My View On Sports

Some of my earliest memories consist of going to the ballgame with my dad.  When I think about it, sports have always been a major part of my life.  There was almost always a baseball game on TV in the summer.  The fall and winter brought football.  It was early in life that I learned to love my favorite teams.  As I get older, I am noticing that my hobbies and past times are changing.  I am much more into reading than I ever was.  I also love games more than I ever have before.  Not just video games.  Board games, card games like Magic the Gathering.  So, sports have been slowly becoming less and less a part of my life.  Finding out a horrible truth about a football program I loved dearly has been making me think hard the past few days about sports and how they effect my life.

I was born to love Penn State.  I remember seeing how fired up my dad would get at Joe Paterno about this call or that play.  My dad's been a die-hard fan since the early 70's.  I too have learned to love the program.  The undefeated season with Kerry Collins and Ki-Jana Carter cemented my love for the team.  Hell, I even got the Penn State logo tattooed on my right leg in 2000 to show support for them during their four year rough patch. (In my defense, I just really wanted a tattoo at the time.  But, I wasn't creative whatsoever when it came to ideas for what I wanted.  I thought why not Penn State.)  Finding out that child abuse was swept under the rug was a complete and total shock.  There are many Penn State fans who brag ad nauseum about the integrity of the school.  Too the point it makes me sick quite frankly.  I was never that kind of fan.  I loved Penn State football, but I'm a firm believer that every single person, family, and major business all have their demons and skeletons in the closet.  If you investigated everyone on Earth, you would find something horrible.  But despite that belief, it felt like a punch in the face to find out the football program I love was involved in this scandal.  It felt more like a kick in the balls to find out that Paterno and McQuery could have done more.   McQuery is a flat out pussy.  To not stop someone in the act of abusing a 10 year old child is awful.  I feel bad for Paterno.  He did go to the athletic director about the news.  Yes, he legally did what he was supposed to.  But I would have thought the he'd at least check up on things, see that nothing was being done, and taken a little more action.  I gotta say that I'm disappointed.  The only thing I have to say is that who knows what the real reason was.  We all would like to think that we'd immediately play the hero in that situation.  But sit and truly think hard about the situation.  One of your assistants came to you and told you they saw child abuse.  This person happens to be a friend and co-worker of over three decades.  He's a man you love and admire.  Do you honestly think you'd be able to jump immediately in your car, and report what you heard to authorities?  Honestly? I would be crushed and devastated.  I honestly don't know what I would do in that situation.  I hope to hell I never get put into a situation like that.  And before you scream and yell at me,  I'm NOT defending Paterno in any way.  I'm simply just stating that everyone always says that they would have immediately done the absolute right and moral thing every time in these situations.  But I believe that some of those same people who are quick to judge and call for people's heads might act a totally different way if a situation and problem of this magnitude was actually dropped on them.  Just my opinion.

So.  Where do I go from here as a sports fan?  I certainly know that college football is now dead to me.  I will never be able to enjoy it anymore simply because the team I loved will forever have this black eye.  It will never be the same, so I think the best thing is to just put that part of my life behind me.  The more I think about things, how do sports benefit me anyway?  For years I have loved, hated, felt joy, cried, etc. over sports teams and outcomes of games.  So much emotion over the years was invested, but what do I have to show for it?  What, I get to tell people that in 2005 and 2008, my favorite collection of paid athletes beat another person's favorite collection of paid athletes in the game that matters the most?  Big fucking deal! Seeing the Steelers win two Super Bowls was nice.  How does that benefit me though?  It doesn't.  I'm learning that sports is about as pointless as politics.  One side will kick and scream at the other side about why their team/party is better than yours.  They'll berate you, swear at you, call death threats and all kinds of shit.  But in the end, you're fighting over nothing you can really control.  On top of that, you're fighting over something that will not make you richer or smarter.  Being a die-hard sports fan just means that you will fight for the reason to brag at other sports fans.  Basically you're fighting for the right to be an asshole.  I don't want to be a part of that world anymore.