I'm a fan of Pittsburgh sports teams like anybody else. It's exciting when your team wins, no matter what sport you are talking about. But lately, I've see the impact and relevance of sports fading across the board. The Penguins have not touched the ice along with the rest of the NHL teams and now the tantrum came to a season finale. Stanley and his cup will be awful lonely. Fans are left wondering what's next.
In this city, we have had two brand new stadiums shoved down our throats and these gleaming monuments to corporate sponsorship are perched upon a bankrupt city. The magic of a new ballpark has not helped the Bucs record much. As for the Ketchup cage, the playing surface at Heinz Field has given the honor of been deemed the worst in the NFL in a player survey and has been replaced two years after it was installed. Yeah, the Steelers had a great season despite lawsuits by fans over seating issues. When your fans are suing you you have a problem!
Now we hear about how most, if not all the future Hall of Fame baseball players cheated through the use of steroids to achieve their so called greatness. The one thing you don't hear in all this is how the fans (ie. The people who spend their hard earned money to support these egomaniacs) have been duped. We get to buy an overpriced ticket to sit beneath the luxury skyboxs that lesser stadiums were destroyed to create. We shell out big bucks to park, eat and maybe take home some "made in china" souvenir. All this to see millionaire crybabys, cheat, lie and abuse the fans in person.
Don't get me wrong, there are some great guys playing today. The problem is the are surround by idiots. I have not missed hockey that much. Even the most die hard fan could find other ways to pass the time. It would do the players, management and government well to realize that. It's time fans be considered part of the team or I'm taking my ball and going home.
1 comment:
I used to be an avid Penguins fan, not so much Pirates or Steelers. In recent years, mostly due to a re-awakening of faith, the world of professional sports has fallen way off my radar. I no longer care. What the fans don't seem to understand is their rabid loyalty has little to no effect on the multi-million dollar empires of sports. Any of these teams will pick up and move for a better offer without even a second thought to the "die-hard" fans who "live and bleed" their team colors. In a lot of ways, its quite sad.
Don't get me wrong, there are athletes with obvious talents, and entertainment and diversions should be a part of life, but they should not be the be all, end all of life for anyone.
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