I've been wanting to write about this for some time, and some of the things I've seen during the past few weeks in the baseball post-season have driven me over the edge. Bear with me.

I've never been a big fan of professional sports. For the most part it was generally due to a lack of interest, much the same way as poetry holds no interest for me. And yet, there was one soft spot: baseball. I grew up in New York, and I was a Yankee fan long before Bucky Dent whalloped one of the Green Monster. I knew all the teams, all the players. I watched every Yankee game, every All-Star game, every World Series (whether the Yankees were in it or not). Nowadays I don't even think to check the scores until the morning after the All-Star Game (which I never remember is on) or during the playoffs, IF the Yanks are in it, and even then, it's just a cursory glance. What happened in the intervening years to make me go from a baseball fan to hating sports? I'll tell you.

My analysis will center around baseball and those experiences I have had with other sports. The examples provided are given because they come quickly to mind, rather than because they are the "prime" example or because I want to diss a particular person or group. I'm quite certain there are other examples for every one I provide. That just proves my point.

Why I hate professional sports:

The Players.  I don't know about you, but I'm sick of professional athletes. There used to be a time when these guys could be looked up to and idolized. My childhood hero was Mickey Rivers (CF for the Yanks in the 70's). SOB had the wildest batting pose and could run as though his ass were on fire. I still remember him doing an inside-the-park home run. Unreal. Anyway, back then the players were, at least on camera, role models for kids. Fights were rare, and it was very common to see the players come out of the dugouts before games and between innings to sign baseballs and such for the fans. There was no talk of money, or contracts or ego., certainly not like today.

Nowadays these assholes are paid MILLIONS to show up and play a damned GAME. They treat fans who want autographs as niusances, and seem to revel in a bad-boy image. Baseball is full of dopers, football is full of rapists, and Basketball looks like a bunch of homies from the 'hood decided to drop their gang colors for an hour and throw down on the court. Is THAT the image we want to give kids today?

Fights were comparitavely rare back then. Nowadays it's commonplace. A hockey game is deemed unusual if at least one fight doesn't break out every 5 minutes. Don't like that the last batter you faced belted a grand slam of you? THROW AT THE HEAD OF THE NEXT GUY. And of course both teams have to get into it. It's not bad enough that two grown men are acting in a manner that they'd smack their children for acting in in little league. Oh, no, bothe TEAMS have to get into the act and show the fans what sportsmanship is all about.

Then they whine. "We don't get paid enough". "The owners don't respect us". etc. HEY, BUDDY! STFU and PLAY! THAT'S what you're being paid more than any ten of the people in the stands COMBINED to do! Strike? STRIKE? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? For what? ANOTHER million dollars so you can act like a hoodlum and throw the ball around? PLEASE! Get off it.

I hate fights in sports. Wanna watch a fight? Go to a boxing match. Otherwise, I expect to see BASEBALL, not ThrowDownJamRumble 2004 IV. Remember when George Brett came thundering out of the dugout after the infamous pine-tar  incident? SOB should have been charged with assault. That pitcher who threw at the batter? Assault. If it works on the streets, it should bloody well work on the diamond, or on the ice, or on the court, and it sends a message to these prima donna's to not take themselves so seriously, and to society that the rules apply to everyone.

Not to be left unmentioned:

The Owners. Yeah, you guys! The ones who think it's OK to pay the other schlubs $5 million per year to throw a ball around because you're going to SCREW those fans of yours. Remember when you could get into a ball game for about $10? I do, and I'm not all that old. Nowadays it'll cost you $30 and up per person. God forbid you complain, though, because then it's the player's fault. Yep. And don't you dare complain about a $5 hot dog so small you could fuck a virgin with it and she'd still be a virgin afterwards. The owner has to make his own $50 million dollar bonus, you see...

I tused to be that a team was a source of pride for the community. Not anymore. Now it's just a cash machine. Even the names of stadiums and arenas are sold to the highest bidder, as if renaming the Miami Arena the American Airlines Arena is going to convince anyone thet American is better than, say, JetBlue. MONEY, MONEY, MONEY...

