I am no fan of unnecessary formality but I tend to notice when reasonable boundaries are thoughtlessly breached. As was the case earlier today.
On my morning commute, I tuned into the sports news and learned that the Los Angeles Lakers visited the White House on a road trip to the east coast. The sportscast played a couple of snippets from interviews with the players and one of the comments really struck me.
In an interview taped prior to the team's visit to the White House, one of the players was asked what he was most looking forward to. He responded that among the many exciting opportunities in the nation's capital, he was "most looking forward to meeting Barrack".
I realize that we idolize athletes in our society and allow them to break the rules so consistently, and from such a young age, that many of them grow up and remain completely unaware of the notion that rules really exist. But have they really internalized a level of self-importance that places them on a first name basis with the President?
I don't think their coach would refer to the President on a first name basis, nor do I think the team owner would do so. I acknowledge that there is no harm in this and that obsequious formality should be avoided when possible. I was just taken aback that an athlete, when interviewed by the media, would presume such equality with what is perhaps our most respected office.
Showing posts with label sports. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sports. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Good Humanity, Bad Humanity
I am an optimist. I also think that for the most part, people are good at heart. Perhaps I think that because I am an optimist but maybe it is the other way around. It could be that my trust in humanity makes me believe that the future is bright.
In recent years however, I have begun to notice a disturbing selfishness that seems to be taking root in society. This may be because I live in a fairly transient portion of the country where economic growth and a great climate have attracted a rapidly growing population. This means that there are lots of people around me with no deep roots in the community and no strong ties to one another. That’s a plausible explanation. Perhaps.
Of course, one can always find a feel-good story about a heroic deed or profound altruism to buttress the case for humanity’s enduring virtues. But I am more swayed by the broad patterns of activity evident in more widespread, national discussions such as those about healthcare reform and immigration for example.
It seems that no one is willing to sacrifice on the quality of their medical coverage to ensure that those with no access to care can get minimal coverage. Many want inexpensive immigrant labor but do not wish to see the same immigrants who provide that labor consuming educational or healthcare resources in the community. These attitudes worry me.
Silly as it seems, I think sports can sometimes provide snapshots of the mass mind-set. When twenty thousand Lakers fans in Staple Center boo the National Anthem before a game against the Rockets because the lyrics include “rocket’s red glare”, I worry about our collective wellbeing. However, when forty thousand Red-Sox fans give Nomar a standing ovation, my faith is restored.
In recent years however, I have begun to notice a disturbing selfishness that seems to be taking root in society. This may be because I live in a fairly transient portion of the country where economic growth and a great climate have attracted a rapidly growing population. This means that there are lots of people around me with no deep roots in the community and no strong ties to one another. That’s a plausible explanation. Perhaps.
Of course, one can always find a feel-good story about a heroic deed or profound altruism to buttress the case for humanity’s enduring virtues. But I am more swayed by the broad patterns of activity evident in more widespread, national discussions such as those about healthcare reform and immigration for example.
It seems that no one is willing to sacrifice on the quality of their medical coverage to ensure that those with no access to care can get minimal coverage. Many want inexpensive immigrant labor but do not wish to see the same immigrants who provide that labor consuming educational or healthcare resources in the community. These attitudes worry me.
Silly as it seems, I think sports can sometimes provide snapshots of the mass mind-set. When twenty thousand Lakers fans in Staple Center boo the National Anthem before a game against the Rockets because the lyrics include “rocket’s red glare”, I worry about our collective wellbeing. However, when forty thousand Red-Sox fans give Nomar a standing ovation, my faith is restored.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Zen and Sports
Where is this post going? How can one write about two topics at such extreme ends of the conceptual spectrum? Zen and sports?
Here in the LA area we have blanket coverage of the Lakers and their famed coach, Phil Jackson, a.k.a. “The Zen Master”. I don’t think he calls himself that; it’s a label conjured by the media because he is thoughtful and reflective.
