Reimagining Sports

Can you imagine kids flying out the door after school, going to a field or playground and put together a pick-game? Probably not. But I know some of you readers did this as kids. But today, it seems almost fantastical

It is by now a truism that we have turned sports into a faction of the entertainment industry. Now, even kids sports. Relating to the plunder of the commons post, there is very, very little open space where a group of kids grab a ball and head to a field or playground for a pick-up game. Going to play on a college or high school or even a little league park – things I did as a kid (I’m not making this up) – could get you arrested today. Yes, safety and liability issues are big. I dunno, maybe this is a great opportunity for adult volunteer monitors?

What are most kids’ sports like? Caring parents sign up, pay fees, (after all, those insurance costs), raise money for uniforms and travel expenses, and so on. It’s all structured and organized. Potential stars will be identified and plucked out of any sense of normal life. For many parents this seems like a good deal. But for the rest, well, they ended up financing the development of the stars and will likely leave sports with a bad taste in their mouth.

One might defend “identifying stars” approach and say the quality of sports has gone up, but has it? Or is the life and fun being sucked out of sports both for players and fans? We see athletes making “business decisions” to avoid getting hurt, or being part of “load management” to save them for the big game. Fans are getting a raw deal as their wallets are drained.

Getting a little boring? Well, let’s introduce legalized gambling.

Watching the hoopla about the World Cup coming to Houston made me a little sad for soccer. I’m not a fan, but the occasional times I tuned in, it seemed like it had maintained a degree of purity with its rabid fan bases. But now, it too has been sucked into the entertainment mainstream, and its life force will be gradually drained away … perhaps it already has?

This is what capitalism does. Or rather, it’s what the actors in a capitalist system do. It’s like we are all doing things we kinda know ain’t right, but the systems pushes us in that direction. (And the friction costs for going against the grain are high.) In capitalism, every single activity that can be monetized will be. Activities are no longer done for the sake of the activity itself but become a means for the vampires to bleed it for money. It all gets back to purpose. In a context where the purpose is all about the money, this is what we get. It seems like we are all losing here.

Now, get off my lawn. – Andy Hines