Does that love of the game really exist now?
The sad truth is, no matter what goes on with team quality and team pride, it all comes down to money.
It's going on here in the city of Cleveland. everybody knows it.
Cleveland is going to sepnd three years without football because of money. Art Modell, supposedly got a sweeter deal in Baltimore, so, without a second thought, he packed up the team and left.
The city wasn't having that, so they tried everything in their power to keep thwier beloved Browns here. But, it all came down to money in the end. Money put the Browns in Baltimore.
Now money is an issue for the building of a new stadium to bring in a new team. In the plan, they want to make luxury boxes for people who have tons of money to invest in their entertainment. and the city wants the fans to pay for it with personal seating licenses.
The same money that could perhaps help out the Cleveland city schools, which are in shambles, is being used for football.
That's not the only thing going on in sports that has to do with money.
In every sport, there is a dispute on how much players should get paid. Baseball's skyrocketing salary costs forced owners to consider a salary cap. When the players said no, the players walked. Fairness? To the fans, maybe?
The baseball players walked out on their clubs in the middle of the season, and the big losers were the fans. Surprise, surprise. It all came down to money.
How much money does it take to keep an athlete happy these days? Does everybody have to be the world's highest-paid athlete?
You wonder why Michael Jordan wants more monet to play basketball. He found out that Formula One driver Michael Shumacher made even more than he does. Does this sound like the ego talking?
Jordan may be the greatest basketball player in the world, but remember that the NBA survived without him once, they could damn sure do it again.
Speaking of the NBA, their commisioner, David Stern, just made a large chunk of change himself when he sign a five-year deal worht over $7 million a year. Funny how that turned out. I guess he deserves it is he can keep the NBA as the only league not to have a season shortened by strike.
The average salary for all athletes has been skyrocketing in the past 10 years or so. The standard of living hasn't gone up. Does this mean they're getting greedy?
If so, they're just following the suit of the owners. You can't blame athletes for impersonating their bosses at the top of the corporate ladder.
And what of the coaches? Are they immune to the temptation of getting large sums of loot for their services?
Jimmy Johnson wouldn't say so. After all, he got out of his Dallas contract for a lot of money, and got into a Miami for a lot more.
Big-win coaches like Pat Riley and Chuck Daly aren't cheap, either. Just think what it costs them for suits alone. The question is, does Lenny Wilkins, the only 1000-win coach in the history of the NBA, command as much money as the Rileys and the Dalys. Probably not. Winning with flamboyance must be the reason.
You look at all the things in sports that involve money, you'll see what I'm talking about. I'm all for the American dream, too, but has it gotten that out of hand when even mediocre athletes are commanding seven-figure salaries? Where have you gone indeed, Joe DiMaggio?