who's not a Pat's fan would be sitting in front of the TV, all sanctimonious and smug, saying "cheaters never prosper". It is the fact that the Patriots took their penalty, and then went on to win every damned game, some close, most not, that really pissed everyone off. Bad. Because it's better to blame the Patriots for playing the way the fans, the owners, the sponsors and everyone else with money on them want them to, than for those groups to blame themselves. Me? I realized long ago that pro sports are about money, and this sanctimonious "sportsmanship" bullshit was for the losing teams to spout. Then again, I think the Raiders team that won Super Bowl XI were one of the best teams to ever play, and that Jack Tatum was the best fucking defensive back ever. Obviously, my priorities are better aligned with those of pro sports. Which is funny, because I'm not that into them.

Whose fault is it? Everyone's. How do you fix it? Remove money from it, and go back to watching pickup games. Get together with some other parents, buy your kids some gear, bring some sammiches, and watch them play just because it's the weekend. But if you're talking Pro/NCAA or even big High School, STFU about "sportsmanship" when we all know that it's the money that drives the game, and lots of it. Stop crying in your tea towels about cheating, and the lack of "fair play". Because as long as you have that kind of money involved, you'll have the people breaking the rules. Furthermore if you support it, monetarily or not?

You're a "cheater" too, just one without the talent to actually play.

There's no moral high ground in pro sports. Grow up and stop pretending there ever was.

Technorati Tags:
Sports Fans = Whiny Bitches, Sports Hypocrisy

Categories: Other

Posted by John C. Welch at 21:01 | Permalink

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Folks, I have bad news for you:\n\n*Pro* sports are not about \"sport\". They are about money. If you are a team that wins a lot, you get more money so you can hire better players. The losing teams? Not so much. Note, hire. You hire your players. You do not choose them, nor do you give them cookies. They are the employees of the team, and they are paid to play. If you want to see sports played for the love of sport, watch pickup games. If there are sponsors, if people are raising serious amounts of money for gear and the like, it's not about sport, it's about money.\n\nLots of money. Billions of dollars. How many of you really know what a billion dollars is? Not just the number, but what it will buy you. I do. Literally. It will buy you, in 1986 dollars, a B-1B transcontinental strategic bomber, crew, (pilot and maintenance), parts, and armament. People will kill each other for ten bucks, and y'all are somehow shocked that people will bend and break bullshit rules when we're talking about billions of dollars.\n\nGive.your.heads.a.shake.\n\nYou want your teams to win, not \"play well\" and lose. No, don't even give me a buncha shit to the contrary. I know sports fans too well. You, the ones with the gear, and the towels and the toys. You want Super Bowl/World Series/Final Four championships, not \"Well, we didn't go to the playoffs, but damn, we were great sports all season long.\" You may be able to lie to yourselves about such things, but if you try that with me, I'll laugh at you like the self-delusional idiots you are. Fans want winners. Period. They pay good...what's that word, oh yes, money to see the games, and buy their little trinkets. They spend money on the players, they want results. It's not the cheating that bothers them, it's when teams get caught, and then even worse, don't have the decency to have a losing season afterwards.\n\nFace it, if the Patriots had ended with Miami's record this year, you'd not hear half the whining, because everyone who's not a Pat's fan would be sitting in front of the TV, all sanctimonious and smug, saying \"cheaters never prosper\". It is the fact that the Patriots took their penalty, and then went on to win every damned game, some close, most not, that really pissed everyone off. Bad. Because it's better to blame the Patriots for playing the way the fans, the owners, the sponsors and everyone else with money on them want them to, than for those groups to blame themselves. Me? I realized long ago that pro sports are about money, and this sanctimonious \"sportsmanship\" bullshit was for the losing teams to spout. Then again, I think the Raiders team that won Super Bowl XI were one of the best teams to ever play, and that Jack Tatum was the best fucking defensive back ever. Obviously, my priorities are better aligned with those of pro sports. Which is funny, because I'm not that into them.\n \nWhose fault is it? Everyone's. How do you fix it? Remove money from it, and go back to watching pickup games. Get together with some other parents, buy your kids some gear, bring some sammiches, and watch them play just because it's the weekend. But if you're talking Pro/NCAA or even big High School, STFU about \"sportsmanship\" when we all know that it's the money that drives the game, and lots of it. Stop crying in your tea towels about cheating, and the lack of \"fair play\". Because as long as you have that kind of money involved, you'll have the people breaking the rules. Furthermore if you support it, monetarily or not? \n\nYou're a \"cheater\" too, just one without the talent to actually play.\n\nThere's no moral high ground in pro sports. Grow up and stop pretending there ever was.\n\n\n

Technorati Tags:\nSports Fans = Whiny Bitches, Sports Hypocrisy\n