Professionalism is ruining sport
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This came to me when I was watching "soccer" over here the other day. I saw Didier Drogba throw himself to the floor. I often get conned into watching games hoping this has changed, but alas, it hasn't. A Villa win made me feel better at least.
My attention then turned to David Beckham, who was injured again, and how it would be disastrous for England etc.
Quickly, I flipped over to see a game of cricket. The crowd was raucous, and the players were getting along quite happily. All seemed wonderfully calm.
A preview for the Rugby World Cup was on another channel (the Beckham news had finished). They showed the end of the 2003 Final, when England beat Australia 20-17. England won penalties, and I was happy to see that rather than give a Chelsea-esque argument with the referee, the players just got on with the game.
It seems to me that money earned by sportsmen is more or less directly proportional to the idiocy of the players and fans alike.
Look at football. Players worth £40 million is frankly, pathetic. It's the same in baseball - earning millions of dollars. Several times that of doctors, and other important people in society, that frankly, do much more than sportsmen.
Furthermore, these sports are generally run really badly. Soccer may perhaps be a helpful exception, but I hear constant squibbles on here that MLB is poor, and the NFL has too long a preseason, etc.
Now think if they were amateur. Not so they could earn a living, perhaps each player would have a cap of £5,000 or $10,000 a year salary from playing. That way, they would need to work during the day. Giving them these jobs would make them more endearing to fans, as we can relate to them in many different ways. Financially, sports would still exist - but they wouldn't turn millions that they do now. But the foudnations of the game wouldn't crumble.
Also, you wouldn't get as much cheating. Because the players wouldn't be cacooned from everyday life, so they wouldn't be able to.
Furthermore, the standard of play would be much lower. This is a good thing. It would make games much more exciting if mistakes were made all over the place. It would get really frustrating, but imagine having more INTs, more fumbles etc. in a game of American Football. It would be action packed.
Also, you'd see players more willing to play for their country, which again, is a good thing.
The biggest international amateur sport I can think of, is cricket. Many professional cricketers that do not get to play for their country will find work in either broadcasting perhaps, but otherwise it could be anything. Footballers outside of the Championship in England would be the same. Rugby players too. Speedway riders would have other work. The same is true of snooker players.
It is noticeable how comparitively accessible people there are in these sports. And also, how revered their sport is in terms of behaviour of the players and fans. You never hear of cheats in any of them, except in rare circumstances.
Children would still have sports stars as their idols. And they would be idols they could hope to match too, as there would be no reason why they couldn't be as good as them one day with the lower standards. Furthermore, the stars, once they retire from playing, can help develop the talent of younger players, and aide the community in that way.
I believe that amateurism in sports would be a more viable alternative to the modern sporting world. It would be a much more peaceful place, and you wouldn't get extortionate wages. There would be respect for referees and umpires. There would be much better behaviour from the players. And you wouldn't get footballers of any sort driving a Ferrari and living in a mansion in Florida for their entire lives, lending comparitively little help to society.
Time was, the best footballer in the world (Sir Stanley Matthews) caught public transport to his games, he mingled with the commoners on buses. Wouldn't that be great to be sat next to Tiger Woods? Tom Brady? Roger Federer? Imagine the thought...
