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I grew up in a rural area near Washington in the 1960s. Translated, that means I grew up as a baseball and football fan. Basketball was okay for a break; hockey was foreign; and soccer? Get real.
The reason I bring this up is that, as any old sports fan has noticed, there's been a strong trend toward individualism in professional sports and I'm not sure if it's a cause or a reflection of society. In either case, I think I should be concerned.
Basketball has become the sport of choice for the MTV generation. There's speculation that this phenomenon is a result of the need for constant action-no time for huddles or the mental battle between pitcher and batter. But there's another "attractive" side to basketball-the trend toward the single, flashy, dominant player. Michael Jordan wasn't at the center of the Chicago Bulls. He was the Chicago Bulls (if not the entire NBA). Everything the team did, every decision that was made, was geared toward maximizing Michael's impact.
Major League Baseball is struggling to regain its identity as the national pastime. But I wonder if that can ever happen with this trend toward the individual, dominating superstar. Even though a great baseball team needs a leader, the sport doesn't allow for such single-player domination. Within a particular game, a starting pitcher can dominate; but even he needs a few players behind him, as well as some offense. And that pitcher misses at least three games for every one he plays.
And the greatest potential for a dominating star in football is probably the running back who may break a couple of long runs each week. After all, a quarterback's greatest weapon is the pass, which must be caught by another player. And if a touchdown is scored, it's the receiver who gets to dance before the cameras (another pet peeve-more to come another day). But that receiver really shines only three or four times on any given Sunday. (We old timers have to use that phrase anytime we talk about the NFL.)
Am I justified in fretting about individualism? Are our children losing the appreciation for team spirit and cooperation? Is showing off the only thing that counts? Does it mean that form supersedes function? Is this trend affecting more than just sports spectatorship? Or am I just become a fuddyduddy?
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