Professional athletes have always been lightning rods in American culture. From Mickey Mantle‘s reputation as a womanizer to the gambling stories about Michael Jordan, sports stars have always been under a microscope.
As time has ebbed by the scrutiny of pro athletes has grown exponentially. While this increase in coverage can be attributed to a rapid growth in sports media, social media, and the 24 hour news cycle, the underlying theme to this increasing analysis is that outside of a few, people generally don’t hold pro athletes in as high a regard as they used to—in other words, they just don’t like them very much anymore.
Gone are the days where men like Joe Namath who earned the nickname “Broadway Joe” because of his gregarious personality, reveling in the New York nightlife, and his penchant for chasing women were revered by men and women alike. Today, athletes are crucified by the media and their fan bases for the same behavior.
This would not be a “salute” in today’s media
It makes sense that the more access we have, the more we know about their lives which ultimately leads to more criticism. It’s also no surprise that the demonization of masculine conduct both on and off the field is due to the rise of feminism.
Vitriol spewed by women about these men is par for the course these days and to be quite frank, this shouldn’t surprise anybody either. Women have always envied men and squawking about their superiority is how they deal with it. But the growing disdain for male pro athletes by men is white knighting at it’s sickeningly worst and is a disturbing trend.
Now I understand that men in the media have to fall in line with the feminist agenda in public. Their livelihood depends on it. And while some of us may think “Well they should have picked another way to make a living before getting into it” we’d be wrong.
The carpet of masculinity has quite literally been pulled out from under them. Feminism hadn’t infiltrated sports media on this level when most of the notable journalists, media members, and sports anchors started so I’m not going to pass judgment on men who have to toe the line in order to continue making a living.
No, I’m not suggesting that I can read their minds one way or the other. For all we know male sports reporters and pundits may very well be the manginas they present themselves to be. Nobody knows for sure but I’d be willing to bet that behind closed doors male media members probably have very different conversations about about the sexes than what we see on television or read in their articles.
When I listen to sports talk radio or follow sports blogs and hear (and see) male after male, regular guys as well as television personalities, attacking our brothers it reminds me of feminism. That is, we’d all like to be united but when one or more of us gets ahead we do our damndest to tear each other down.
One thing we try to preach on sites like this is solidarity. God knows the western hemisphere has wants us all thrown to the gallows and hung in the village square so why the hell do we continue to hate on each other?
Follow The Money
Back in mid November, Miami Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton signed a 13 year contract for an eye popping $325 million—the largest contract in professional sports history. Miguel Cabrera wasn’t too far behind having signed a ten year extension worth a shade under $300 million earlier in the year.
Stanton will make $25 million annually with Miami
Any time an athlete signs a mega deal like this people lose their shit which leads to predictable narrative like “These guys make too much money!” or “No athlete is worth that much!”
Admittedly I used to be in this camp. I used to take the so-called high road and complain about how our military service men, police officers, and teachers struggle financially while pro athletes who get to play a game for a living make more in a day than any of the aforementioned do in a year. But over the last few years I’ve gained perspective on this issue and have done a complete 180 on this.
Pro athletes get shit from everyone about their “outrageous salaries” but a fraction of a fraction of those detractors barely complain, if ever, about what the owners or commissioners make?
“Owners and Commissioners have worked their whole lives to build their wealth!”
And professional athletes who’ve played the game since childhood haven’t?
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell makes over $40 million a year (and he deserves every penny as he successfully runs a multi-billion dollar corporation) and former MLB Commissioner Bud Selig will get a $6 million pension. But it’s the athlete who is crucified for being greedy.
Life is good for the commish’ and his $44 million salary
The fact is professional athletes have a very small window relative to the average person to maximize on his prime years and earn as much as possible. When his playing career is done, there are few ways for him to make a living because the sport he’s played since he was young is pretty much all he knows.
Oh I can hear it now:
“He should have educated himself!”
“He can just make the transition to T.V. and be a commentator!”
With regards to “education” it’s been well established in this sector of the web that a college education is next to useless for men and women alike. The purpose of a higher education is to train an individual how to best earn a living. The athlete gets this training on the field while in college. That is where he gets his education which is every bit the same as engineers, doctors, and lawyers who are also in training for their chosen career path.
