Why I hate football season

[blas]

Beside the fact that I really don't care for sports, period....

This is the time of year when people who are normally best friends tend to get into squabbles over who's "Team" is better.

Packer Fever....arg! Yes, I am a disgrace to Wisconsin. I loathe the Green Bay Packers and Brett Crybaby Favre.

I always root for whoever plays the Packers. But I don't get all up in arms over who wins. It's JUST A GAME. Sure, everyone wants their team to go to the Superbowl.

It always makes work a mess, too. Last Thursday night, we were having our meeting before our shift started, and everyone in the room got in a squabble over who was going to win today, the Packers or the Vikings. WHO GIVES A SHIT? We wasted 5 minutes where we could have just went into the room and got to work, but instead we wasted time fighting over football. RRRR!

Honestly, who really gives a shit?

Today wasn't much better. Bf and I watched the Packer/Viking game. Always a good rivalry....my bf got so damn angry any time the Vikings had the damn ball!!!!

People get so up in arms about it, it drives me insane. How many pieces of furniture are broken every football season? How many wives are beaten when Brett Favre throws one too many interceptions? How many vandalisms are committed when the opposing team loses? How many barfights are there when the Packers lose?

Jeebus it drives me nuts. It's JUST A GAME.

[Greenday]

Brett Farve needs to retire in my opinion. He's good, but he's old. I mean, he'll be 39 in October.

Football is definitely full of passion for the fans. Many can get along well. Maybe even have some good-hearted debates about it. But some fans (Eagles' fans) are just pricks and ask for a good beating. I mean, why talk trash to someone rooting for a team in a completely different conference? If it's a divisional game, especially rivals, it's best not to talk at all cause I don't put up with Patriots fans. I hate the Patriots!

It adds too much fun to my life not to get pumped up about football.

[XCashier]

People get so up in arms about it, it drives me insane. How many pieces of furniture are broken every football season? How many wives are beaten when Brett Favre throws one too many interceptions? How many vandalisms are committed when the opposing team loses? How many barfights are there when the Packers lose?
While I do enjoy a good game once in a while, I agree, people do go apeshit way too often. Your team lost. Well, someone has to. That's life. Grow up and deal with it. And hurting other people or destroying property is NOT "dealing with it"!

[derangedperson]

As a Packer fan, I say this:

This thread = EPIC FAIL.

[myswtghst]

I am a HUGE football fan. HUGE. MSU Spartan sports and Chicago sports teams are my passion, and I LOVE football season. But I'm also a grown-up about it. I hate going to games, especially at an away stadium, to support my team, and listening to drunken fools act completely classless and immature, making rude, horrible comments to people they've never met. I was at the MSUvUW game in Madison this weekend, and had grown men, 30yo at least, making comments to me and my brother, cousin and friend (ages 19-24), about how they would kick us if they got annoyed, talking trash, etc. I even got to listen to a tirade from a woman my mother's age who was angry I told her she had no class for clapping and jeering when a player was injured.

I'm with you Blas. I may get riled up and yell and scream on game day, but I hate how people treat each other terribly and start fights, riots even, over sporting events. Some people just really need to grow up.

[blas]

I don't want to rev up any Packer fans, as I know we have lots of CSers from WI, and maybe my ranting about them wasn't the best idea, but the main idea of this thread is about how people get too passionate about football (or sports in general).

[derangedperson]

I don't want to rev up any Packer fans, as I know we have lots of CSers from WI, and maybe my ranting about them wasn't the best idea, but the main idea of this thread is about how people get too passionate about football (or sports in general).

Okay then. Cubs fans are BY FAR some of the worst--it's tradition at Wrigley Field to throw any home run ball the opposing team hits back onto the field. I've seen footage of people who've kept balls hit by the opposition, and the fans are throwing shit at them and screaming and cursing--it's not pretty. :cry:

[blas]

My example of Packer fans is simply that because of my many coworkers who will trash talk Vikings and Bears fans until they are blue in the face, and the bars are never a pleasant place to be on Sunday if you aren't a Packer fan, and when the Packers lose, you better beware of angry men!

[Kusanagi]

Three words:

Oakland Raiders fans

[Giggle Goose]

I love football as well, since my family used to have these huge, blowout parties on gameday as an excuse to eat and get drunk. I like that part.

But when my cousin was at a Redskins game on Christmas Eve 2005 and told this little kid in a Giants jersey that Santa wasn't real???! That was so messed up and I was really embarrassed. The kid's dad was apparently so mad that he was burning Redskins jerseys at the tailgate.

PS: I don't care for the Packers, but Brett Favre is a sexy piece of man. Have you SEEN that Wrangler jeans commercial?! And Chris Cooley, the Redskins tight end? :love:

[Mr. Rager!]

I'm a Dallas fan.

Right now, I'm bleeding Navy Blue and Silver... :love:

The most wonderful thing though, I'm slowly but surely convincing the girlfriend (DJ) to bleed the same. Oh, she's not liking the conversion, but she'll put up with it! :D

I'm huge into sports. They're a great way to take your mind off of stupid stuff... to each their own though. Some people aren't into sports, I'm not into a lot things other people are into.

[ArenaBoy]

I've worked too many basketball games where fans took their anger out on me when the team lost. I feel bad for the Ford Field employees especially what with the Lions crapping out every season (I don't know how they're doing).

Point is that sport is sport.

Also, allow me to introduce the Ultras (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultras).

[Greenday]

Three words:

Oakland Raiders fans

One word: Sissies. Raiders fans used to actually be scary. Nowadays, they just aren't the same.

Seeing Arenaboy post makes me remember, though we may sometimes get out of hand, there are soccer hooligans. They beat the crap out of anyone, including the players of the team they support if they don't play well.

[myswtghst]

They're a great way to take your mind off of stupid stuff

That's exactly the key. :) They're great if you're passionate about them, and treat them as fun and entertainment. Not when they're something for a source of smack talk and abusive behavior.

It's fun being the girl who likes (and knows) sports, esp football. It leads to a lot of great conversations at work about sports with coworkers, and I garnered a lot of respect from my male coworkers when they realized I really know what I'm talking about. :) But I don't take it to the extreme, and I rarely respond at all to smack talk or jibes about my team. I'm in it to support my team and have fun. Not to act like a buffoon.

[Flood]

Three words:

Oakland Raiders fans

Back around 2000 or so, my best friend worked parking for Oakland Colosseum.

Every once and a while, when someone was walking by decked out in the black and silver, he'd yell "Go A's!"

People would typically half-start yelling a death threat and then realize that the Raiders weren't playing the A's and that my friend was doubled over laughing.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Okay then. Cubs fans are BY FAR the worst:

Corrected for accuracy :D

Seriously. They're classless louts who soaked my grandma in beer when they were beating the Brewers by 9-1 or something like that. That was the maddest I've ever seen my grandma get at anybody.

And they have no right to complain about not going to the World Series. They at least get to the playoffs fairly frequently. They're up for sale and can outspend just about every other MLB team, except for the Yankees and maybe the Red Sox. I expect the Brewers to make the playoffs around the 30th of never.

Not that I'm bitter or anything. I can always hassle the one Mets fan at work if I need a pick-me-up.

[derangedperson]

I expect the Brewers to make the playoffs around the 30th of never.

We nearly made it this year, so kindly STFU. :D :p :wave: ;)

[Gabrielle Proctor]

I can tell you why I hate football, baseball, or any other sport's season. It fucks up your regularly scheduled programming!!! And when you live in the woods with 2 fucking channels(cable is not available), it's a BIG deal.

Here you are with one or two shows you want to watch, but you can't because the channel you normally watch is dominated by boring sports and the other channel is the spanish channel. Sure, it's fun to turn down the volume and add your own lines to the telemundo shows, but after a while even that gets boring. And sports games last a looooooonnnng time and after that it's the news from 3 hours ago that you have already seen.

How do you think I developed so many hobbies?

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

We nearly made it this year, so kindly STFU. :D :p :wave: ;)

We WOULD have made it if not for Ned Stupidhead sticking with Turnbow and Crapuano for so long, and deciding to plunk Albert Pujols late in a game the Brewers needed, among other boneheaded moves.

Going 83-79 and missing the playoffs is a worst-case scenario to me. It becomes easier to justify keeping Ned for another year.

[MadMike]

It's JUST A GAME.

And that one little statement sums it up perfectly. My parents used to say the same thing when I was little, and got upset because I lost on some board game I was playing. Of course, ten minutes later, my dad would be yelling at the TV because the team he liked got beaten. Seriously, the world is not going to come to an end because one team beat the other. :shrug:

I think society in general places way too much importance on sports in general. Too many people regard professional athletes as gods, and pay them shitloads of money, when all they're doing is playing games. It's not like they're out there curing cancer or doing something to benefit society.