Now don't get me wrong. Sports is a business and everyone deserves to make a living. But they seem to have lost track of the fact that it's a GAME, and that the people who are hurt the worst when all these millions start piling up are the same people who can no longer come to the games because the prices are too high! Maybe if you stopped concentrating on making a quick buck instead of taking care of your customers (the fans), you wouldn't have to worry so much about money because they'd come for a good time.

Continued...

Oh, yeah.... No discussion would be complete without addressing...

The fans. Yes YOU. All you nassholes, some of whom are on this board, who seem to think the team of your choice actually gives a damn about you. Those of you who lose sight of the fact that it's a game. Those who don't seem to be able to tell the difference between a FAN and a FANATIC. Examples? PLENTY of them.

Yankee fans didn't like the call, so they throw garbage on the field. WOO-HOO! That'll show 'em. Red Sox fans who decide to celebrate a victory, a VICTORY, mind you, by RIOTING. It used to be that when a team won the penant, the city government had to get busy planning the ticker-tape parade. Now they have to send out the JBT's and rack up a BODY COUNT, for heaven's sake!

Think it stops there? GUESS AGAIN! I remember the Bucky Dent home run. You know why we Yankees were so thrilled when he belted it? Because two pitches earlier the Boston fans were LAUGHING at the fact he had fouled a pitch off his injured leg and was in obvious pain. Is THAT what we've come to? We CHEER when a player on the other team gets HURT? I remember similar comments on my side during some of the games I attended. "Yeah! BREAK HIS LEG!" "I HOPE YOU DIE, YOU BASTARD!" This is what being a fan is?

God forbid you wear the colors of your team to an away game, because you most likely won't make it out of the stadium or arena without being insulted or even assaulted. Hell, if you dare to speak out, as I have, on the merits of the OPPOSING TEAM, YOUR OWN FANS attack YOU! I mentioned to my sister (a die-hard Yankee fan) that the Sox DESERVED to win because they had played a masterful game for EIGHT GAMES. Her response? "They didn't deserve a damned thing. They just did it!" IS THERE A DIFFERENCE?

This morning on the radio was the story of some Sox fan who works (worked, now) as a bellboy at a swank little resort near here. A couple from New York was on their honeymoon. So thi dork gets bombed, starts banging on their door and screaming "Yankees Suck!", until the POLICE had to be called in. Is this what being a fan is all about?

Moving on:

The Commisioners The asshats that have driven good sports into the ground. THEY authorized all the stadium name changes, but won't allow a football player to wear a dedication to Tillman because it violates uniform regs. Of course, if Coca-Cola offers $10,000 per uniform per game, you can BET they'll get an approval. These are also the clowns who DON'T hold up standards of conduct among the players OR the owners. To them, it's MONEY, MONEY, MONEY, too. Hey! Let's make a killing! Let's make the pennant race best of seven rather than five! More money! Pretty soon the WS will be best of 9. Oh! He broke that other player's jaw? 2 game suspension. Oh! he described New York ACCURATELY! TO THE LIONS with him!

One more rant to come...

Zap, Well said.I think GREED, ARROGANCE and BAD ATTITUDES have almost, but not entirely ruined most sports for me. The only games I attend now are the minor league baseball and hockey games. Cheaper and just as fun, but without the big names.

Seems to me that somebody's sore because the Yankees blew it bigtime.

I stopped caring; stopped paying to go to any of this garbage quite some time ago.

+1000

Zaphod -

I couldn't agree more.  You nailed it.

But don't forget the cities who waste tens and hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to build stadiums so the players and owners can make their millions.

Finally, there's the reflections of our society.

It used to be that the National Anthem played loud and clear ON TV before baseball games. The teams would line the 1st and 3rd base lines, caps over hearts, and lead the crowd in singing. Nowadays, you'r lucky if they put it on TV; we can sell commercials, you see. Patriotism is so blase.

There was pagentry. Each player being called out to the thunderous applause of the crowd. Nowadays? PLAY BALL! Our sponsers want their ads played!

It was very common to see the color guard of the local Knights of Columbus, or Marine Reserve, or local military academy, etc., to proudly march the colors onto the field. The singers of the national anthem sang the NATIONAL ANTHEM. They did it with pride. I wish I could remember the name of the guy who sang in Yankee Stadium, but he would bring the house down. Somewhere along the line we got Rosanne grabbing her crotch, and now we have "singers" who seem to think it's okay if they change the anthem to be more "hip". Or, we just do away with it because some decrepit scumbag lawyer sued because his illiterate client was offended.

