The Sporting Public

     I do not like what the ranks of professional sports have become.  As a child, I was drawn toward the excitement that watching sports would bring.  I lived and mostly died with the Cavs, Indians, and Browns growing up. My past is linked to what those teams did at different points in my life.

     

     As I have entered fatherhood, I have begun to see things differently.  Now I am more concerned with who owns the teams and how they made their money.  I wonder how sports owners are able to extort one-sided deals with the cities the claim to represent. The general public is forced to finance the stadium and own the stadium, but lease it out to the owner for very little.  As an example, the city of Cleveland owns Cleveland Browns Stadium, but is only permitted to use to on select days of the year.  I wonder how the communities involved keep getting snookered into building these extravagant stadiums that are used just a few times a year.  

     Education in Ohio is so incredibly underfunded, but all the stadiums are first rate.  Why can't Ohioans have a first rate education instead.  If more of us did, I can tell you one thing, the sporting public would not be gullible enough to pay for a stadium that so few actually use.  Imagine if just a portion of the "sin-tax" monies were put toward the development of the lakefront.  Lake Erie is the real asset that needs our support and not a sports franchise.  We give these teams all the love we can, but it is not reciprocal.  

     I am 32 years old and have spent an ungodly amount of time devoted to reading about and watching all sports.  It is quite the diversion from ordinary life.  To watch sports is to escape into another world; one that lives or dies by a made basket, a touchdown, or crossing home plate.  When reality sets in again, one is no further along than before the game began.  It is just a respite until life awakens.

     Taking stock of my life now, I do not know what role watching sports will play the rest of the way.  I do not know any of the players.  I sure don't know the owner.  I cannot relate to them and will never share a beverage with any of them.  I guess they represent the city of Cleveland, just not as much as they represent themselves.  

     It is a new day and my aim is to fill it with new and exciting experiences.  Watching the professionals does not hold the same spot in my heart that it seemed to for years.  Everything about pro sports is bigger and supposedly better.  The players are rich beyond anything that a fan could imagine and are so because fans pay the exorbitant ticket, concession, and parking premiums.  The TV money is just as important as well.  

     It seems the sporting public has spent so much time and money trying to escape reality that life has started to pass them by.  Cable and satellite TV have exploded thanks to sports packages and Sunday NFL ticket.  Cable bills have jumped incredibly since it all began 30 some years ago.  

     My hope for the future is that the next generation of fans can learn to moderate their level of fanaticism.  Why love a team that cannot possibly love you back?  What reward is there for undying love for a cause that is really a money trap for a wealthy billionaire?  Maybe your team performs well enough to keep you tuning in.  God forbid the team wins a championship.  There current sports landscape only allows for a short list of teams in each sport to ever have a shot.  

     I will find something better to do with my time than watch millionaires face off against each other, while billionaires laugh it up after another good take from the turnstiles.  Maybe I can sit out and watch Lake Erie in all its glory.  I will not be able to enjoy the lake in downtown from anywhere near it because so little has been invested in it compared to the sports franchises.  All I can hope for is clarity for the all fine hard working fans of Cleveland sports.  What is really in the best interest of the sporting and general public?  A successful sports team or a solid school system?