I'm still furious that my state has been pissing tax money away on sports stadiums, and that's been happening for roughly a decade now. All because some sports team owners threatened to move out of the state, much like the spoiled child who threatens to take his ball and go home if everyone else doesn't play his way. Even if I was into sports, I don't think that's an appropriate use of tax money. Meanwhile, our roads look like shit, but we have some nice new stadiums. :pissed:

I can tell you why I hate football, baseball, or any other sport's season. It fucks up your regularly scheduled programming!!!

Tell me about it. Fox is one of the worst ones for that, and most of the very few shows I watch anymore are on Fox. I remember the one year, they didn't show the Simpsons Halloween special until January. Every time this happens, I wonder the same thing aloud -- What the hell do we have sports channels before? I'm almost waiting for Fox to become an all-sports network and be done with it.

[blas]

Whimbledon for some reason seems to think that its home every June/July is NBC. Right when Days of Our Lives and Passions is on.

Well, Passions went to DirecTV...but it's really such a pain in the ass when I had a day off or wanted to watch Days and couldn't because TENNIS was on!!!!!

Maybe someone should screw with the programming and play all soap operas for one day on ESPN and we'll see if they do it again.

[draggar]

I hate the fact that everything on the radio Monday morning now is nothing but football, how they could have done better, how this and that should have been done.

Hey, if you think you can do it so well, go try out for the job, if not, STFU and get back to the music!!!

[Bright_Star]

I've never liked Football. Bunch of overpaid idiots running around with a ball trying to hurt each other in the most dramatic of ways.

[blas]

More like a bunch of grown caveman bustling about grabbing each other's rear ends.

[derangedperson]

We WOULD have made it if not for Ned Stupidhead sticking with Turnbow and Crapuano for so long

That's TurnBLOW. The Brewers should get rid of him, Ben Shits and Crapuano and get some decent pitching for next season. Prince, Ryan and Corey can only do so much.

[BrassCowboy]

It seems like a lot of these posts are being made by people who don't understand the game and bash it. Don't believe me? what would happen if I started bashing things I didn't understand like tanning or fan fic, etc? Yeah. Exactly.

I've never liked Football. Bunch of overpaid idiots running around with a ball trying to hurt each other in the most dramatic of ways.

Ok they are not "running around trying to hurt each other." In fact, the NFL is very much trying to keep the game safe. If they see you are intentionally trying to hurt someone, they will make you pay for it.

More like a bunch of grown caveman bustling about grabbing each other's rear ends.

Wow. You saw how players celebrate the win. That made you an expert...not! The game is just a big physical chess match when you really look at. Most players are actually very smart and take care of their bodies in a very good way. They get "overpaid" because it is not a game, its a career. They have to get paid for their time and the sacrifices they make. I could go on, but I don't need to get banned from a site I visit once a week.

[NightWolf]

uggg....i can already see where this is going.

Think some of us need to chill a bit. Football and sports aren't for everyone, just like anything else in life. Yes, sports athletes are celebrated as gods by some, but it's really no different than Lohan, Spears, and Hilton when it comes to their crazed fans. People want to have a reason to cheer for something, and lets face it. For some, football is an escape from reality, a time to sit back with people who enjoy the same thing you do and cheer for the same thing together. It's a good time for some, and also gives people a sense of belonging. Thats great if you don't like it, but have the respect to let those who do, enjoy it.

I will agree that there are a lot of people who really do take it too far and then of course you always have those people that use sports as a reason to drink and get stupid. I worked with the Packer fans for over 5 years and that is what soured me on Packer games. I can't stand it that the Packers are 4-0. It's good that the team is doing well, but it just means that in my life of Night Audit will be filled with tons of late night drunks stumbling in acting like asses when I work late nights on homegame Packer weekends.

I will say one thing in defense of Favre. NFL Passing Touchdown Record. I don't like the man, but I respect what he is capable of doing on the field. This goes for all sports athletes in every aspect. I can't do what they do, so even though I may not like them, I will give them the respect they "deserve". But only if they really deserve it though. ;)

[Jester]

STOP! Jester time! http://www.spokanestreetracing.com/forums/images/smiles/hat16.gif

How many pieces of furniture are broken every football season? How many wives are beaten when Brett Favre throws one too many interceptions? How many vandalisms are committed when the opposing team loses? How many barfights are there when the Packers lose?

I will agree that there are a lot of people who really do take it too far and then of course you always have those people that use sports as a reason to drink and get stupid.