When the hell did umpires get back together to discuss and reverse calls? This playoff, A-Rod smacks the ball from the pitcher's glove. A blatant violation. The umpire at the base didn't see it and called safe. Out comes Boston's manager to play lawyer. The umpires get together and REVERSE the call. Out come Joe Torry to play lawyer (meanwhile, the fans show their class by chucking shit onto the field, as if THAT'S going to help). A-Rod comes out and shows what a lying sack of shit he is. THERE'S a role model for you! Meanwhile the umpires get together AGAIN!

In the old days it was "Safe. Get over it. Play ball." Same crap happens in football with the instant replay. Tell you what, folks, LIFE ISN'T FAIR. GET OVER IT! I hate the second-guessing, and I don't buy the "Oh, but we're looking for the truth!" argument. This is a game. Some calls will go your way and some won't. DEAL WITH IT. That's what you're being paid MILLIONS to do.

Back to the fans and players for a minute. Yankee fans violently throw garbage onto the field. Boston fans riot. Same could be said all across the country. Funny thing, that, because MOST OF THESE ASSHOLES WILL BE VOTING FOR KERRY ON TUESDAY BECAUSE THEY THINK W IS A WARMONGER! But it's OK to riot when your team WON.

WTF are we becoming? Europe with soccer?"

So, in conclusion, professional sports suck. They are supposed to bring out the best in people and instead now bring out the worst. Good-natured ribbing here is followed by "Don't whine" or "<fill in the blan> fans are all pricks" or other enlightened comments. Does anyone here seriously believe (and I'll just pull an name from the air here) that I think any less of Garandman because he's a Red Sox fan? Sorry, but I'm not that shallow. Some people apparently are. If that's what professional sports generates, then no thanks.

Well, I'm tired of typing, and I'm pooped. Take it or leave it, but I think pro sports have been ruined by people who take themselves too seriously. Lighten up, folks. It's just a fucking game, and no matter if your team won or lost, we're ALL still at war. Get your priorities straight.

God bless.

Oh, and officially and for the record:

I CONGRATULATE the Boston Red Sox on an inspiring victory. YOU DESERVE IT. I am ESPECIALLY happy for the fans who stuck with their team through thick and thin. Enjoy your championship! It is well-earned!


Until next year, when we'll take it back!



Now, be honest. How many Yankee fans are willing to say that? How many Red Sox fans would have said the same to us had we completed the sweep? If your answer is "Not me!", then you need to GROW UP.

I agree.. It's a fucking game comprised MOSTLY of ass holes that don't give a shit about the fans. So, if you're a fan, why get your ass kicked or go to jail over trivial shit like sports?

professional sports is big business, first and last.   You'll have enrons in P. S., and generally they will reflect the society they are in.    I can't stand any of them, except soccer and maybe ice hockey.     I've never attended a pro soccer or ice hockey game, but i figure they would be fun.    I can't stand professional football or basketball, esp basketball.    Lets glorify the biggest dumbest black guys we can find.

I think Ice Hockey would be one of my favorite sports if only the Commissioner would clamp down on  the brawling.

Also, if I take my kids to see a game, I took them to see a GAME, not to show them behavior that they'd be punished for if they did it at school.

If I were the commissioner of Ice Hockey, I'd put the word out loud and clear: Anyone starts a brawl on the ice, and not only will I instantly terminate your contract, but you'll be banned from the game for life and turned over to the police for assault.

The point is to use TEAMWORK to get th PUCK in the NET. NOT to beat the shit out os your opponent over some perceived slight.