We also have a prominent personality on sports-talk radio named Vick Jacobs, a.k.a. “Vick the Brick”. He is wildly popular and generally entertaining. I think he does his job well. He also actively cultivates a reputation as a spiritual being prone to Zen-like states of calm and clarity. He likes to speak of “positive energy” and “flow” and “cosmic awareness”. He also engages in some ceremonious activity involving bamboo whenever key sports outcomes need to be cosmically influenced. He uses the word “zen” on a regular basis.
I’ve got nothing against any of those concepts. I just think sports and zen are about as conceptually disparate as two constructs can get. Isn’t getting worked up about the outcome of an athletic competition quite petty compared to cosmic awareness? Isn’t “inner peace” too powerful a notion to be disrupted by whether or not Gasol goal tended in the final second of game 2? Seems that way to me.
But don’t tell Vick the Brick. He thinks otherwise and has built a strong following among the likeminded.
Here in the LA area we have blanket coverage of the Lakers and their famed coach, Phil Jackson, a.k.a. “The Zen Master”. I don’t think he calls himself that; it’s a label conjured by the media because he is thoughtful and reflective.
We also have a prominent personality on sports-talk radio named Vick Jacobs, a.k.a. “Vick the Brick”. He is wildly popular and generally entertaining. I think he does his job well. He also actively cultivates a reputation as a spiritual being prone to Zen-like states of calm and clarity. He likes to speak of “positive energy” and “flow” and “cosmic awareness”. He also engages in some ceremonious activity involving bamboo whenever key sports outcomes need to be cosmically influenced. He uses the word “zen” on a regular basis.
I’ve got nothing against any of those concepts. I just think sports and zen are about as conceptually disparate as two constructs can get. Isn’t getting worked up about the outcome of an athletic competition quite petty compared to cosmic awareness? Isn’t “inner peace” too powerful a notion to be disrupted by whether or not Gasol goal tended in the final second of game 2? Seems that way to me.
But don’t tell Vick the Brick. He thinks otherwise and has built a strong following among the likeminded.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
What motivates athletes?
Auggie here...
When you are born an artist, the world is a canvas. You engage in artistic endeavors for the love and personal contentment they grant you. If you can make a buck at it then great. I think this is how youths approach sports. They play for the love of the sport without a dime of compensation, and they can’t get enough. They strive for excellence for the intrinsic satisfaction they get for excelling at the art they love. When I was a youth I would swing a lead pipe to improve at baseball and practice with my left hand to improve at basketball, solely for the satisfaction I received from improving at the games I loved. But a funny thing happens on the road to stardom – players who reach elite status begin to play for far different reasons, or so it would seem. With today’s professional athletes it seems that intrinsic satisfaction is a distant third in the hierarchy of reasons to excel. What’s the top reason? Money you say? Nope – that takes the silver. The real reason of course is r-e-s-p-e-c-t!
I watch a lot of sports and I’m amazed, truly amazed at how often athletes talk about proving others wrong as a motivating force, or about getting the respect they deserve. Every player that is waived, traded, not drafted high enough, not voted to the all-star team, not fawned over by the pundits, not game planned against, etc. etc. makes it their personal mission to prove the naysayers wrong. Improve because you want to be the best at your craft? Nah! It’s all about showing people up.
The other day I saw an ESPN segment on Dwayne Wade. I watched for about 90 seconds and he mentioned getting the respect he deserves (“deserves” I say!) at least five times. The NBA finals MVP trophy from a couple years ago is getting old, nowadays if you talk about Lebron and Kobe and you don’t mention D-Wade in the same breath you are flat out dissing him. A few years ago I was going to collect examples of this syndrome for some future use but it was too much like work (little did I know I would someday be a guest blogger on “What would Den say?” and need the material). However, I do recall one particular example involving Dwight Howard after he had just become the first overall pick in the NBA draft by the Orlando Magic. Keep in mind, with global basketball culture that we now live in, there are advanced players in countries all over the world, and hundreds of elite players at major universities in the U.S. And yet, the Magic saw fit to draft a kid before anyone else in the aforementioned global pool of talent - despite the fact he had proven nothing beyond a high school level. So what's the first thing Dwight wants to talk about at his press conference? Is he happy to be the first pick? Is he excited to go to Orlando? Those questions will have to wait while he jabbers on about proving all the people wrong who didn’t think he should be the number 1 pick. Yes it’s true, there were some people on the planet who had the audacity to express an opinion that a high school kid was not the safest pick, no matter how many double-doubles he dropped on Ridgemont High. Shame on them!