Yes, these people use football as an excuse to do these things, but I have news for you...they would be doing them anyway, even if there was no football, even if there were no sports. Abusers would still be abusing. Vandals would still be vandalizing. Drunks would still be drinking. (Cheers! :cheers:) Yes, a lot of women get beaten by their idiot husbands/boyfriends on game days. You know what? They would still be getting beaten at some point, because their men are abusers. Football may be the thing that sets them off that day, but it is NOT the cause itself.

Brett Farve needs to retire in my opinion. He's good, but he's old. I mean, he'll be 39 in October.

Three things.

1. He'll be actually be 38. Right now he is 37. I am 37. I am NOT old. (And I have far less grey hairs than ole Brett.)

2. Old is what you make of it. There are 30 year old athletes that are old, and 40 year old athletes that aren't. Just like life, "old" varies in athletes from individual to individual.

3. He is having, so far, a fantastic year. I can understand why people were calling for his reitement the last two seasons (though I disagree with them), but to say he should retire NOW? That is just craziness.

Three words:

Oakland Raiders fans

Hey! As a charter member of The Southernmost Black Hole, I both resemble and resent that remark!

Okay, yes, there are a lot of Raider fans that are freakin' idiots. I know this. But there are also fans of EVERY team that are freakin' idiots. Fans of the Raiders and Eagles are just, respectively, more colorful and more vocal about their fandom than many other fans.

I often have people express surprise to me that I am intelligent, I understand the game of football, and yet, somehow, I am a Raiders fan. The two are not mutually exclusive, and I happen to know many intelligent Raider fans that understand the game. I also know many Raider fans who just like to yell at the tv and really don't understand the nuances of the game at all. I can say the exact same thing for Packer fans, Cowboy fans, 49er fans, Dolphin fans, Steeler fans, Bears fans, etc., etc., etc. Even Charger fans sometimes get nasty when their team stumbles out of the gate 1-3, Kusanagi. NOT that I am saying that that is why you made that comment, of course. :whistle:

I think society in general places way too much importance on sports in general. Too many people regard professional athletes as gods, and pay them shitloads of money, when all they're doing is playing games. It's not like they're out there curing cancer or doing something to benefit society.

They get "overpaid" because it is not a game, its a career. They have to get paid for their time and the sacrifices they make.

More than once I have seen signs in the stands shortly after some star player gets a new contract. Something along the lines of "Star Player: $30 million and worth every penny." Um, no. They're not. I am a football fan, and I love the game, but you cannot in any seriousness tell me that someone who plays a freakin' game for a living is worth that kind of money!

We have an educational system in this country that is in crisis, with teachers being underpaid. We also have underpaid police, firefighters, and emergency workers. The average scientific researcher is not getting paid multimillion dollar salaries as they try to find cures for some of the worst things the world has thrown at us....but we are supposed to believe that athletes are "worth" that?

Yes, it is their career. Yes, they DO deserve to "get paid for their time and the sacrifices they make." But THAT much MONEY? I'm sorry, but the soldiers fighting and dying in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other places, who are making far more sacrifices in their career are not getting paid anything near that.

Now, some people might say that the soldiers and others chose their profession. And yes, they did, knowing full well that their choice very well might put them in harm's way. Well, guess what kids? The athletes also chose their profession. No one forced them into it. And while I love my teams and don't begrudge the athletes on those teams for taking what team owners are willing to pay them, I think the idea that they are "worth" this kind of money is absolutely and completely totally bullshit.


Blas is right in that many people take football way too seriously. But it, just like other sports, is nothing more than entertainment. Some people enjoy "Days of Our Lives," some enjoy bird-watching, some like playing role-playing games, and some like watching sports. It is all entertainment. And there are people who take all kinds of things too far, not just sports, and not just football.

I myself am a rabid fan, but I never forget that it IS just a game. Will I yell at the tv? Will I rant and rave? Will I throw my hat down in disgust when my team screws up? Will I commiserate with my fellow fans when we lose? Will I exchange friendly rivalry banter and jibs with fans of other teams? Of course, yes. And yes, even I have gone overboard here or there. ("Jester, we like you....but if you don't put that chair down we are going to have to ask you to leave the bar.") But when my team loses, will I break things that aren't mine? Will I go rioting in the streets? Will I vandalize? Will I hit people? Will I abuse animals? No. Because at the end of the day, no matter how my team does, whether they are crowned champions or are the laughingstock of the league that year, in the end, it IS still a game.