Quoted: I've been wanting to write about this for some time, and some of the things I've seen during the past few weeks in the baseball post-season have driven me over the edge. Bear with me. I've never been a big fan of professional sports. For the most part it was generally due to a lack of interest, much the same way as poetry holds no interest for me. And yet, there was one soft spot: baseball. I grew up in New York, and I was a Yankee fan long before Bucky Dent whalloped one of the Green Monster. I knew all the teams, all the players. I watched every Yankee game, every All-Star game, every World Series (whether the Yankees were in it or not). Nowadays I don't even think to check the scores until the morning after the All-Star Game (which I never remember is on) or during the playoffs, IF the Yanks are in it, and even then, it's just a cursory glance. What happened in the intervening years to make me go from a baseball fan to hating sports? I'll tell you. My analysis will center around baseball and those experiences I have had with other sports. The examples provided are given because they come quickly to mind, rather than because they are the "prime" example or because I want to diss a particular person or group. I'm quite certain there are other examples for every one I provide. That just proves my point. Why I hate professional sports: The Players.  I don't know about you, but I'm sick of professional athletes. There used to be a time when these guys could be looked up to and idolized. My childhood hero was Mickey Rivers (CF for the Yanks in the 70's). SOB had the wildest batting pose and could run as though his ass were on fire. I still remember him doing an inside-the-park home run. Unreal. Anyway, back then the players were, at least on camera, role models for kids. Fights were rare, and it was very common to see the players come out of the dugouts before games and between innings to sign baseballs and such for the fans. There was no talk of money, or contracts or ego., certainly not like today. Nowadays these assholes are paid MILLIONS to show up and play a damned GAME. They treat fans who want autographs as niusances, and seem to revel in a bad-boy image. Baseball is full of dopers, football is full of rapists, and Basketball looks like a bunch of homies from the 'hood decided to drop their gang colors for an hour and throw down on the court. Is THAT the image we want to give kids today? Fights were comparitavely rare back then. Nowadays it's commonplace. A hockey game is deemed unusual if at least one fight doesn't break out every 5 minutes. Don't like that the last batter you faced belted a grand slam of you? THROW AT THE HEAD OF THE NEXT GUY. And of course both teams have to get into it. It's not bad enough that two grown men are acting in a manner that they'd smack their children for acting in in little league. Oh, no, bothe TEAMS have to get into the act and show the fans what sportsmanship is all about. Then they whine. "We don't get paid enough". "The owners don't respect us". etc. HEY, BUDDY! STFU and PLAY! THAT'S what you're being paid more than any ten of the people in the stands COMBINED to do! Strike? STRIKE? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? For what? ANOTHER million dollars so you can act like a hoodlum and throw the ball around? PLEASE! Get off it. I hate fights in sports. Wanna watch a fight? Go to a boxing match. Otherwise, I expect to see BASEBALL, not ThrowDownJamRumble 2004 IV. Remember when George Brett came thundering out of the dugout after the infamous pine-tar  incident? SOB should have been charged with assault. That pitcher who threw at the batter? Assault. If it works on the streets, it should bloody well work on the diamond, or on the ice, or on the court, and it sends a message to these prima donna's to not take themselves so seriously, and to society that the rules apply to everyone. Not to be left unmentioned: The Owners. Yeah, you guys! The ones who think it's OK to pay the other schlubs $5 million per year to throw a ball around because you're going to SCREW those fans of yours. Remember when you could get into a ball game for about $10? I do, and I'm not all that old. Nowadays it'll cost you $30 and up per person. God forbid you complain, though, because then it's the player's fault. Yep. And don't you dare complain about a $5 hot dog so small you could fuck a virgin with it and she'd still be a virgin afterwards. The owner has to make his own $50 million dollar bonus, you see... I tused to be that a team was a source of pride for the community. Not anymore. Now it's just a cash machine. Even the names of stadiums and arenas are sold to the highest bidder, as if renaming the Miami Arena the American Airlines Arena is going to convince anyone thet American is better than, say, JetBlue. MONEY, MONEY, MONEY... Now don't get me wrong. Sports is a business and everyone deserves to make a living. But they seem to have lost track of the fact that it's a GAME, and that the people who are hurt the worst when all these millions start piling up are the same people who can no longer come to the games because the prices are too high! Maybe if you stopped concentrating on making a quick buck instead of taking care of your customers (the fans), you wouldn't have to worry so much about money because they'd come for a good time. Continued...

Not to mention the PRICES:

White Sox: $80 to get in, $3.75 for pop, $10 for food, $50 for souveniers.

And the OVERALL EXPERIENCE:

Fellow "fans" drunk and disorderly, long lines just to go to the lavatory, insanity everywhere.

