The Egos Have Landed

One of the big national news stories in the last couple of weeks has been about what LeBron James would do with his free agency. Whether you like pro sports, or more specifically, pro basketball, or not, you couldn't get away from this story, unless perhaps you disconnected your television, radio, and computer, didn't retrieve your newspapers, locked your doors and sealed your house up with duct tape and plastic wrap, like you were expecting an anthrax attack at any moment. It seemed that the whole fate of the nation was resting upon the decision of one egomaniac; although there turned out to be more than one egomaniac in this mix; three to be specific. During this same time period, I don't recall seeing "breaking news" or reading headlines about how tens of thousands of teachers might lose their jobs, and what this might mean to the nation's children. Even the Gulf oil spill seemed only to be on par with, or more important than, this story at times, and the spill is a financial and environmental disaster the likes of which we have never before seen. It just seems to me that somewhere along the line quite a number of years ago, this country lost its bearings about what really is important in life.
Now I more than realize the human need to escape some of the realities of life and enjoy some entertainment, and that's what professional sports is, entertainment. Like just about everything about us humans, some people get carried away and let their love of particular teams or players virtually take over their lives, like an addict on heroin. They lose perspective. Virtually their whole life is consumed by this very unimportant stuff.* I can write this, because I was one of those people. I can happily say, "I kicked the habit!" Ah, I mean of sports teams... ah... not that I ever had a heroin addiction. Somehow I think I could have worded all of this better.
Sports teams and players (especially so called "superstars") market their tickets, shirts, caps, keychains, and just about anything else they can sell to an addicted part of the public that has lost all sense of the perspective I just mentioned above. Many folks unwittingly let the teams or an individual player become such a part of their life, that it affects their very self-esteem. They can't let go. Then, in some cases, the team owner(s) or player ruthlessly tosses them to the side, as Art Modell did to the legion of diehard Cleveland Brown fans in the mid 1990s, and as LeBron James has just done to not only his fans here, but to the potential shambles of a team he leaves behind.
Those who have lost their perspective about sports need to remember one thing, this is all about money and ego! It is a business, not only for the owner(s), but for each individual player. When Modell moved the Browns out of town, something this town has never recovered from, in my opinion, now retired Plain Dealer columnist, Dick Feagler, wrote a GREAT column about the event. I still have that column somewhere, but the one part of the article that EVERYONE who is hooked on, or might become hooked on, sports teams or players should keep in mind is, "never fall in love with a hooker!"
At least Art Modell sort of crept out of town, but James put it on national television!** This after a number of local business people, celebrities and politicians recorded the "love song" to him, which I'm sure many of you saw. In my opinion, and I felt this way BEFORE James' decision, they embarrassed themselves and this community with such nonsense. I'm sure some will disagree with me, and others may "now" agree with me, but the key is, did you feel that way BEFORE James threw you and Cleveland overboard? If not, you're still hooked, and you need to go to that mirror and start asking yourself some serious questions about what is really important in life.
These are links to some of my previous views on sports, for those interested:

http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2007/10/example-to-shun.html

http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2008/12/little-of-everything.html

Sorry, no "Word History" today, but next time, for sure.

* In May of 1981 I saw Cleveland Indians' pitcher, Lenny Barker, throw a perfect game against Toronto. For those unfamiliar with baseball, that means Barker faced the minimum 27 Toronto batters and retired all of them, with no batter successfully reaching base. A perfect game is certainly one of baseball's greatest achievements, but it didn't stop the Cleveland area's economic decline. It didn't provide a cure for cancer or any other potentially fatal illness. I could go one and on, but the point is, you've got to keep things in perspective.

** Readers may agree or disagree with my opinions, but I make an effort to be fair, admittedly by my own standards, so I have to make note, both Modell and James contributed to charities in town.