Secondly, less than one half of 1% of professional athletes make it on television if they even get the opportunity in the first place. Guys like Terry Bradshaw, Ray Lewis, and Curt Schilling are a part of the very small fraternity lucky enough to transition smoothly from the playing field to the studio and make a decent living. They are the exception to the rule.
Then when you factor in the price their bodies pay for decades of abuse with the off season training, training camps, long regular season schedules (82 games in the NBA and NHL, 162 games in MLB, and 16 games in the NFL) and countless surgeries they undergo to glue their bodies back together to subject themselves to yet, more of this abuse it’s no wonder athletes angle for larger salaries. They know that when they’re playing days are over, their bodies will be in bad shape—much worse than the 42 year old math teacher in Omaha, Nebraska.
That’s going to be sore in a decade or two
Lastly, when you consider the money that any given professional sports franchise makes over the course of a season and their overall net worth, the player salaries aren’t as exorbitant as one might think relative to their value to that franchise. Everything from the parking, the ticket money collected at the gate, personal seat licenses, apparel, production, down to the hot dogs and beer and everything else that goes into a sporting event that generates cash is because of the athlete. These billion dollar television deals that bring in enormous revenue to these leagues and their franchises do not happen without the main attraction….the athlete.
Nobody shows up to watch coaches or owners coaching or owning. They show up to see the players which makes them far and away the most valuable asset to every franchise. This more than justifies any player’s desire to make as close to his market value as possible.
Is any player worth millions of dollars per year? As long as professional sports continue to generate the billions in revenue year after year the answer is an emphatic yes. For without the athlete these billions don’t exist.
So the next time you’re engrossed in a conversation with someone about how you just can’t believe that this player made that much money take into account the above factors at play and consider softening your stance a bit.
Performance Enhancing Drugs
It’s common knowledge that today’s scarlet letter in professional sports is domestic violence. Any athlete that finds himself at the center of so much as an accusation, regardless of merit, is subjected to an immediate “guilty until proven innocent” narrative which has the potential to derail and even end his career.
That scarlet letter, however, used to be steroids and still is to some extent. Any player suspected of using PEDs (performance enhancing drugs) has his name smeared through the mud. His statistics are called into question, they’re dragged into court, and are turned into pariahs seemingly overnight.
Once again, I had that same mindset. Growing up, I idolized Barry Bonds. But when it became obvious he “cheated” I was among those who criticized him for it and once again, the red pill has completely changed my thinking on this.
No doubt he juiced
If you’ve spent enough time in the manosphere you probably now understand that steroids, HGH, and testosterone injections aren’t the boogeyman the rest of the world would lead you to believe. Masculinity is under enough criticism as it is so when men find a way to increase masculinity in every way it shouldn’t alarm anyone that PEDs have quickly found their way on society’s shit list.
For those of you who think these substances are evil ask yourself these two questions:
1) If you were a 30 something athlete nearing the end of your career with a rookie who plays your position breathing down your neck, you know everyone around you is doing steroids and being rewarded for their performance with record breaking contracts, can you say for certain that wouldn’t take the moral high ground you’ve been on your entire life and wouldn’t so much as consider taking the needle?
2) If a doctor told you that you could take a supplement that would strengthen your bones, reduce joint pain, decrease recovery time, increase muscle, strength, and athletic performance, enhance your libido and performance between the sheets, and give you better, tighter skin you’d say no? You’d decline taking a drink from the fountain of youth?
And you’d chastise those who would answer yes to either or both of those questions?
The truth is none of us know what we would do in either of those situations unless we were actually in them. So why bag on athletes who’ve made the decision to improve their bodies with these substances for the purpose of enhancing their lives, improving and extending their careers and overall quality of life if we’ve never been in that predicament?
We all take performance enhancing drugs on some level even if it’s not to the degree of testosterone or HGH. Caffeine, amphetamines (ephedra or ephedrine), whey protein, and creatine are all examples of substances taken by millions of men every day to improve their performances in their respective lives. To bash professional athletes for taking it one step further is not only silly and hypocritical but also lacks perspective and honesty.