All the more reason for minor-leagues.  The players are regular Joes, the prices are right and its FUN

There are wise folk whom make money off of the less fortunate in every facet of life Sports offers a large market!

I think that pro sports are stupid also. Who pays big bucks to watch a guy run around indoors with a ball? Its foolish.

some Sox fan who works (worked, now) as a bellboy at a swank little resort near here. A couple from New York was on their honeymoon. So thi dork gets bombed, starts banging on their door and screaming "Yankees Suck!", until the POLICE had to be called in. Is this what being a fan is all about?

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!


Uhm, no. But its damn funny!

the National Anthem pisses me of more than any thing.  steven tyler needs to learn the fu(king words

The only sports I watch are high school.  Partially from teaching at a high school and partially from just liking the kids I know play a game they enjoy.

Quoted: some Sox fan who works (worked, now) as a bellboy at a swank little resort near here. A couple from New York was on their honeymoon. So thi dork gets bombed, starts banging on their door and screaming "Yankees Suck!", until the POLICE had to be called in. Is this what being a fan is all about? BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!! Uhm, no. But its damn funny!

I'm sorry, captain, but I don't find it funny at all, and I would feel exactly the same way if he were a Yankee fan. If the guy had come out and BEAT his ass, I would have found it justiied.

No outcome of a GAME entitles you to ruin the vacation of another person, ESPECIALLY when you are an EMPLOYEE of the place where the people have come to spend their time.

Bla bla bla, whine whine whine.

nascar is all that is left

college sports is not far behind

Quoted: Bla bla bla, whine whine whine.

I rest my case.....

Quoted: I think Ice Hockey would be one of my favorite sports if only the Commissioner would clamp down on  the brawling. Also, if I take my kids to see a game, I took them to see a GAME, not to show them behavior that they'd be punished for if they did it at school. If I were the commissioner of Ice Hockey, I'd put the word out loud and clear: Anyone starts a brawl on the ice, and not only will I instantly terminate your contract, but you'll be banned from the game for life and turned over to the police for assault. The point is to use TEAMWORK to get th PUCK in the NET. NOT to beat the shit out os your opponent over some perceived slight.

There is not that much fighting anymore and actually the lack of it has resulted in the game we see to day.  Clutching, holding, high sticking due to carelessness are the plague of Hockey right now.  Basically a Hockey game more boring than Baseball or watching paint dry.

Back when Gretzky was playing, no one dared clutch/grab or cheapshot him, if they did they got their asses handed to them.   So the game remained fast and you got to see the stars excel at what they do, now days no talent goons just hold/grab/slash the star players because there are NO Repercussions.  Shit, slash or high stick Gordie Howe back in the day, you would be picking teeth off the ice or you would be unconscous in the corners from crushing check.

Plus fighting back in the day was between two willing combatants usually each teams "Enforcer".  The Star players were usually never involved (they get payed to score not drop the gloves).  There were a few exceptions like Gordie Howe who was an ornery SOB on the ice hence the term "Gordie Howe Hat trick" - A goal, a assist, a fight.

If you want real comedy, you should find the clip of Wayne Gretzky's one and only fight.  Poor Wayne couldn't fight his way out of a wet paper bag, his opponent didn't even have the heart to clobber him.

Sorry, but I'm not buying. You can check and be aggressive all you want. That's part of the game, but it gives you ZERO excuse to FIGHT.

Don't like the roughness of the sport? DON'T PLAY IT, but keep the gloves on and be professional. That's what you're being paid (HANDSOMELY) for.


ETA: Football is pretty damned rough-and-tumble (literally), and they don't fight (much). Why should hockey be special?

Millionaire illiterate ghetto denizons being overpaid to play a schoolyard game for drunken TV and local fans.

Whether it is African Tree Hockey, Full Contact Croquet, or any other big team sport, I have no interest if it is played with a fucking BALL.

Bread and circuses, people, bread and circuses.

Zaphod

It's not just professional sports anymore, it's everything these days.

Sad but true, the same things could be said about many facets of our

society right now. Look at this election.

GM

Ever since professional sports didn't include gladiators and death defying chariot races, I've lost my interest in them.