Interestingly, Howard has probably since “proven” that he was the right choice. Call me naïve, but I’m going to believe he propelled himself to stardom for the love of the game, and not to prove wrong some talking heads on ESPN2.
When you are born an artist, the world is a canvas. You engage in artistic endeavors for the love and personal contentment they grant you. If you can make a buck at it then great. I think this is how youths approach sports. They play for the love of the sport without a dime of compensation, and they can’t get enough. They strive for excellence for the intrinsic satisfaction they get for excelling at the art they love. When I was a youth I would swing a lead pipe to improve at baseball and practice with my left hand to improve at basketball, solely for the satisfaction I received from improving at the games I loved. But a funny thing happens on the road to stardom – players who reach elite status begin to play for far different reasons, or so it would seem. With today’s professional athletes it seems that intrinsic satisfaction is a distant third in the hierarchy of reasons to excel. What’s the top reason? Money you say? Nope – that takes the silver. The real reason of course is r-e-s-p-e-c-t!
I watch a lot of sports and I’m amazed, truly amazed at how often athletes talk about proving others wrong as a motivating force, or about getting the respect they deserve. Every player that is waived, traded, not drafted high enough, not voted to the all-star team, not fawned over by the pundits, not game planned against, etc. etc. makes it their personal mission to prove the naysayers wrong. Improve because you want to be the best at your craft? Nah! It’s all about showing people up.
The other day I saw an ESPN segment on Dwayne Wade. I watched for about 90 seconds and he mentioned getting the respect he deserves (“deserves” I say!) at least five times. The NBA finals MVP trophy from a couple years ago is getting old, nowadays if you talk about Lebron and Kobe and you don’t mention D-Wade in the same breath you are flat out dissing him. A few years ago I was going to collect examples of this syndrome for some future use but it was too much like work (little did I know I would someday be a guest blogger on “What would Den say?” and need the material). However, I do recall one particular example involving Dwight Howard after he had just become the first overall pick in the NBA draft by the Orlando Magic. Keep in mind, with global basketball culture that we now live in, there are advanced players in countries all over the world, and hundreds of elite players at major universities in the U.S. And yet, the Magic saw fit to draft a kid before anyone else in the aforementioned global pool of talent - despite the fact he had proven nothing beyond a high school level. So what's the first thing Dwight wants to talk about at his press conference? Is he happy to be the first pick? Is he excited to go to Orlando? Those questions will have to wait while he jabbers on about proving all the people wrong who didn’t think he should be the number 1 pick. Yes it’s true, there were some people on the planet who had the audacity to express an opinion that a high school kid was not the safest pick, no matter how many double-doubles he dropped on Ridgemont High. Shame on them!
Interestingly, Howard has probably since “proven” that he was the right choice. Call me naïve, but I’m going to believe he propelled himself to stardom for the love of the game, and not to prove wrong some talking heads on ESPN2.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
5 baffling sports-related questions
1) How do athletes' salaries become public information? Who has the right to talk about their compensation agreements other than themselves? If any of my imaginary readers know the answer to this, please send me an email.
2) Why do so many athletes, coaches, analysts, and journalists speak of "going out on top" as a noble way to exit the game? To me that is the height of cowardice. If an athlete loses his drive and motivation after climbing to a certain height on the ladder of success, then I think that is a good reason to retire. But quitting so that everyone's last impression will be the one when you won is just another way of saying "now that I've succeeded, I can no longer bear to let anyone see me fail". I will never understand this attitude and I am amazed (and quite frankly, flabbergasted) at how casually and comprehensively it has been socially embraced. The poster boy for "staying too long" seems to be Willie Mays who loved the game so much he couldn't walk away even after his skills had diminished. In my eyes, that makes him all the more worthy of my adulation. He loved the game and played for as long as he could earn a spot on someone's roster, even if he no longer played like a superstar.
