"Got your bracket ready?"
"How about those Zags!"
If you live in the Inland Northwest, or Anywhere, USA , you've been hearing this crap for days on end. Opening day of the baseball season is on the horizon and college basketball just WON"T GO AWAY.
As a sports fan I dread this time of year. I'll watch most any baseball game, never miss an NFL Sunday and, if necessary, can stomach the last three minutes of an NBA telecast but you can't make me watch college basketball.
I've always had a hard time with the concept of college athletic programs. Other than serving as funnel for alumni money, what purpose do they serve in the halls of higher learning? Coaches, invariably the only Republicans on campus, make more money than the presidents of the universities that employ them. "Student" athletes major in stoop tag and playground studies and frequently graduate without benefit of having attended class, mastering the English language, or balancing a checkbook. The only positive product of this marriage of sports and education would seem to be, if the students are paying attention, that hard work, winning and providing a product the market appreciates and demands pays a hell of a lot better than a degree in art history. And, much to the chagrin of the reliably socialist faculty, student athletes often come away with a real aptitude for free and untrammeled bust out capitalism. (At least until their agent and no good relatives figure out a way to steal their money.)
So, even though Gonzaga University is only 30 miles away, you'll not find me wasting a minute of time watching ANY of the Sweet Sixteen action this weekend. I am convinced that the whole marriage of college and sports makes about as much sense as your local dentist offering muffler repair and oil changes. However, being a college graduate, I am not dumb enough to have neglected to get down a heavy bet on the Gonzaga-UCLA tilt this afternoon. I'll read about how much I've won in tomorrow's paper. It's 71 degrees outside and a fine day for doing anything but watching TV. Go Zags.
Tallulah Bankhead once said, "If you know your bible and your Shakespeare and can shoot craps, you have a liberal education."
I wonder how old Tallulah was from the free throw line?
I've always had a hard time with the concept of college athletic programs. Other than serving as funnel for alumni money, what purpose do they serve in the halls of higher learning? Coaches, invariably the only Republicans on campus, make more money than the presidents of the universities that employ them. "Student" athletes major in stoop tag and playground studies and frequently graduate without benefit of having attended class, mastering the English language, or balancing a checkbook. The only positive product of this marriage of sports and education would seem to be, if the students are paying attention, that hard work, winning and providing a product the market appreciates and demands pays a hell of a lot better than a degree in art history. And, much to the chagrin of the reliably socialist faculty, student athletes often come away with a real aptitude for free and untrammeled bust out capitalism. (At least until their agent and no good relatives figure out a way to steal their money.)
 |
| Tallulah Bankhead |
So, even though Gonzaga University is only 30 miles away, you'll not find me wasting a minute of time watching ANY of the Sweet Sixteen action this weekend. I am convinced that the whole marriage of college and sports makes about as much sense as your local dentist offering muffler repair and oil changes. However, being a college graduate, I am not dumb enough to have neglected to get down a heavy bet on the Gonzaga-UCLA tilt this afternoon. I'll read about how much I've won in tomorrow's paper. It's 71 degrees outside and a fine day for doing anything but watching TV. Go Zags.
Tallulah Bankhead once said, "If you know your bible and your Shakespeare and can shoot craps, you have a liberal education."
I wonder how old Tallulah was from the free throw line?
No comments:
Post a Comment