February 11, 2008
Are we ruining the games that we love? For many people, sports have played a huge role in their lives. Think about the things that you love about sports and why they mattered so much to you. Now are these things getting overlooked in the way sports are covered today?
Our culture has become one in which we want, need, and get information with such speed and wealth, that we have become a bit spoiled. We’ve also become a culture that is driven by shock value and “train wreck stories.” In a time when Britney Spears is on 24-hour suicide watch, 20-something actors are dying of “accidental overdoses,” it seems like the sports world is just trying to keep up. But in the process are we bringing sports down with it.
As fans, I get the feeling that we feel entitled to know everything. Most people would say that we’re responsible for paying these athletes salaries’ therefore we deserve to know everything they’re doing. Before you ask to know all the information, please be prepared to accept the findings.
The reason I mention this is because I wonder if Bud Selig regrets appointing George Mitchell to investigate the world of steroids and their relevance to the world of Major League baseball. Has the 2-year investigation and the accompanying results helped the state of baseball? Do people feel better about the sport now that there have been all these allegations of people using steroids and HGH? What was the reasoning behind fans knowing all this information? Instead of “cleaning up” the game, it seems that we’ve begun dragging the game through the mud and took the focus off the field.
We’re less than a week away from spring training and the signaling of the beginning of the season and the #1 baseball-related story is about Roger Clemens and Brian McNamee. The Mets just pulled off a major trade for the best pitcher in baseball, and it barely got a mention in the New York papers. For the past two months we have been exposed to all kinds of he said-he said accusations, a secretly recorded phone conversation, and an admission of a 6-year old collection of used syringes, vials, and bloody gauze pads. I would not be the least bit surprised to hear that they were bringing Jack Bauer in to “break” Clemens during his appearance in front of Congress. Or maybe they’ll put Clemens’ bloody gauze next to Schilling’s bloody sock at Cooperstown.
You want to talk about the NFL. After an allegation at the beginning of the year when the Patriots were said to be videotaping the Jets during a game, they went into full on “F-you” mode, beating teams by unnecessary scores and came close to orchestrating nearly the greatest season in history. What were they rewarded with? The night before the biggest games of their lives, news came out that a former assistant, now living as a golf pro in Hawaii had admitted that he videotaped the Rams prior to their super bowl match up with the Patriots in 2002. Great timing to drop a story like this, right? Other than being a distraction for the Patriots, what bearing did this information have being made known less than 24 hours prior to the sport’s showcase event? Did FOX need something else to talk about to fill their 6-plus hours of pre-game coverage?
Once again, the focus had been shifted from on the field events to off the field activities. And once again, our desire to know everything took away from our ability to fully enjoy one of sports greatest days, or at least it hung over the day enough to distract people just enough. Two days after one of the best Super Bowl’s in history and a great upset victory by the Giants (you don’t know how hard it was to write that), the news kept pouring in about this story. Another US Senator was brought in to investigate the matter further and that was where many of the stories were headed. Instead of stories about the Giants miraculous victory, we were reading about how the Patriots videotaped the Panthers before their Super Bowl as well. I’m pretty sure that both the Patriots and Bill Belichick were fined by the league and had a draft pick taken away from them. However fit or unfit you feel this punishment was, why is it necessary to involve the US government in a full-fledged investigation into this matter. Why can’t we just leave things alone?
My request to everyone is the same as I previously stated. Let’s not allow sports to be dragged down the same way the rest of our culture is. Let’s focus on the beauty of the sports. Let’s keep the focus on what happens between the lines. I want to remember Hakim Warrick soaring through the air with his ridiculously long arms extended to block Michael Lee’s potentially game-tying jump shot from the corner in the 2003 National Championship game. I want to remember Ivan Rodriguez laying on his back with the ball clenched in his fist after getting run over at the plate, securing a wild card victory against the Giants in 2003, which led to the Marlins eventually winning the world series. Do I care that he may or may not have been doing steroids at the time? Does that take away from the greatness of the moment?
Let’s leave the headlines of US Weekly to the pop culture celebrities.
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4 comments:
Good stuff Ad...well put. If I hear anything more about Clemens/McNamee I swear I'll strangle myself with Debbie Clemen's HGH infused bikini.
Interesting column and very well written. I do feel that these off the field issues and controversies are taking something away from what is happening on the field. To me, the whole idea of congress getting involved in the Patriots thing is just going overboard. There are other more serious issues and problems in this country to worry about and take care of before having to figure out whether or not a football team used cameras to steal signs. What more do they want? They got caught, they didn't deny it, the were reprimanded, now let it go. The congress wasting time on trying to figure out the extent that they cheated is obsurd. Not to mention, you would have to be extremely naive to think that most, if not all, NFL teams are doing some form of this. I was listening to an interview with Jaws and he said that even dating back to when he was playing, every team was doing some form of this. The Patriots got caught and were punished. End of story. Simple solution: put a headset in a couple defensive players helmets. I know it's a little tougher because they are substituted somewhat often as opposed to QB's. Then put them into all the LB's helmets like they do with the QB's. The fact that this story had made more headlines that the Giants ending the Patriots bid for a perfect season is a joke.
The same thing goes for the steroids saga. These issues should not be the center of attention going into Spring Training. It is certainly not good for the sport.
In my opinion, there are a couple reasons that I think these issues remain at the forefront of most sports programs. I think ultimately, people want closure. They have hear so much speculation about did he or did he not take steroids....or did they cheat in 2002 or didn't they. Instead of going into new seasons knowing exactly whats going on in their sport, they are going into them wondering who is cheating and who isn't and not knowing who to love and who to hate. I think the fans are more interested in closure and knowing the truth, whereas it is in the media's best interest to develope these stories (regardless of how valid they may really be) in order to sell more papers and make more money. Unfortunately, as long as there is media, there will be accusations and controversy, and as long as there is controversy, that will ultimately lead to these stories being bigger than the game. Unfortunate...yes, but probably inevitable.
Did you see how adament Clemens was in his affadavit? I may be a sucker but for some reason I believe him. Maybe because I idolized the guy as a kid, I give him too much credit.
Also, in reading over the Pettitte information, the media seems to be portraying the information incorrectly. Pettite says that Clemens backtracked his statement about using HGH in 2005, well before the investigation was public. So, Pettitte's statement that Clemens "talked" to him about using is based on a passing conversation from ten years ago. Seems like a lot of hearsay really...I can't remember what we spoke about last week, ten years ago?
I know your point is that this should not be the focus but it does have a major impact on the history of the game. The forum probably shouldn't be Congress but I could really see this guy McNamee becoming a huge villain within the next few weeks and Clemens be exonerated. We'll see...
Here is the problem with this whole thing. Why do we need Roger Clemens and Brian McNamee sitting in front of a bunch of congressmen answering the same questions over and over again? It's very hard to assume that none of these congressmen have agendas when questioning both of these men. Like Oak, many of these guys probably idolize Clemens and have a ridiculous amount of respect for him, while Brian McNamee is just another scumbag who sold steroids. I just walked by the TV and heard a congressman berating Brian McNamee calling him a liar and a cheat while in the same breath calling Roger Clemens "a Baseball Titan." Every one of these congressmen have a predetermined opinion on this matter, and that will severly affect their "questioning."
They will either go after Clemens or McNamee, and all either one of the are going to do is to continue to say what they've been saying. Neither one of them are just gonna be like, "you know what, I've been lying this whole time, GOT YA." This isn't a trial, no proof is going to come out of it. The purpose of a congressional hearing is to bring an issue to light and address how to handle it. If we were looking to address the issue of steroid use in sports, Andy Pettite, Kirk Radomnski, Chuck Knoblauch, and a bunch of other guys would be sitting next to them right now. I think the networks are hoping for the two of them to just take their jackets off and start swinging at each other. It's about shock value. Maybe Clemens will throw half a bat at him.
A couple years ago when McGwire, Sosa, Palmeiro, etc were sitting in those same seats, did we get any closure from that hearing? All we got was the thought that McGwire and Sosa did steroids and that Palmeiro was completely innocent. How did that turn out? Only one of those individuals have actually tested positive for steroids use. The "court of public opinion" carries about as much weight as me typing this comment.
I agree this is completely the wrong forum for this. I also think this is ruining baseball, as Jeter said this morning. And lastly, I personally could care less if Clemens admits to doing steroids. There are probably hundreds of major league baseball players who have done steroids in the last 20 years that have not mentioned in the Mitchell Report or been caught.
Can we get to pitchers and catchers yet?
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