Why do we hate athletes?
This one’s simple: envy. We can talk all we want about how much money they make or how they’re greedy cheaters or how they’re terrible people but the fact of the matter is most of the perceived hate is nothing more than jealousy.
Pro athletes live lives of privilege. They make millions of dollars, they’re physically superior to 99% of men, and have pussy literally thrown at them everywhere they go. Who among us wouldn’t want that lifestyle?
But they’re painted in a bad light by the media and unfortunately it’s affected men everywhere. We make angry phone calls to radio shows, or tweet out some lengthy epithet about how this or that player is a terrible person because he tested positive for x-y-z substance or signed a deal worth north of $100 million because he didn’t negotiate that contract in a way that makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
Women who criticize athletes are equally as hypocritical. No matter what they say in public, we all know damn well they’d spread their collective lips and take as many loads of alpha seed as their uteri could handle in a New York minute if given half the chance.
Whose Side Are You On?
Understand this: I am in no way advocating worshiping professional athletes. Kids and early teenagers I give a pass to because of their youthful ignorance but 30 year old men who glorify their favorite players are mentally immature and psychologically damaged individuals on many levels.
On the other hand it makes zero sense to hate them. Simply admire them for their athletic ability and understand that they are human beings, complete with all the frailties anyone of us has. There is a happy medium and men are more than capable of finding it rather easily.
Nobody’s suggesting we should feel sorry for them. Far from it. All the money, pussy, and adoration they get makes it impossible to feel any sort of sympathy for them. Though they have their trials, tribulations, and faults like everyone else don’t kid yourself…life is pretty damn good for these guys.
But we as men need to stick together. Bitching about pro athletes amongst ourselves makes us look like petulant women who can’t help but tear each other down if one of them happens to live a better life than we do.
Not to mention this is beta behavior. Being “against” steroids or talking about how it’s a crying shame Player X makes more than Firefighters isn’t going to win you any favors (pussy) from the opposite sex.
The bottom line here is that if you hate professional athletes that’s a you problem. You are envious of these men and vocalization of your disdain is a beta tell. Men who are kicking life’s ass have neither the time or energy to engage in this foolishness.
I used to be one of these men until I checked myself and got my mind right (read: took the red pill). Men here with that same complex would do well to do the same. It’s time for us to quit hating on our allies, getting our fat, lazy asses in the gym, saving our hard earned money, and stop all this jealousy once and for all.
Leave the whining and infighting to the feminists. We’re better than this, gentlemen. It’s time to start acting like it.
Read Next: The Shameless Exploitation Of Domestic Violence In The NFL
Im on the side of I dont give a shit either way
Court jesters have risen to primacy in modern western society.
Well I do agree one segment of the male population that acts most like feminists is members of the sports media.
What the…professional athletes are the most glamorised people in the world and they are no more glamorised in america than any other place on earth. if someone expects a guy who can hit a ball or throw a ball to be a successful role model based only on that criteria then they are bound for failure. Sure there is a lot to be said of some athletes work ethic but that can also be true of many professions. Athletes are being glamorised more and more because corporations want to sell more and more crap and when people see some form of failure in the athlete they view it to be part of their method of choice. Shit story short, i’m a half way descent athlete that views the absurd deifying of athletes as totally at odds with personal success. Yes, they can be used as a measuring stick and it’s important to learn from the best but lord please learn from a book too.
It’s not just athletes.
Athletes are just a metaphor for strong and determined men.
I’m no professional athlete, but over Christmas my 2 Sisters- in-Law were getting angry as fuck at me for not toeing their line. Just because their own husbands are pussies. I’d had a few drinks and I enjoy winding them up, but there is a serious issue here. Society has conditioned females to persue and mould men into pussies, yet hate them for it. Deep down they despise their pussy nature. And it comes out from time to time – usually social occasions where drink is involved. This is where the pussy moulder will embarrass and humiliate her man in front of many people over his inability to carry out certain traditional male functions.
Seriously, look at men in such environments when their wives are shooting their mouth off after two large glasses of wine. They’re fucking trembling with fear!
Over Christmas I said up front that managing household finances are a man’s responsiblity. They went apeshit at me.
