I was raised in an orphanage (Mills Home, Thomasville, N.C.)
With almost 400 kids on campus sports was a big thing for most of us and we
had our own baseball teams, football teams, and basketball teams. Kids swam
in the summer at least an hour a day and many were acrobatic from the hi-dive.
Kids also engaged in school sports and it was not uncommon to have a all-state
wrestler or other champions on campus.
We were also in church Sunday morning and evening and Wednesday night.
I actually remember a sermon which is now more than 60 years ago. The Pastor
referenced The Sports page in the Newspaper. He said he enjoyed reading the
Sports Page because it was always pure and clean. It was only about the sporting
event.
That is so not true today. I turned the TV on yesterday and a sports announcer was talking about an unhappy player wanting a trade and make more money. It was reported he is earning $36 million a year. Wow. Player celebrations; bat flips, end zone celebrations and trying to show the opponents up are common. Mickey Mantle was my favorite player and he said that when he hit a home run he ran the bases quickly with his head down. He did not want to show up the pitcher
stating that the pitcher already felt bad for giving up the homerun.
I see football players jumping for joy with a big celebration after a tackle and
the team is 20 points behind. I still enjoy some sports but miss the days when
team effort shined more than the ego celebrations and demonstrations of entitlement.
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