January 2002 - July 2006 - The Jerry Quarry Foundation

always. Teams serve many purposes for its fans, going way beyond the big,
lucrative businesses they really are. It can get pretty ridiculous sometimes,
but intense emotion always has that potential, in any area.What "hidden
resentment" are you referring to? >Let's call it ambivalence instead,
love/hate. The fan finds it absurd that players make millions for playing a
game, and it ~is~ pretty dopey, but they still show up at the games, or watch
them on TV; the fan is complicit for creating the atmosphere in which the
foolishness they deride is allowed to flourish.And after an athlete's
retirement, in most cases, the fans are still mesmorized.>In ancient
times, accomplished athletes were believed to be shirt tail cousins of the gods.
This hasn't changed much. Idolotry, and an overlying halo effect regard,
typically spanning all phases of the athlete's body and character, is rampant.
Along the lines of the god metaphor, they also remind many of all people's
irrational and subconscious quest for immortality. Many relive the old days, and
this is fine, but a lot of it is a "long live the king (god)" psychology.
They'll pay money at card shows to have old timers sign something.
They'll buy former players drinks at a bar.>It's more common than not
for a top athlete to have been a prince among men since he was a little boy.
They come to believe that people love them for ~them~ rather than for the
thrills they provide as paid entertainers. Many athletes are truly adored, but
the majority of the public forgets them day in, day out, when they can no longer
play, and there's new meat on the hoof to provide excitement. Hell,
they'll even HIRE unqualified people because they have great memories of when
these people competed at a high level.>It's also typical for exploits to
grow, much like a story in high school does, as it makes the rounds.when
they're no longer playing, they just aren't as relavant.>True, relevance
fades. A member of the Bears summed up a lot of it once when he was cut, and
commented that it took him a long time to deal with the "Bill ~who~?" reaction
from his "adoring fans," and that he was cut because he was no longer a good
football player, not because he'd become a bad or flawed person.That
isn't hidden resentment talking, it's reality.>True, and there usually
isn't much excuse to blow the fortunes most make. It just seems to me that
there's a certain glee just under the surface, seeing the mighty fall, as if
their former place on the pedestal was a negative reflection of the
imperfections in everyone else.It's not the fans' fault.>I
agree.|
|3/6/04 10:25:27 AM|Angelo|Washington, DC||funktron@yahoo.com||||10|RS: You
make a point I didn't really think about: Most great athletes have ALWAYS been
great athletes. This usually means that they were always the "first picked" on
the playground, and probably popular, often not because of their general
goodness, but because of their ability to do well on the field. They go from
being "first picked" among their piers, to "Coach's Favorite" (as well as
Teachers'/Parents/Adults in the community's Favorite). It means special
treatment and free passes in life, as a kid. Then, the college and pro
experience is more of the same, on a bigger stage, with lots of money. Now I
think I understand what you were getting at: When that's all over, it's like
falling off a cliff. I was looking at it from the point of view of an adult. I
figured that if suddenly I was a great athlete, making lots of money, I'd be
wise and invest and I'd also realize that when I'm forty years old and no longer
the best, it would be over. But if I had been getting this special treatment
since age 6 or 7, I would never have known life without it---and that's probably
the root of the psychological woes that hit some former great athletes (plus
their inability to fit in when their great talent is diminished or gone).
|
|3/6/04 09:36:24 PM|Roadscholarette|Chicago||usual||||10|Angelo ->You
make a point I didn't really think about: Most great athletes have ALWAYS been
great athletes.***Well, you know the old joke: "If you want to be a