This is a microcosm of the problem. Athletes are extreme examples of strong, take-no-shit men. Hence their position of hate receptacles. Show the same traits, get the same hate.
It’s worth it though. Even if just for kicks
Feminists need to stop being Jelly (jealous) of professional athletes too. Send them to the Jelly school!
Thanks for touching on PED’s in such a manner. A little insight for the less knowledgable on the subject…
I’m 22 years old and on Testosterone Replacement Therapy. Since the age of about 16, my testosterone levels slowly began declining due to a longstanding Varicocele. (Google it and check yourself boys). By the age of 20, I was so depressed and miserable from the lack of the main hormone that makes me a man, that suicide was a daily thought. No exaggeration.
Fast forward two years since beginning therapy and the only thoughts pertaining to suicide are “what the fuck was I thinking?”
Now, you’d think it being a medical necessity that this treatment was easy for me to obtain… Wrong.
Due to the feminist adjenda here in the US and the hatred regarding these substances, finding a doctor to prescribe me my required treatment was borderline impossible. I went through four doctors before coming across an anti-aging clinic that accepted me, and luckily at that. This clinic is extremely up to speed on hormone therapy and well versed in all of it’s technicalities.
Even still, insurance doesn’t cover anything except for the risky Testosterone Gel. They’re okay with you smearing a powerful hormone on your girlfriend and children, but god forbid a needle comes into play (which is the best method of administration). Then you’re a steroid abuser!!!!
Anyway, this clinic also treats two players on the New Jersey Devils, both of whom, are over 35. It was amazing to see their picture on the wall in the office and go, “Wow, that’s why they’re still able to play.”
Long story short, these substances are a TRUE NECESSITY, and can truly restore youth to those in need.
And just to clear the waters for everyone, I’d like to make it known that, in my high school days, I trained with plenty of players in the NFL whom I won’t name, in a gym i won’t name. But I know, for a fact, from the mouths of these men, that 90-95% of the NFL uses steroids. College is around 80% for D-1. SOME guys are gifted, but it’s rare.
Generally the exceptions include quarterbacks and kickers, but not always.
I say that because we need to stop people from bashing guys in the NFL who use, and it needs to be understood that this is no longer even a form of cheating. If everyone is cheating, the playing field is pretty level, isn’t it?
So next time you see some asshole who thinks he knows it all say “Yeah but he’s just a schmuck who uses steroids.” as he sips his 10th Bud Lite on an NFL Sunday, school him. And tell him to shut his beta fucking mouth.
I’d also note that in a sport like football, if everyone is using PEDs, it is suicidal, almost literally so, to step onto the same field without using them yourself.
Good post. The feminist agenda bashes steroids because the more testosterone, aggressive men walking around the worse off it is for them. They need good, beta “yes-men” to keep the agenda going.
Anyway, I’m considering doing TRT at some point In the future. Thanks again for this post.
I’m on it and I know how hard it is to get a doctor. My testosterone levels were so low before but since I started I felt much better. The gels don’t work so well and if you have a wife or girlfriend and/or kids, it can spread to their skin. Luckily, I’m single.
How much does it cost you monthly?
It costs me around 75 bucks including syringes every 5 months because of a coupon I have. I’m in the US.
Yep it is hard to be on TRT at that age. People don’t even take you seriously when you say you need it and finding a doctor that would prescribe this to you isn’t easy. And gels aren’t even that effective when compared to injected testosterone. It’s funny that estrogen is everywhere but testosterone is a controlled substance. But it isn’t a coincidence if you think about the feminist government.
When I say “cuntocracy” I’m not being dramatic.
Because it is a cuntocracy.
I’ll be honest in saying this, TRT is completely the opposite of hard for me. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t absolutely love it. The only issue I truly have with it is it’s increased my propensity for hairloss, though I still see no signs of recession. That and fertility is somewhat of an issue. I say somewhat because I take HCG in conjunction with the Testosterone to maintain testicular, and more importantly, sperm function. There is a slight possibility I may be unable to conceive, but I need to live my life according to what’s best for me. Also, this sight has taught me the upsides of forgoing procreation. Although, I do want to be the patriarch of many people, as I am the last male able to continue my family name. Many men have uses steroid hormones throughout their young lives and conceived multiple healthy children in their later years. (see Shwarzenegger, Arnold)
What it’s given me in all areas of life pertaining to being a man is something I could never put a price on.
