Sports world winning while many losing
It’s as though I’m living in two difference countries within my own country. I just don’t understand how it’s possible for me to hear about how bad the economy is while appearances tell a different story.
There seems to be so much disparity that it confuses me. On one hand, I’m confronted daily with the abhorrent need that surrounds me, while on the other hand I see an abundance of “me-ism.”
I’m a huge sports fan. I love watching college sports; baseball, football and basketball. However, I’m not such a big fan of professional sports. Sometimes I even think college sports participants have their hearts and minds so set on making it big in the pros that they forget to take care of the business at hand.
The media makes sure we are aware of all the problems and missteps both college and pro players make on and off the field. I just wish they would focus on what the players do behind the scenes when it comes to giving back to their communities.
I believe for every organization that has one or two players who exhibit unfavorable behavior, there are many more out there paying it forward and helping their communities.
Having said that, I really believe the salaries paid to college coaches and coaches and players at the professional level are borderline ridiculous. Too much emphasis is placed on paying big bucks to win, win, win, and academics are often neglected.
Since our economy has essentially been brokered, bartered and busted, how is it that there are so many people paying such exorbitant ticket prices to attend any sports events? I mean, the stadiums are packed with families cheering their team to victory. These tickets aren’t cheap, nor is the food they consume at the games. So, someone please let me know how families ae doing this. What are they going without in order to indulge in this so-called favorite pastime? Are their children among the five million children who go to bed hungry every night in our country? Are they, themselves, part of the growing number who find it hard to sleep at night because they are covered up with credit card debt? Perhaps they just ‘blow it off,” feeling as if they owe it to themselves to have this pleasurable outing in their life. Will someone please explain to me how this is?
Right now — this very minute, I know of a single mom in her 40s who is struggling to feed herself and her 13-year-old son because, after Christmas, she was laid off for two months. She has no money to pay her utilities because the unemployment she applied for doesn’t begin for six weeks. However, she was told her claim must have somehow been dropped out of the computer because there is no record found of her filing a claim, so she has to reapply. This means another long wait without money to pay for necessities.
Another couple is hurting because he was unexpectedly laid off last week.
With a new baby and two other children at home, it’s decision-making time. What bill do they let slide this month so food can be put on their table? It seems for every story like this that comes my way, there are more like it out there.
What if everyone who attends any kind of sports venue drops just $1 or a non-perishable food item in the hat on their way in? The money and food collected could be proportionately distributed to local food banks throughout the area to help the people that desperately need this assistance.
Is it too much to ask everyone to give a little to help those who are in need?