Blas, you are right to say this, but please, don't blame football. Humans need entertainment, they need escape, and football for many is that escape. I would suggest that if you don't happen to like it, don't watch it. If you watch it just because your boyfriend is watching it, but you don't get any entertainment out of the game yourself, of course you are going to hate the game. But I have to believe that if you have any taste in men that your boyfriend is not one of those abusing violent wackos, that he just gets passionate about the game. And there is nothing wrong with that. If you really don't like it, I would suggest that you find alternative activities on Sundays, so that you are both happy. Or if you like the game, and are just sick to death of the Packers, have fun rooting for the other team. (My favorite teams are Oakland and whoever is playing Devner!) But just as you decry those who take the game too seriously and let it take over their lives, if you are letting it ruin yours, you are doing the same thing only in reverse. Either way, the game is becoming more than a game.

Think about it.


And now, back to our regularly scheduled beer drinking! :cheers:

[Mr. Rager!]

I love the passion that the players bring to the game.

They do sacrifice their bodies for the game and the sacrifice can bring a great reward.

When I play games with my friends, I get very passionate and competitive and it'll show everytime. They do what our favorite artists do, they entertain us for money. We love the passionate artists, the ones that when they sing makes our hearts sink. Only, the way athletes do it is different. Same feeling is usually brought in though.

I'm a huge Lakers fan... and when they played the Suns and Kobe hit a buzzer beater to send it into OT... then hit another buzzer beater to win the game, that's thrilling to me.

When Tiger woods hits a 30 foot birdie that rolls to the edge of the cup and hangs there for a second before dropping in, that's thrilling.

When Tony Romo looked like he was going to give up 33 yards in a single play, but turned it into a 4 yard gain... that's spectacular.

When I can watch Marion Gaborik can be checked as he scores a goal... come'on... that's exciting to watch for some of us.

Some people listen to James Blunt and thinks he sings to their soul.

When a guitarist plays with passion and starts breaking strings, that's touching.

When our team wins, that's thrilling. We all love having something to cheer for.

This is rambly... but, I've been pretty much out for 3 days now.

[ArenaBoy]

Brett Farve needs to retire in my opinion. He's good, but he's old. I mean, he'll be 39 in October.


*Yes I know it's not NFL related but I'm making a point.

Chris Chelios (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Chelios) would like a word with you.

And I know of an athlete by the name of Paolo Maldini (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paolo_Maldini) who will be 40 next year and he plays like he's still 18.

Wimbledon for some reason seems to think that its home every June/July is NBC. Right when Days of Our Lives and Passions is on.

Well, Passions went to DirecTV...but it's really such a pain in the ass when I had a day off or wanted to watch Days and couldn't because TENNIS was on!!!!!


Wimbledon is in England as I'm sure you know and they happen to have a 6 hour time difference (This depends where you live, Blas lives in central time). Tennis is quite popular to tell you the truth and soaps will be on year round anyway. Just sleep in, read, learn an instrument or something.

[Jester]

They do sacrifice their bodies for the game and the sacrifice can bring a great reward.

They do what our favorite artists do, they entertain us for money.

I do not question the passion, though admittedly there are many professional athletes that DON'T have the passion of a Romo or a Favre or a Tiger.

I don't care how passionate or how good they are or how much I enjoy watching them, they are STILL not worth $30 million. Period. Not one of them.

Especially not when we have so many other people doing so many worthwhile things that are so horrendously underpaid.

[Mr. Rager!]

I don't care how passionate or how good they are or how much I enjoy watching them, they are STILL not worth $30 million. Period. Not one of them.

Especially not when we have so many other people doing so many worthwhile things that are so horrendously underpaid.

That's your opinion. But the millions of fans that pay to go see them, that pay to wear their jerseys, that pay to get the Nike shoes that these athletes endorse say otherwise.

These athletes are the products. But everytime you watch a game or someone buys a jersey, they say otherwise.

These athletes push a lot of product and make other people money as well as themselves.

I DO NOT argue that there are people out there in the world that are underpaid, I don't argue that for a second.

[FuzzyKitten99]

Today wasn't much better. Bf and I watched the Packer/Viking game. Always a good rivalry....my bf got so damn angry any time the Vikings had the damn ball!!!!

People get so up in arms about it, it drives me insane. How many pieces of furniture are broken every football season? How many wives are beaten when Brett Favre throws one too many interceptions? How many vandalisms are committed when the opposing team loses? How many barfights are there when the Packers lose?