What’s your monthly cost?
200 a month. But 600 paid quarterly.
200 dollars to turn your body into a Mercedes Benz.
It could be done much cheaper through endocrinologists, with just direct prescriptions. But most endo’s don’t know a thing when it comes to TRT. They don’t prescribe HCG, and some don’t even know what an Aromataze inhibitor is (keeps estrogen levels down). A bottle of Testosterone Cypionate costs 80-120 dollars and lasts me 10 weeks(200mg a week), 20 weeks for older guys(100mg a week.) So, you do the math.
I’m not sure on the price of HCG, I’ve heard it’s expensive.
An Aromataze inhibitor can be purchased through research chemical sites legally($40-80, and for your “research rats”, not you). One bottle would last your “rat” a year or more.
But the thing with a clinic is, you get the expertise, and very thorough bloodwork. For instance my bloodwork, which run twice a year, is about 5k’s worth. Insurance covers it but still, it’s a small book. Getting that much information about my body twice a year is invaluable to me.
Last time my doctor gave me my bloods, he said I had the same results and levels of the professional athletes he treats. Not a flag.
Sorry to rant but I just want to make sure guys just pick the right path from the get go. If anyone has any questions feel free to inbox me or something. New to disqus.
I’ll message you later when I get home. I have some more questions. Thanks.
http://i.imgbox.com/qWU3C9hM.jpg
PEDs rock and I take them every day before breakfast. I take one in particular that puts more wood in your shed. My girl needs a bucket to empty out my man fluid after I’m done with her.
PEDs the breakfast of champions.
Glad to see i’m not alone. I always get the “Holy shit when did you last jerk off?!” comment as I busted 3/4’s of a cup onto her tits lol.
What do you take?
Tribulus amps the sperm production and libido. I take nootropics for mental improvement but they also help focus and energy levels in the gym.
Btw never go cheap on this stuff. Always buy quality or you are probably wasting your time.
What sort of nootropics do you take? And do you actually notice a difference? I’m skeptical when it comes to things like this.
You are wise to be sceptical. There is a lot of bullshit out there. Also, some of the stuff that actually works you may be a non-responder. I know this is the case for me. The only nootropic that makes a noticeable impact for me is noopept. It has a long lead time (about 2-3 weeks of 20 – 40 mgs a day) before I notice effects. However the effects are profound. Noticeable improvements in focus and speed of thought when studying, recall is improved and so is eyesight.
I take choline with it as support (noopept depletes your choline stores).
There are many others. Consider your needs and try a few until you find one that works for you.
you cant get this shit bc they want you sickly; why monitor hgh/T levels when they can give you pills for depression instead? Nah you are only 29, you cant have low T, you must be depressed! Now you take those pills, and you get ED, we can now prescribe chubby meds…and so on
I don’t. Why would I? I don’t care about them at all.
I don’t hate them, don’t like them, don’t revere them, don’t despise them. I just don’t think about them. They are not worth my mental energy, just like TMZ-style gossip. That shit is a blight on life if you buy into it.
Pretty much this. I don’t hate them, but why should I spend my time caring what some overpaid and socially-underchallenged athletes get involved in?
The point is that they are not overpaid. Economics dictate how much they paid. And their employers are often making a profit regardless.
Well, in Europe it is not uncommon for local governments to subsidize huge, flashy stadiums and events like the Eurocup and the Olympics.
I wish the government would shower me with tax money to enjoy my hobby. A carbon bike would be nice. I’d also not be a burden on the health care system, whilst hiding my money in Monaco…
At the end of the day professional sports are entertainment and a vehicle for advertising. And absolutely nothing more. Any notion of sportsmanship and honourable, fair competition is long gone.
A carbon bike is not a renewable source of revenue or taxable income. A stadium is.
There is more to life than taxable income or “sustainable” revenue.
If it’s a renewable source of revenue it wouldn’t need subsidies.
