...and yet, who do we elevate to positions of authority and influence?
Sports-stars and celebrities?
Anyone see any hypocrisy and contradiction in these confusing messages?
Actually, I think playing sports is a great thing. I played sports thru college and I think they can teach a person valuable life lessons...how to win; how to lose; how to act as part of a team (if it's a team sport); reacting when things don't go your way; etc. You have to learn how to balance your study time and your practice time...in short, responsibility and how to handle both success and adversity.
I do think professional sports today are a mess. And, truthfully, college sports are as well (I am more of a "college sports fan" than "professional sports fan" anymore).
But star athletes have pretty much always had influence over youngsters. When I was a kid and even a teenager, I used to jump off the hood of my parents' car and slam-dunk basketballs because I was trying to emulate Julius Erving (and later, Michael Jordan...looking back, it's a miracle I didn't break my neck!). I used to try and emulate Nolan Ryan and Tom Seaver when I pitched (even though they were hard-throwing righties and I was a lefty! 😃).
I think the biggest difference today is that politics has become intertwined with sports (at all levels) here in recent years. I'm not going to elaborate any further (I very much like the "No Politics" rule here in General Discussion). But I did want to comment on the many positives playing sports can bring.