If there's something I don't understand about Americans, it's our idolization of professional athletes. It seems like whenever I log onto Facebook and check out some of my friend's profiles, all I see are pictures of them sporting signs that say, "Mauer is my man!" or "I'll be the beauty and Jared Allen can be my beast!" I don't even have to watch a game to know how it's going- I can just go to my homepage and look over the latest status updates that show up.
I understand that when someone is really good at what they do, they will make our teams win, and we like that. What I don't understand is how we can pay them millions and millions of dollars to do it. Yes, we live in a culture where people are paid according to how well they do their job. No, we do not have a stable economy and such a low poverty rate that we can justify giving ONE PERSON that much money.
Take Joe Mauer, for instance. I hate to pick on him, because I know he's some heartthrob and hometown hero, but last winter the guy signed an eight-year contract worth $184 MILLION DOLLARS. And let's not even start on his McDonald's cups or Kemps commercials. Mauer has become the face of Minnesota, and while it's not a bad face to look at, I don't think it's a $184 million dollar face (no offense, man).
I just don't understand how we can justify the amount of money we spend on professional sports in the U.S. Besides building new stadiums and signing outrageously extravagant contracts, we also spend tons to watch the sports. We buy season tickets and jerseys, and we sign up for TiVo in case we miss the game (God forbid). We throw parties with our friends, and pay tons of money to go to meet-and-greets. What I blogged earlier about celebrity couples is also true here- they are just people. Yes, they are really, really good at what they do, but who is walking around with 'Bill Gates' on the back of a jersey? Yes, they are doing good things for our self-esteem and group identity, but I, for one, think the All-State guy deserves a little more credit than we're giving him.
I love professional sports, don't get me wrong. I may not be one of the girls arguing with her roommates about the pros and cons of Favre, but I appreciate a good "what-used-to-be-a-Dome-Dog" all the same. I just don't think that because I want to watch a good game on a Sunday afternoon means that Adrian Peterson should get $40.5 million dollars for it.
My friend Linda is distant cousins with Joe Mauer, just saying. This post seems to be more about individual players (and I totally agree that they should not be payed millions of dollars for what they do) but do you feel the same for people's love for professional sports in general? I think professional sports are legitamate, in that they bring people together, provide that team mentality and are enjoyable to watch.
ReplyDeleteYet, I even find myself somewhat idolizing professional athelets. For example, Jamie Langenbrunner (Last Olympic hockey team captain, and Stanley Cup winnner) is from my hometown and I get so excited and kind of proud telling that to people that know him. It makes me feel special by association, really...
I also don't understand why professional athletes get paid as much as they do. I agree that they are obviously good at what they do, but so are a lot of people, and they aren't getting seven-digit paychecks.
ReplyDeleteBut I guess I've never been much of one for professional sports anyway. I'd rather play a pick-up game of something before sitting in front of a TV for hours every night. But that's just me.
I, for one, haven't been too burdened by this sporting obsession. I tend to turn the other direction whenever sports are brought up. Mostly, this is because I have nothing to add.
ReplyDeleteI am very surprised that Luke hasn't commented on this yet. I'm interested to see what he has to say knowing that he is far more intelligible on the issue.