I admire them. They are men who have sacrificed to be the very best in their chosen field. Their abilities are amazing and an inspiration to me and many a young man. I do my best to emulate their discipline, desire and brilliance.
Exactly. I don’t admire them as people, but I admire and respect them as men who have risen to top of their chosen profession by dint of hard work and sacrifice.
I am astounded at the devotion and skill of world class athletes. I also admire physicists, musicians, architects, authors, race car drivers, chefs, artists…
Ultimately, I place more value on the person who can produce an innovation in quantum physics over someone who can throw an oval ball. It’s just personal preference.
Well value is an individual thing. Great innovators in the sciences are few and far between but their names are immortal. 100 years from now most of today’s sports stars will be forgotten whereas we will still talk about Isaac Newton.
That said athletes make an important contribution by showing us what is possible by the human body. This is important knowledge that filters down to the rest of us, providing an opportunity for us to improve ourselves.
Some of them were just born with immense talent they allowed to be coached along, doing just a little bit of work to go with it.
Nope.
I get what you’re saying, but if these guys want to be stars, hate comes with the territory. Personally, I don’t hate them as much as I hate the consumerist spectator culture that deifies them.
Good article and I agree. One quibble: the athletes did not make the money – they earned it. The people who bought the tickets *may* have made some money; if they work in mining, farming, or manufacturing.
If you want to hate on professional sports. Hate the significant segment of your neighbors who “must” have a sports team in their area to the point they are willing to sign you up for a significant chunk of the stadium costs or forgo tax revenue to have the team in the area.
Truth of the matter is these sports need geographical diversity in their sports to make it work, but local areas are too scared to play hardball.
Other than this one area of sports, nobody is making anybody do anything they don’t want to do. Which is more than you can say for most sectors of the economy.
I was almost with you, until “forgo tax revenue”.
The money people earn is theirs first, not the government’s, not yours. If a person gets to keep more of his money than me, that’s not something I should look at and say “Hey, keep stealing from him too!”. I should rather say “Hey, why are you still stealing from me, bub!” Neither you, nor I, nor anybody else has a natural first claim to the labor of other individuals by right.
Your issue is nonsensical. That stadium is consuming services that I am paying for through my taxes like roads and emergency services. You can argue (moronically) that such things should be through private associations if you like, but as they are not, it is entirely appropriate to demand that somebody else pay their share of the costs.
Yeah, they pay no taxes. Sure.
Except that they do. Just not enough by your standards. Which is fine, but then you dress it up as somehow you have first claim on the money others make. You don’t.
I’m against public financed stadiums, but I do not consider being allowed to keep one’s own money as “public financed”. If there is a vote or law that forces the stadium to be put up with actual already taken or slated to be taken tax dollars, then I’m against it. These are two separate issues though.
Keep your ad hominem in check, it does nothing to assist your argument and only lessens how seriously I or anybody else will take you.
*yawn*
“Many NFL teams have also cut sweetheart deals to avoid taxes. The futuristic new field where the Dallas Cowboys play, with its 80,000 seats, go-go dancers on upper decks, and built-in nightclubs, has been appraised at nearly $1 billion. At the basic property-tax rate of Arlington, Texas, where the stadium is located, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones would owe at least $6 million a year in property taxes. Instead he receives no property-tax bill, so Tarrant County taxes the property of average people more than it otherwise would.”
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/10/how-the-nfl-fleeces-taxpayers/309448/
So the Cowboys who use the roads, a sizable amount of on duty police/fire/ambulatory services, etc. Don’t pay for them.
“Take the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, which will host this year’s Super Bowl. Easterbrook says comparable businesses pay about $20 million a year in local property taxes.
“It pays $6 million a year through a political agreement that exempted the billionaire ownership families of the Jets and Giants that jointly own that stadium from the kind of taxes that are paid by mere average people,” he says.”
http://www.npr.org/2014/01/18/263767372/the-nfl-big-business-with-big-tax-breaks
So the Giants and Jets get nearly a 75% discount. So no it really is about making sure they pay for the city services they consume and not as you say taking “their” money. Because you know not paying for stuff you use is called theft, it isn’t called keeping what belongs to you.
In your libertarian utopia the rest of us would haul their butts in front of a judge and walk out 15 minutes later with a judgment for serious amounts of coin.
