Sports fans do indeed go too far
PITTSBURGH – So we have a three-way he said/she said on the issue of whether someone vandalized the home of Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Tommy Maddox. Maddox and his agent both said there was a problem; Maddox’s wife said there wasn’t. By the end of the week, no one was talking.
Whatever did or didn’t happen, the bigger issue is the way people react to sports. When their team loses, people aren’t disappointed or heartbroken. They’re angry.
The team lost? Whose fault is it? Someone has to take the blame.
In this case, Maddox had a fairly rotten game against the Jacksonville Jaguars last Sunday. In other instances, though, it isn’t that simple. Sometimes the other team was better.
But that measure of reason is in short supply these days. Maybe the disconnect is fueled by salaries that always seem to rise. Some players get more in a signing bonus than an average working person will earn in a lifetime.
There’s a certain glamour in being a professional athlete and the perks are amazing. Car dealers will fight to put a star player behind the wheel of a free vehicle. They give keys to the one person who could buy the entire showroom.
There’s a lot of sweat and sacrifice involved in pro sports, too, but people don’t focus on that. It represents a dream life to most people. There are no accountant fantasy camps.
Ironically, one of Monday’s newspapers had a photo of Maddox, his wife and daughter at a charity function. The picture was selected before Sunday’s on-field meltdown, but the juxtaposition was interesting nonetheless.
He may have been a hero in the community, but he was a bum on the field and that’s what matters. You made us lose? You’re worthless.
There’s no mystery in why people get so wrapped up in sports. A lot of fans have lives that seem inconsequential. So they live vicariously through the accomplishments of their favorite team.
Sure, your job is lousy, your wife nags and your kids regularly fall short of the honor roll….but, hey, WE kicked Cleveland’s butt, didn’t we?
Losing is an act of betrayal and has to be dealt with harshly.
Whether or not anyone actually trashed Maddox’s yard is unknown. But no one had trouble believing it could have happened.
That’s sad.
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Word is Chuck Tanner is tremendously upset about the way the Pirates dropped his son Bruce from their coaching staff.
He’s made that displeasure known, and told the Pirates they can no longer count on him to make any promotional appearances for the team.
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This one started making the rounds after the St. Louis Cardinals were beaten in the National League playoffs:
If manager Tony LaRussa had known this kind of heartache was looming, he never would have invented baseball.
John Mehno can be reached at johnmehno@lycos.com