the ugly, the bad and the good

i should have known when i slammed my own finger in the sliding glass door at 6:15 this morning that it was going to be a really really long day......unfortunately, i think i blocked it out because it actually hurt enough to make my eyes water....AWESOME good morning to me present.  and it just never got better....although it had real potential.

by now you all know about my love for and slight obsession with sports.  its a vital and integral part of my entire family's personality.  and for the most part, sports are a true joy, in all senses of the word.  HOWEVER, today was a glaring example of what i feel are the worst trends in sports today......let me apologize in advance for the rant.

Affirmation without discipline is the beginning of delusion. Jim Rohn

today was the first day of fall lacrosse.  i really wont go into too many specifics, but suffice it to say within the first 6 minutes of the "varsity" game today, ONE SINGLE PLAYER was given 3 penalties for slashing and called the ref an "old fucking geezer" IN FRONT OF THE SIDELINE FULL OF PARENTS!  he went on to threaten to take out jakes other knee, jab a defender in the stomach, and slash another player so hard he may have broken his thumb through the gloves.  he made extremely derogatory remarks, again in front of the parents, about the team, the school they represented and individual players.  you want to know the best part?  his coaches (who were admittedly young) HIGH FIVED him every time he came off the field.  oh and he has a scholarship to play D1 lacrosse already.  so this SHINING EXAMPLE of class and sportsmanship will be the recipient of a free education, when what he really deserves at the very least is a good swift kick in the ass.  and dont get me started on his parents.  WHERE do these kids get such a sense of entitlement??  lets see - they are recruited as sophomores, and taught that because they "excel" at a sport, they no longer have to be decent people.  they are ABOVE the rest of the crowd.  they get special treatments and their coaches and parents make special allowances for them....again, all because they can play a game better than their peers.  THIS is whats wrong with our society today.  that kids parents should not only have to pay for his education - he should have to START OVER - because clearly the only lesson we are really taught in kindergarten (you know - the golden rule) never really sank in for him.

and then there is dematha.....the highly touted CATHOLIC high school renowned for their sports.  they travelled out of state for a football game and at least 5 of their players HIRED PROSTITUTES and snuck them into their hotel room after last bed check.  im not even sure WHERE to start with that except to say what kind of high school kids think not only that its OKAY to higher hookers, but that they wont be caught???  the best part?  the  PARENT of one of the kids in trouble was PISSED because the CHAPERONES weren't doing their jobs...... the chaperones????  how about the PARENTS???  it truly worries me that we are creating a generation of kids who truly believe that ALL BAD BEHAVIOR will be excused for those who are superior athletes.....and why wouldnt they?  we revere our athletes and scorn our teachers.  we excuse our children rather than discipline them.  its truly truly frightening.

 "Do you know what my favorite part of the game is? The opportunity to play."  Mike Singletary
jump ahead a few hours and now its MY turn.  we are in the playoffs for our softball league.  and when i say the FANS at this game tonight were obnoxious, i mean if i had an uzi they'd all be dead obnoxious.  i'm used to a certain amount of heckling...which in and of itself is RIDICULOUS in an adult softball league (but that's another stupid story).  but today was really beyond even my cynical imagining.  and i guess after the jackass kids performance in the morning, i was just out of any kind of patience.  i dont understand when sports STOPPED being about just playing the game, and became a venue for "us against them".  it was truly hateful.  and its supposed to be FUN!!!  if you are paying me to play, then i GUESS to some degree handling the bullshit craziness of the fans is a part of the JOB....but this is supposed to be RELAXING for those of us out there playing for reasons other than cash......love of the game, even!  i just want to know when sports became the end all be all in how we judge our kids and each other.  if you need to yell, try to scare and intimidate, and generally make a scene in order for your team to win, then seriously you should stop playing.  or coaching.  or spectating.  because clearly you have lost any and all perspective you have on what is important in life.....if you ever even knew in the first place.

the flip side of all of this horrible behavior?? all of the amazing examples of great sports, great games, amazing kids who do their level best to set a good example - as athletes and as people.  you have the guys who participate in a homerun derby for the wounded warrior project, and who are honored by the presence of those soldiers.  you have the kids who show up at the football game sporting painted chests, just to be there for their friends.  you have the hundreds of over35 players who showed up to play this weekend, just so freakin happy to still be playing!  and then you have the 200 people who showed up at the youth lacrosse day today - to try the sport for the first time, or help out, or support their kids.  it truly made me wonder when the slippery slope starts its slide.....these kids today were just happy to be there.  for the most part.  i'm pretty sure that one or two of the older ones have already started hearing that they are better than this.  that they deserve more.  that they should go play someplace better.  because its no longer about the love of the game. its about us vs them.  and its a damn shame. 

i wish there was a way to bottle good sportsmanship.  i wish there was a rational way to explain to my 17 year old that being a good person and a great student will result in him having student loans,  while a derelict with a great lax shot will have his choice of higher education. not that the education will do him any good.  i know part of the lesson is always that life isnt fair.  but at what point will we start to say enough is enough?  it IS more important that you at least attempt to be a good person.  that you excel in SCHOOL.  that you treat others with respect. 

i am so DISAPPOINTED today.  i really feel like today was a tipping point for me....where i'm really really close to losing all respect for and hope in sports as an institution.  where i have always believed you learned so many great life lessons on the field, for the first time i also feel like now kids are being taught so many detrimental lessons.  and that my friends is how i know i am officially an old fucking geezer.