Jeebus it drives me nuts. It's JUST A GAME.
Being I am on the other side of the stream, I know what the Vikings/Packer game rivalry is all about. My dad is very similar to your BF, except he's a Vikings fan. I feel your pain with the rabid fan thing.

I never really cared that much for football. I will watch the game if someone has it on elsewhere, but it doesn't get watched here at home. Neither DH nor myself make an effort to find it on TV.

[CancelMyService]

There's a running joke (that probably has some truth to it) that churches started Saturday masses to not compete with Steeler Sundays around here. If you drive around here on game days it seems like the entire town is vacated for 4 hours.

You'll never see any other city in the world that identifies with their team more than Pittsburgh. The blue collar, grind-it-out style they play is pretty much the personification of the city in football form.

As Charlie Daniels said, "lay your hands on a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, and I think you finally understand". :lol:

[Jester]

That's your opinion. But the millions of fans that pay to go see them, that pay to wear their jerseys, that pay to get the Nike shoes that these athletes endorse say otherwise.

You are right. It IS my opinion that no one, especially no one who plays a game for a living, is worth $30 million, or anything near that.

I want to reiterate other things I say. I DO understand the passion that people have for the game, and their team. I am a rabid Raiders and Sun Devils fan, after all. I also do not begrudge the athletes themselves for getting that kind of payday. If someone offers you that money, hell, take it.

But I WOULD like to point out that due in large part to the ever inflating salaries of professional athletes, many people who love the sport or the team can no longer go or take their families to the games to see them in person. The team owners have passed much of the cost of paying those salaries along to the ticket buyer.

Are team owners allowed to set prices? Yes.
Is seeing a team live a right? No.

But things like the above are some of the reasons I say that NO ONE is worth a salary in the neighborhood of $10 million, $20 million, or more. That is just stupid money. And, when compared to the salaries of people that absolutely do worthwhile work that is not just entertainment, it is not just stupid, but ridiculous and completely out of whack with reality.

But as has been said, sports is escapism. It is not reality. *shrug* Different people are going to have different opinions. If you think that Barry Bonds or Alex Rodriguez or Peyton Manning or LaDanlian Tomlinson or their colleagues are truly WORTH these kinds of figures, than that is your opinion and your right to hold it.

Nothing personal, and I enjoy many of your posts, but myself, I am just going to continue to believe that people who have that opinion are completely nuts.


Okay, now who's ready for the baseball playoffs?

GO DIAMONDBACKS!!!

[Mr. Rager!]

But things like the above are some of the reasons I say that NO ONE is worth a salary in the neighborhood of $10 million, $20 million, or more. That is just stupid money. And, when compared to the salaries of people that absolutely do worthwhile work that is not just entertainment, it is not just stupid, but ridiculous and completely out of whack with reality.



You are wrong to say that no one is worth that. I don't see a need on limiting ANYONE'S salary. That goes for yours, mine, my neighbor's, your 4th cousin twice removed. I don't care who you are. I will not say that you're not worth that kind of money, bcause to say that is limiting you.

If the average person has the right to make as much money as humanly possible, how come the same can't be made about athletes? Would you begrudge a police officer for making millions a year? No. Would you begrudge a sales clerk making millions a year? I'd hope not.

If someone's willing to pay you, then good for you.

That quarterback making $30 million a year, is probably one of the main reasons that club is bringing in hundreds of millions a year. And if that quarterback starts to blow... that club loses money. He has a direct impact on the profits of the club.

[Spiffy McMoron]

I don't care how passionate or how good they are or how much I enjoy watching them, they are STILL not worth $30 million. Period. Not one of them.

I'll never argue that one person should get 5, 10, or 25 million a season to play a sport for a living. (Hello, Mr. Rodriguez!) What I don't like is that the "average" players, the character players, that damage their bodies on a daily basis for the league minimum salary, get tarred with this brush as well. I know that I wouldn't turn down a salary of $500,000 a year--or whatever it may be--but these athletes are forced to work every day just to stay in the "big leagues", and have to retire at the age of 35 with no education and a broken body. For the past 25 years, they've been focusing on a career that they love and are able to use their physical talents. Depending on the player, you might not have much in the way of money smarts, either. For an example, please see McCarty, Darren (http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=162257&hubname=).

They're not much different than rock stars or big-name actors. We love to overpay them, worship them, and we believe that gives us the right to mock them and tear them down on a daily basis.

That being said, the NHL season begins on Wednesday!

[Jester]

You are wrong to say that no one is worth that. I don't see a need on limiting ANYONE'S salary. That goes for yours, mine, my neighbor's, your 4th cousin twice removed. I don't care who you are. I will not say that you're not worth that kind of money, bcause to say that is limiting you.

If someone's willing to pay you, then good for you.

*sigh* I already said that if they can get paid that much, I do not begrudge them that or fault them that. And if owners want to pay them that, fine. If you can get someone to sign that check, more power to you.

I am not saying that the athlete is not worth that much to the business (the team) that employs him.

I am saying that NO ONE, not you, me, A-Rod, Kirsten Dunst, George Bush, Dr. Spock; NO ONE is worth that kind of salary. That is my opinion, period. Nothing more. But my other parallel point was that if anyone IS worth that kind of money, it sure as heck isn't an entertainer, inherent occupational risks and all.

You and I are probably not going to agree on this, but I just want to make sure my point is clear and that you are not misunderstanding me.

They're not much different than rock stars or big-name actors. We love to overpay them, worship them, and we believe that gives us the right to mock them and tear them down on a daily basis.

Right, they are being overpaid. Not because they are greedy evil men (though some are), but more because, as I was trying to point out above, our society's values are--to put it crudely--completely fucked.

I'm not blaming the athletes. I'm blaming US.

[CancelMyService]

It's a very interesting view of how most people look at labor vs management when athletes making millions are the villians and not the rich owners signing the checks. These guys wouldn't be getting these (admittedly ridiculous) paydays if there wasn't someone willing to pay it out.

Even when people realize that, it's still "OMG, OVERPAID BABIES" despite the fact that anyone would sign that millon dollar contract in a second if it was presented to them. I know I would.

I'd like to see more team owners getting bashed for signing guys to overpriced contracts. The Yankees get it, but at least they usually get results when they do it. Teams like the Washington Redskins and New York Rangers spend crazy amounts and don't even come close to winning more games.

[draggar]

I don't care how passionate or how good they are or how much I enjoy watching them, they are STILL not worth $30 million. Period. Not one of them.

I think you forgot to include endorsements. :)

I speak for all of pro sports when I say that the vast majority of them are way overpaid forcing the average working family not to be able to afford to see them (live). People decide, a vacation or a game (on average, a family of four will have to shell out over $1,000 just to see the Yankees play). It's become an area where a bunh of corporate executives have season tickets, rarely go to the games, and only go to kiss up to the latest client leaving thousands of seats empty that the average fan would kill for.

Plus, people idolize these people when a lot of them just act in such a way they shouldn't when they're in the limelight. They argue with authority (referees), get into fist fights, and have off-field antics that would make any of us cringe (people like Michael Vick, Darryl Strawberry, Jose Canseco, Ricky Williams etc..).

Note: I did not say ALL PRO SPORTS players.

[Mr. Rager!]

I am saying that NO ONE, not you, me, A-Rod, Kirsten Dunst, George Bush, Dr. Spock; NO ONE is worth that kind of salary. That is my opinion, period. Nothing more. But my other parallel point was that if anyone IS worth that kind of money, it sure as heck isn't an entertainer, inherent occupational risks and all.






I actually can't even argue that what athletes are doing isn't a value to society even. Entertainment is something we all need. Throughout all the years of human existence and all the societies, entertainment has been a huge part of how people function in society. Entertainment is something that we need. I understand you're point... but you are in no posistion to say that anyone is overpaid. Even if you look comparitively at anyone else, you are in no posistion.



I think you forgot to include endorsements. :)

I speak for all of pro sports when I say that the vast majority of them are way overpaid forcing the average working family not to be able to afford to see them (live). People decide, a vacation or a game (on average, a family of four will have to shell out over $1,000 just to see the Yankees play). It's become an area where a bunh of corporate executives have season tickets, rarely go to the games, and only go to kiss up to the latest client leaving thousands of seats empty that the average fan would kill for.



Wrong. They aren't forcing anyone to do anything. I've seen many live games and I'm a college student. I do floor level Timberwolves vs The Lakers when the Lakers are in Minnesota. I've been 3 rows up behind homeplate when the twins were in the playoff (who knew it'd be they be a strong shot at the world series) chase.

Games really aren't that expensive.

If the team is good enough, seats don't typically go empty. The original ticket holder will find someone to watch the game.

What I'm saying is that none of us are really in a posistion to tell anyone their overpaid. Especially not in the society we live in. Now, to say that someone is underpaid, yeah. Go for it.

Now to ask someone how they can justify making $30 million a year when some people need to feed a family off of $8 an hour, that's different.

