Anything Goes

I was never much of an athlete. My brother and I were the smallest guys in the class so no body thought we would be very helpful when picking teams and stuff. So we never got much playing time. We finally lost last place for size when we entered High School. There was one guy smaller than us but we treated him with respect. The jocks would stow him in a school locker. They were such nice catholic boys!

Eventually, I just did some sports on my own. I was good at shooting baskets and catching baseballs, but I was no star. My friend Roy Soto introduced me to racket ball in the 80's and I finally beat him a few times. I became a slightly above average golfer when I took the game up at 40. I still enjoy it.

Right now athletes are taking a beating. I don't think Cole Porter was thinking about this 'ANYTHING GOES' kind of attitude that our superstars have right now when he wrote his musical.. NFL players running dog fighting operations, baseball players using steroids to hit homers, bike racers getting caught using virtual pharmaceutical cocktails to get through their pain. NBA refs betting on NBA games. Various other jocks beating up people or worse.

I guess when you put them on a pedestal and pay them more than just about anyone other than hedge fund executives, they get a feeling of entitlement. But that is generally our fault for idolizing their physical talent while not thinking about other more important things. At the same time, you wonder about their long term prospects, essentially turning into senior citizens before their time. Bad knees at 28 and chronic pain and mental dullness from head injuries in the contact sports.

This kind of attitude that some athletes have remind of of the busy/cheney team. Anything Goes for them too.