Souring on Football

It used to be close to a second religion for me.  O.K., maybe not quite that, but there was a day when I couldn't wait to watch football on t.v.

Thursday night.  Check.

Friday night.  Check.

Saturday all day.  Check.

Sunday afternoon.  It's Cowboy's time!

Monday night.  Can't miss.

Didn't matter if I didn't really have any allegiance to the teams playing.  I got to watch the game.

The game.

Unfortunately, it's not a game anymore.  It has gone much further.  It has become an obsession driven by one thing and one thing alone: money.

Things began souring within me this past year when the NFL and player's union duked it out over???  Yep.  Money.

Millionaires versus billionaires.  In the midst of some very tough economic times, I had no sympathy.  I still have no sympathy.  I find it abhorrent that the game which built itself on the backs of blue collar folks now raises ticket prices and parking prices and concession prices to the point where those same blue collar folks can no longer watch their favorite teams in person.  Blah!

Oh, I still take a little time off to watch a quarter or two of the game on Sunday, but I don't go out of my way anymore.  If there's something else to be done, I give it priority.

Same with college football.  The game used to be about rivalries.  It used to be about tradition.  It used to be about building a program to dominance and watching it compete for a national championship every year.  Now, traditions are being thrown into the wind.  Rivalries are split as teams  head to superconferences.  Who gives a darn about the national championship when you can get television commitments and contracts worth millions.  THE DOLLAR HAS DESTROYED THE GAME!

I'm not naive.  I know that money is necessary.  I know it helps colleges out.  But it's a shame when the athletic programs outshine the schools of engineering, medicine, education, science, etc.  How many lives has a damn football game saved?  Compare that to one graduate of the school of medicine.  How many roads has a football game constructed to get people to their jobs?  How many children has a football game cared for and taught the basics of life?  Zip.  Nada.  Nil.

And yet, colleges and universities spend more and more money on their athletic programs...more and more money on the salaries of their coaches...more and more money on some insanely designed and crafted uniforms.  While tuition continues to skyrocket for those students who will truly make a difference in the world around us.

It's a shame, really.  I love football.  I'm sure one of these days, I will be rooting for my son as he plays.  I'll enjoy the game, but there will still be a little bit of a sour taste in my mouth.