[sportsmom]

Okay then. Cubs fans are BY FAR some of the worst--it's tradition at Wrigley Field to throw any home run ball the opposing team hits back onto the field. I've seen footage of people who've kept balls hit by the opposition, and the fans are throwing shit at them and screaming and cursing--it's not pretty. :cry:


I've had the directly opposite experience in Wrigley. I've been several times to the Braves-Cubs games, wearing my #10 Chipper Jones jersey, no less. Every person I've met has been gracious, even in defeat :lol:, and welcoming. I've enjoyed several wonderful conversations and met some very nice people.

[draftermatt]

The worst fans in sports are by far Philly fans, they booed Santa for God's sake.

Yankee fans and Red Sox fans are terrible too (the ones that come to Baltimore when they play the Orioles anyway). So much so that as much as I want to go to a Yankee-O's game, I have no desire to put up with that abuse.

Football, I'm a Packers fan, parts of my family were born and raised in Green Bay, and still live there. I like the Ravens, but Ravens fans are the biggest masochists around. Every year the Ravens are going all the way, depsite the fact they haven't fixed any problems from the year before.

The nice thing is that the streets around my town are very quiet when the Ravens are playing. (They have training camp in my hometown (don't live there anymore though).

But to me, football, baseball, etc. are games. They are fun to watch, and to "arm-chair quarter back or GM" but these people who get depressed or violent when their team loses just seems oddball to me. I don't like it when my team loses, but it doesn't ruin my weekend.

Oh and Jester - Go Indians! (I gotta pick someone to cheer for)

[BrassCowboy]

Formula 1 team MacLaren just gave driver Lewis Hamilton a $110 million paycheck for next season. I think he deserves every penny.

To others, this will blow your mind.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Just saw on ESPN's ticker that Ned Yost will be back with the Brewers again next year.

:cry:
:cry:
:cry:
:cry:

2008 is officially a lost cause then.

[myswtghst]

Currently I'm just happy that Chicago's sports teams are making enough of a comeback to be respectable again (please ignore Rex Grossman) and that my alma mater, MSU, has a coach who actually seems to know what's going on around him. :)

And the obligatory: Go Cubs!! (Note: I am not a baseball fan, but I will root for the Cubs, since I used to work near Wrigley and have had it beaten into me, verbally. :p)

[NightWolf]

Go Indians!

HELL YEAH!

I'll second that!

:cheers:

[April]

Ugh I hate football. Generally all sports, but du ring football season my living room is taken over by a rabid, superstitious cowboys fan. Sieriously, the man has a collection of pen caps that have been chewed on when the cowboys win. He puts them in a cup and shakes them.

And what's with the yelling at the TV? They can't HEAR you, and even if they could, they wouldn't listen anyhow.

My favorite thing to drive my husband nuts is to point out all the sexual innuendo's I hear. "Wow, he drove that ball deep into the endzone. Right through that tight end"

I also like to ask him

If there is a quarterback, a half back and a full back, how come there isn't a three quarter back?

[Jester]

but you are in no posistion to say that anyone is overpaid. Even if you look comparitively at anyone else, you are in no posistion.

Actually, yes I am. It's called "having an opinion." And that is my opinion, and until I find myself living in Turkestan (or until the American government further erodes the Constitution), I have the right to express that opinion.

Again, I have no problem with the athletes accepting this money. I have not once said they are the villains here, though of course some of them ARE villains in various ways. (Hello Mr. Bonds, Mr. Vick, and Mr. Simpson...)

All I have been saying is that no person, NO ONE, is worth $30 million. Not while all the rest of the negative shit in this world is going on. You may not agree with me. Other people may not agree with me. But I am certainly in a position to espouse my opinion on the subject, just as YOU are in a position to disagree with me and take the opposite tack. Because they are just that: opinions.

[daleduke17]

Whimbledon for some reason seems to think that its home every June/July is NBC. Right when Days of Our Lives and Passions is on.

Well, Passions went to DirecTV...but it's really such a pain in the ass when I had a day off or wanted to watch Days and couldn't because TENNIS was on!!!!!

Maybe someone should screw with the programming and play all soap operas for one day on ESPN and we'll see if they do it again.

Wimbeldon and the Westminster Kennel Dog Show are two of my biggest annoyances when I try to watch TV. Those are the only two things that take precedence over Monday Night Raw on USA and bump it to either Thursday or Friday nights, or this year, to Sci-Fi (and screws with my DVR settings).