As I near my 54th birthday, I am reminded of author Jim Harrison's observation that "as I get older I find that I have a diminishing portfolio of enthusiasms."
Other than the National Basketball Association, my interest in professional sports has waned to nearly nil. I relented last season and watched the San Diego Chargers crash and burn in their playoff game and the Chicago Bears succumb in the Super Bowl; but other than those two games I watched no NFL games.
Baseball...yawn city. I reluctantly went to a Padres game, more to hang with a buddy than to watch the game. In fact, dinner and the cigar were the highlights of the evening.
And these are teams that contend...that at least have a shot at winning it all. What about the poor wretches (I am a recovering Chicago Cubs fan) who support the perennial bottom dwellers of their respective professional sports leagues?
For the owners there is little incentive to dump millions into their teams. What with salary caps, TV contracts and revenue sharing, professional sports and Cuba remain the last bastions of socialism. As for the players on these teams, they seem to be suffering from Jimmy Carter's 1980's malaise.
A remedy? Relegation.
In the professional soccer (football) leagues of Europe teams are not guaranteed a berth at the highest level of the beautiful game. If the team finishes in one of the bottom spots the entire team is relegated to the next level. In England that means being relegated from the English Premeire league into the Championship League. Falter there and the team can be sent down to League One. The teams earn their way back into the higher levels by finishing at the top of their new leagues. Relegation and promotion. Redemption in sports.
Imagine an NBA team, rather than inventing injuries to star players in order to improve chances of scoring the top lottery pick, scrambling to stay out of the last four positions because that would mean relegation to the D League. Or the Washington Nationals (or better yet the New York Yankees) suddenly becoming a AAA ballclub. You might seem some hustle, some interest, and more importantly, consequences for "stinkin' up the joint."
Impractical? Yeah. But a guy can dream, right?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment