The first headline I saw when I signed on today was “They Won’t Play for Team USA”, with the subtitle, “Should country come first?” This was on the AOL news banner. Being the optimist that I am, I figured that someone abroad had offended America or the American spirit, and these gallant fellows were refusing the privilege of representing their country based on a moral imperative.
Of course, these illusions were quickly shattered when I read the piece. It seems that they are simply too busy to attend. I note that they are not too busy to stop everything entirely if the numbers on their paychecks aren’t up to snuff. I also see the wide difference between what American athletes get and those of other nations. Americans follow these players and pay them out of what are in many cases nearly empty pockets in the form of tickets, sportswear and other artifacts of the game. Of course I’m over-reacting. These players have natural talent. They “deserve” their multi-million dollar estates. What they do is more important than the policemen and factory workers that pay the way for these athletes. It’s more important than any government official or medical practitioner, which is why they are paid more. And of course, such a tiresome obligation of a job expectedly requires that they maintain adequate vacation time in order to relieve all the compounding stress of playing games. Can we not therefore understand why these athletes cannot be bothered with the additional responsibility of representing their nation on the world stage of sports?
Well, I can understand. Ever see what an Olympic athlete gets paid? Forget patriotism, this is business.
We should recall as a nation the downfall of Rome. Sports became an obsession while legitimate issues of the day remained uninvestigated by the populace. It was in this way that Roman citizens lost first their rights, and then their nation. The very least these millionaire “players” (not “workers”, which is what you and I do) could do for their undeserved millions is show a little respect to the nation that has given them far more than they could ever give back in their capacity as a mere player of a game.
