I'd like to address the sports issue. It's already happened with the major sports here in the US. And professional salaries have reached the point of absurdity. Take Shohei Ohtani, for example... he's really a remarkable player, had a great season, was part of the team that won the 2024 World Series. But his contract is for around $700 million, which roughly averages out to around $70 million per season. He's not worth that...no player today is worth that. Max Scherzer, who used to be a great pitcher and will likely end up being a MLB Hall Of Famer when his playing career is over, got paid $43 million for his 2024 season, where he went 2-4 with a 3.95 ERA. I can cite similar cases for the NBA and NFL also. Some of these guys just make ridiculous money today.
I'd also like to cite college football, because I used to be a huge fan (Ohio State is my favorite team, but I'm a fan of college football in general). Tomorrow marks the beginning of the 12-team playoff and I will watch. However, this new playoff system, combined with the NIL money for players, is really ruining college football, IMO. I've thought about starting a college football thread the past few weeks (because I know there are other fans of college football here besides me), but I just can't do it. I just don't have the enthusiasm for college football that I used to have... it's not the same for me anymore.
Finally, look at female sports. Caitlin Clark is pretty much the sole reason why the WNBA experienced a huge jump in attendance/viewership this past season. While she is a good player and has skills, there have been quite a few players over the years that were better players than Clark is. I'm also a fan of LPGA Golf. Nelly Korda and Lydia Ko both had great seasons and are great representatives of Women's Golf. Yet, the most popular Women's golfer today (in terms of Instagram followers and Internet popularity) is Paige Spirinac. Sex appeal, like it or not, matters when it comes to female sports... it's just the way it is.
But, yes, I've seen the "glory days" of the NBA and the NFL (and, to a certain degree, MLB... although one can make the argument that its glory days occurred before I was born). But professional sports has been on the decline for a long time now.
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