Quoted: Millionaire illiterate ghetto denizons being overpaid to play a schoolyard game for drunken TV and local fans. Whether it is African Tree Hockey, Full Contact Croquet, or any other big team sport, I have no interest if it is played with a fucking BALL. Bread and circuses, people, bread and circuses.

BAHAHAHAHA!

Oh! That's GREAT!

Quoted: Zaphod It's not just professional sports anymore, it's everything these days. Sad but true, the same things could be said about many facets of our society right now. Look at this election. GM

Oh, I hear ya....

However, I recognize that politics at least has high stakes.

The Sox won last night. Is Osama in custody? Is the war over? Is the budget balanced?

Would the answers change if the Cardinals had won?

See?

Its because Hockey has sticks.  Fights usually keep each team honest in regards to cheap shots, careless high sticking, and other on ice infractions.

Goons today like to use the sticks to whack other players across the hands, arms, legs resulting in broken bones of talented star players.  The goon mostly just gets a few minutes in the penalty box while your teams star player has to sit out a few damn months healing.  I am a die hard Red Wings fan, one of our young star players was hacked across the ankle with a stick, we lost him for 2 months, the goon got a ONE GAME suspension.  12 years ago, the same goon probably never cheap shoted our player as he would have had a "talk" with Joey Kocur's fist.  Trust me, no one in the NHL wanted any part of Joey Kocur and his right hand aka "The Jackhammer" which knocked people FLAT OUT.  

Also for note, when teams get into the playoffs, there is rarely any fights.  The reason is simple, most goons can't score and have little talent also its hard to score when your in penalty box and your team is a man short.

I primarily watch motorsports (and I don't mean NASCRAP)...I gave up for the most part on the stick and ball sports years ago...

Bread and circuses, opiate of the masses.

If people involved themselves half as much in politics (not to mention their kid's lives...) as they do in mindless entertainment then our country would be twice as strong.

Quoted: I primarily watch motorsports (and I don't mean NASCRAP)...I gave up for the most part on the stick and ball sports years ago...

I watch motorsports also. F1 is my favorite.

Quoted: Quoted: Zaphod It's not just professional sports anymore, it's everything these days. Sad but true, the same things could be said about many facets of our society right now. Look at this election. GM Oh, I hear ya.... However, I recognize that politics at least has high stakes. The Sox won last night. Is Osama in custody? Is the war over? Is the budget balanced? Would the answers change if the Cardinals had won? See?

I just used politics as one example. But it could be said that a lot of people are just
as interested in seeing their team win in politics as anything they see on the field. The
shallowness is still there.

GM

Quoted: I just used politics as one example. But it could be said that a lot of people are just as interested in seeing their team win in politics as anything they see on the field. The shallowness is still there. GM

Maybe I'm not understanding...

What I'm saying isn't that you are incorrect, but rather that I can understand a deep passion for your "team" in politics because winning in politics REALLY matters, whereas sports victories and defeats DON'T.

Am I completely missing your point?

I FEEL THE SAME.

I've become disenchanted with pro sports and lost all passion for them.

As for unsportsmanlike behavior, the penalties should be much harder to the point that an athlete would  fear risking sitting out  a string of games or a greater part of a season.  The piddly monetary fines are a joke.  If I threw a punch at a guy at work, I'd lose my job and probably have to change careers.  In a field like nuclear power generation that behavior could follow me anywhere I went and prevent me from ever stepping foot on another plant's property.

Why does it bother you so much that sports entertain people?
Professional sports are corrupt and sometimes violent.
Owners and Players do things that are stupid.
You know what,  I don’t care.

You can say that I am the problem, and people like me
Feed the system. I don't care.
I enjoy Football, Hockey, (sometimes strictly for the fights)
Baseball, Boxing etc. etc.
And MOST of America does too.
You are free to say what you want, but when you are the minority
Don’t expect the majority to fall in line behind you.

Flame away, it’s just my .02

Quoted: You are free to say what you want, but when you are the minority Don’t expect the majority to fall in line behind you.

Did I call for everyone to fall in line behind me?

If you don't agree with me, I don't care.

Of course, I know I'm right, as do several other folks here. Sometimes being in the majority is not the best thing...

Quoted: I've become disenchanted with pro sports and lost all passion for them. As for unsportsmanlike behavior, the penalties should be much harder to the point that an athlete would  fear risking sitting out  a string of games or a greater part of a season.  The piddly monetary fines are a joke.  If I threw a punch at a guy at work, I'd lose my job and probably have to change careers.  In a field like nuclear power generation that behavior could follow me anywhere I went and prevent me from ever stepping foot on another plant's property.

Good point. Most of us, if we threw a punch on the job the way they do in sports, we'd be fired instantly, and have a damm hard time finding another decent job. If one of us had a conviction for rape, assault, or theft on our records, we'd have a damm hard time getting any halfway decent job. But the "professional" sports teams don't care, even though their players are supposed to be role models.

Here in Gainesville, seems like every year, a couple of people get killed in mini-fights and riots during and after the big rivalry games. WTF? It's just a game, people! Get a grip!

As optimistic as I generally am, stuff like this makes me wonder where we're heading sometimes.

Gordie Howe hattrick!!I love it!!!!I too am a huge Wings, and Gordie Howe fan. Met him several times.  The last being on his 65TH birthday fundraiser when he signed a brick I snagged from the Olympia when they were tearing it down. He laughed, knew exactly where the brick was from, and said he was promised the penalty clock. He got on the ice with us and skated for awhile. This was a few years ago, and he looked like he could still take on the Rocket. He was built like he should have modeled for a sculpture, and had GIANT hands. It was like shaking hands with a giant sheepskin mitt. He also signed a business card of mine which I had laminated, and carry on duty for good luck. You may know Colleen has developed Picks disease, and is in very poor health. I think the NHL was far more rough pre 68 and the expansion. The guys played the same teams many, many times over the season, and really deveoloped hatred for one another. I think the game was much rougher, but with less stick swinging and cheap shots. The helmet, and face guards enable alot of the cheap shots to the head. With little fear of injury, guys are apt to swing at the head more often..Now for the NFL....my last game was Dec 16, 2001 Browns Vs the Jags. This was the first, and last time I sat in the pound. I accepted free tix at the last minute from a friend in the pound. You may remember the game. It turned into a riot with a bad call. The fans began pelting the field with all sorts of trash including full beer bottles. Several people were injured, and it was a real mess. My last Browns game in person.....

I turned my back on professional sports entertainment years ago. I refuse to pay $50.00 for a ticket, $25.00 for parking, $5.00 for a glass of beer and $4.00 for a hotdog just so A-Rod can get his 250 million to play a schoolyard game. They've gone insane. The only way I would attend is on the rare occaision that I am innterested in the experience of seeing a live sporting event. I don't watch it on T.V.. I don't buy licensed apparel. I don't care who wins or loses. Why should I give a damn about a bunch a millionaires playing a game?
I truely pity sports fans. It sickens me to see what professional sports has become.

Quoted: Gordie Howe hattrick!!I love it!!!!I too am a huge Wings, and Gordie Howe fan. Met him several times.  The last being on his 65TH birthday fundraiser when he signed a brick I snagged from the Olympia when they were tearing it down. He laughed, knew exactly where the brick was from, and said he was promised the penalty clock. He got on the ice with us and skated for awhile. This was a few years ago, and he looked like he could still take on the Rocket. He was built like he should have modeled for a sculpture, and had GIANT hands. It was like shaking hands with a giant sheepskin mitt. He also signed a business card of mine which I had laminated, and carry on duty for good luck. You may know Colleen has developed Picks disease, and is in very poor health. I think the NHL was far more rough pre 68 and the expansion. The guys played the same teams many, many times over the season, and really deveoloped hatred for one another. I think the game was much rougher, but with less stick swinging and cheap shots. The helmet, and face guards enable alot of the cheap shots to the head. With little fear of injury, guys are apt to swing at the head more often..Now for the NFL....my last game was Dec 16, 2001 Browns Vs the Jags. This was the first, and last time I sat in the pound. I accepted free tix at the last minute from a friend in the pound. You may remember the game. It turned into a riot with a bad call. The fans began pelting the field with all sorts of trash including full beer bottles. Several people were injured, and it was a real mess. My last Browns game in person.....

Gordie is as nice as they come (off the ice unless you wear the Winged Wheel) and will always sign autographs for his fans.  Colleen from what I hear is pretty much an empty shell,  that is very sad.  

Mickey Redmond likes to explain about Gordie's era when if you where careless with your stick, you were reminded to keep it down from a painful lesson taught by Mr. Elbows.  No team in the NHL would tolerate chopping to the head we see now, it was a big no-no.  If you wanted to have a go with an opponent, it was settled man to man with each player squared up, ( Don Cherry eat your heart out).  

It was alot meaner back in the Original Six era, hell Wayne Gretzky would have had a rough time scoring. Gordie would have picked on him for sheer amusement and no enforcer in the league wanted any part of Gordie as he was the baddest MOFO on the ice.

Here is Mr. Hockey with Rocket Richard and Jean Béliveau,  ** Note: We don't need no stinken helmets

Quoted: And MOST of America does too. You are free to say what you want, but when you are the minority Don’t expect the majority to fall in line behind you. Flame away, it’s just my .02

alright, i'll light a match:
I don't know about most of america, (probably true) but it shows us who you are:   most likely someone who watches WAY to much TV, and is willing to overpay by rediculous amounts for low grade entertainment.

Yep, Gordie was the king alright. There will never be another like him. When 99 began to break his scoring records, I had to laugh. When Gordie was in his prime, the games were like 1-0, 3-2. Now teams score 7-8 goals a game. NOBODY dominated a game like #9. He could skate, shoot, stickhandle, and yes fight when needed. The first time I met him was in 1974 when he, Mark, and Marty were playing for the Aeros. I was in HS then, and chased him down in a hallway at the old Cleveland Arena. He took the time to autograph my Red Wings scrapbook, and was as nice as could be. I met him and the boys several times after that as I had a friend who's dad was the president of the Cleveland Coleseum, and I used to sneak in the locker room. The last time i met him was on his 65TH b-day tour. I wonder how he's holding up taking care of "Mrs Hockey." Life sure isn't fair......

+1x10^6

When I was a kid...we used to go to Dodger and Rams' games and have fun.  It was cheap too.  Now...I wouldn't take my family to any major league sports event to save my ass.

You nailed it Zaphod.

PS.....Look at the way people are dressed in the photo..men wearing suits, ties, and hats. Women wearing dresses and gloves!!!!hmmmmm....and we wonder why our present day fans act like animals....

Quoted: Yep, Gordie was the king alright. There will never be another like him. When 99 began to break his scoring records, I had to laugh. When Gordie was in his prime, the games were like 1-0, 3-2. Now teams score 7-8 goals a game. NOBODY dominated a game like #9. He could skate, shoot, stickhandle, and yes fight when needed. The first time I met him was in 1974 when he, Mark, and Marty were playing for the Aeros. I was in HS then, and chased him down in a hallway at the old Cleveland Arena. He took the time to autograph my Red Wings scrapbook, and was as nice as could be. I met him and the boys several times after that as I had a friend who's dad was the president of the Cleveland Coleseum, and I used to sneak in the locker room. The last time i met him was on his 65TH b-day tour. I wonder how he's holding up taking care of "Mrs Hockey." Life sure isn't fair......

Scotty Bowman was asked who would be the first player he would pick for his Hall of Fame team, he quickly replied Gordie Howe.  Scotty went on to add that Gordie was the complete package, he could play every position on the ice excluding goalie and do it like he was born at it.

Quoted: Quoted: You are free to say what you want, but when you are the minority Don’t expect the majority to fall in line behind you. Did I call for everyone to fall in line behind me? If you don't agree with me, I don't care. Of course, I know I'm right, as do several other folks here. Sometimes being in the majority is not the best thing...

Yep, you hit the Nail on the head.
You are right and I am wrong.
Elitists always are.
You focused on a problem and used it
To fit your agenda.

I am a sheep I follow society.
Our godless country has corrupted my mind.
Just like the other millions of people like me.

We don’t follow professional sports because we
Enjoy them.
We are mere sheep who wish to make gods of other men.

Please, carry on your crusade to save me from the Imperialists.
THE EVIL Empire of Sport.

We are all wrong and you are right.
How dare I challenge you on your proclamations!

Quoted: We are all wrong and you are right. How dare I challenge you on your proclamations!

Boy, I wish I had a nickle for eveytime I've heard that.