4/12/25-Sports!

For as long as I can remember I have been a sports fan.  I grew up watching baseball and following my hero, Tony Gwynn, every night.  I loved the "Showtime Lakers" and Magic Johnson.  I would spend my Saturdays watching college football and Sundays watching the NFL.

When Wayne Gretzky was traded to the LA Kings I instantly became a hockey fan.  I knew that March was for the NCAA basketball Tournament, April was Masters Golf, May was the Indy 500 and Father's Day weekend was Golf's US Open.  My tennis viewing was built around Wimbledon.  The Olympics were an every four year obsession.

As I got older I added NASCAR and even some Formula-1.  Every night ended with the mandatory viewing of ESPN's SportsCenter.

I was so into sports that I named my children after some of my favorite athletes, Steve Yzerman and Jeff Gordon.

I just realized it's Masters weekend and I tried to watch it, but had no interest.  I haven't watched the NCAA Tournament in well over a decade.  The NBA is dead to me.  I don't know who the top ranked tennis players are now.  I don't care enough to try to figure out the scoring system in NASCAR.  I barely recognize baseball from the game I grew up loving.

So what happened?

This might just be a grumpy old man rant, sitting on his porch, yelling at the clouds, but at some point sports became less about the team and more about the individual.  Athletes are more concerned about their brands and endorsements then even winning in some cases.

Take the example of Labron James, who is the poster child of the decline of the NBA by taking days off for "rest."  His brand is lack of hustle and whining about calls.

The typical college athlete makes so much money in NIL that they don't care about their school or their team.  They enter the "transfer portal" at will to move onto another school where they feel they will be better compensated.  And don't even get me started on how they have forgotten the "scholar" part of scholar athlete.

NASCAR and baseball were both sports rich in their tradition.  However, in the modern era of low attention span, both have made changes to their sports to make them more appealing for today's viewers.  Why does baseball limit pitching changes?  Why don't we make pitchers hit in the National League?  Why is there a runner on 2nd in extra innings?  Why does NASCAR stop the race and have a half-time break?  Why does NASCAR need a playoff?  None of those things improved their respective sports.

Don't even get me started on the demise of ESPN and SportsCenter.

All I have left is hockey (Go Vegas Knights) and football (which I mostly watch to spend time with my kids).

I know that I am not the audience that sports cares about anymore.  I think they are just waiting for all of us old men to die off so they can truly embrace turning sports to something that can be digested in YouTube Shorts.  Maybe the Olympics should be sponsored by Tic-Toc.  

But I miss sports.  I miss reading the stats.  I miss following my idols.  I miss planning my weekends around the big events.

So to the NBA, MLB, NASCAR, College athletes worried about NIL, ESPN and the like I say:

You have all ruined something that was once a good source of entertainment and a distraction from the hustle and bustle of daily life.  You have turned sports into a shell of what it once was, full of narcissists and crybabies.  You all have ruined a part of my childhood and made it somewhat unrecognizable from what I loved.  To you all, thanks for absolutely nothing.