3) What is the basis for the common belief that a certain style of play or approach to competition may work in the regular season but not in the play-offs? I understand that the stakes are higher in the post-season and that there may be more pressure to perform on a bigger stage but the rules of engagement, the equipment, and the fundamental competitive parameters are unchanged. A competitive advantage in the regular season is still an advantage despite the date on the calendar, right? So why do I hear this nonsense spewed repeatedly by "experts" while other "experts" nod in agreement? Anyone?
4) Why does the NBA allow its referees to call games in such a way that the home team is expected to shoot significantly more free throws in a match-up than the visitig team? Over and over again...game after game...season after season. This is a direct affront to the notion of fair play. What is the purpose of this travesty?
5) Ever been to the circus? Isn't it mind-boggling to see the upper limits of physical precision that a person can achieve with a concentrated effort? A human being can fly off a trapeze and land on a lever that flings his brother 30 feet into the air where, after a few twisting somersaults en route, he lands squarely on his uncle's shoulders and proceeds, in one fluid motion, to pull a 14-inch carving knife from his teeth with his left foot and flings it through an apple that is strapped to his daughter's head as she rides a roller-skating elephant along a high-wire with no net. Pretty impressive if you ask me. So, why has no major league pitcher developed a behind-the-back pick off move to first base? It is a very simple maneuver compared to the upper limits of what we know we can achieve. Do I have to think these things up or can we expect that the guys who are getting paid to win will start stretching their bounds a little?
2) Why do so many athletes, coaches, analysts, and journalists speak of "going out on top" as a noble way to exit the game? To me that is the height of cowardice. If an athlete loses his drive and motivation after climbing to a certain height on the ladder of success, then I think that is a good reason to retire. But quitting so that everyone's last impression will be the one when you won is just another way of saying "now that I've succeeded, I can no longer bear to let anyone see me fail". I will never understand this attitude and I am amazed (and quite frankly, flabbergasted) at how casually and comprehensively it has been socially embraced. The poster boy for "staying too long" seems to be Willie Mays who loved the game so much he couldn't walk away even after his skills had diminished. In my eyes, that makes him all the more worthy of my adulation. He loved the game and played for as long as he could earn a spot on someone's roster, even if he no longer played like a superstar.
3) What is the basis for the common belief that a certain style of play or approach to competition may work in the regular season but not in the play-offs? I understand that the stakes are higher in the post-season and that there may be more pressure to perform on a bigger stage but the rules of engagement, the equipment, and the fundamental competitive parameters are unchanged. A competitive advantage in the regular season is still an advantage despite the date on the calendar, right? So why do I hear this nonsense spewed repeatedly by "experts" while other "experts" nod in agreement? Anyone?
4) Why does the NBA allow its referees to call games in such a way that the home team is expected to shoot significantly more free throws in a match-up than the visitig team? Over and over again...game after game...season after season. This is a direct affront to the notion of fair play. What is the purpose of this travesty?
5) Ever been to the circus? Isn't it mind-boggling to see the upper limits of physical precision that a person can achieve with a concentrated effort? A human being can fly off a trapeze and land on a lever that flings his brother 30 feet into the air where, after a few twisting somersaults en route, he lands squarely on his uncle's shoulders and proceeds, in one fluid motion, to pull a 14-inch carving knife from his teeth with his left foot and flings it through an apple that is strapped to his daughter's head as she rides a roller-skating elephant along a high-wire with no net. Pretty impressive if you ask me. So, why has no major league pitcher developed a behind-the-back pick off move to first base? It is a very simple maneuver compared to the upper limits of what we know we can achieve. Do I have to think these things up or can we expect that the guys who are getting paid to win will start stretching their bounds a little?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)