Also, I never attacked you. Just the lunacy of your arguments. Which you have yet to improve btw.
Here’s the clue. I don’t care who cuts deals to avoid taxes. That money isn’t yours, it’s theirs, and everybody should and must make the most advantageous deals that they can that allows them to keep as much of their own money as they legally can.
Do you similarly sneer at people who use accountants to get a great tax return?
As to “don’t pay for services” that’s absurd. The players income is still taxed, the concessions are still taxed, every single thing being brought into build the place is made with taxed goods, the wages of the workers who maintain and man the place are taxed, etc.
So much for your straw man.
Its obvious your understanding of taxes is … rudimentary. I am not interested in bringing you up to speed on which taxes go where, and how income tax revenues end up in state and federal coffers paying dick all for local services. And just because FedGov is screwing the players and owners on their income tax doesn’t preclude the fact that they are stealing services from the city.
Your “everybody cuts the best deal” is all well and good so long as you are in a situation of arms length transactions. But seeing as how you know the people funding your elected officials candidacies are the same ones extracting favorable terms and the deals get brokered in back rooms with public hearings scheduled from 3:00-3:15pm on a Thursday when people are either at work or picking their kids up at school, you can just walk your high minded ideals right out the door.
Your world doesn’t exist and it doesn’t do you a damn bit of good trying to live in it.
The nfl is a NON TAX PAYING NON PROFIT CORPORATION
And then they go broke, many of them. Salaries for NFL players typically aren’t nearly as good as in basketball or baseball, combined with a short career and that a sizable chunk of the money goes to agents and other expenses. Then there are the injuries, which are much worse for the NFL
So its wrong to pedestalize women but we should pedestalize men? Its not enough to tolerate their bloated paychecks, we have to “admire” them? Buy a jersey with their number on it to wear when you work out at the gym, like a beta bitch wannabe? This is advice for sports groupies.
How is it a problem if I choose to hate or like somebody or something? It’s simply a choice. Declaring it a problem is declaring that the natural state is your view. That negates free will and moral agency entirely. There is no one right or wrong answer, and if you hate a particular thing or profession or class of people that may be a you “thing” but it’s not by definition a problem.
Trust me Ghost, The “Thing” is a problem…
It’s always a long day when I see that in the mirror. Blasted heartburn.
how about the attack of the feminists and the white-knights on professional athletes… toronto maple leaf hockey player morgan rielly last week said something along the lines of, ‘we can’t play like a bunch of girls.’ holy hell did he catch some heat over that most heinous of comments! he of course quickly apologized (a mistake in my eyes), and this of course only had the effect of throwing gasoline on the fire.
Hating takes effort. It should be reserved for people or situations which directly impact your life in a negative way, and serve as a mechanism for changing those situations, or removing those people from your life.
A professional athlete generally has no direct impact on people like you or me, and shouldn’t be the subject of hate, love, adoration or any type of such “worship.”
“When I listen to sports talk radio or follow sports blogs and hear (and
see) male after male, regular guys as well as television personalities,
attacking our brothers it reminds me of feminism.”
If you don’t like this, then the obvious solution is to stop following this media. It survives precisely because people do so, because they consume the advertisements that keep these programs afloat. Anybody who follows this stuff is himself part of the problem.
I think it escapes the author that pro sports has been institutionally feminized, especially the “regular guys” and professional media types involved in it.
I think in a way it serves a similar purpose amongst men that fashion does amongst women.
Women compare themselves to each other based on who wears the latest styles, who has the highest priced accessories, who buys from the coolest designer, who shops at the trendiest boutiques, and so on.
Like with women, professional sports gives men an opportunity to constantly compare themselves to others; to show who has the best knowledge of game statistics, who creates the best fantasy league, who has the coolest and rarest memorabilia, who has the best season tickets, and so on.
It is feminine-style attention seeking, but with a masculine veneer.
I am proud of the fact that I would be hard pressed to name any athletes that have not managed to work themselves into becoming household names.
Well, the notoriously racist Detroit Tigers player Ty Cobb was ok I guess. I heard that he was once being heckled by a guy in a wheelchair up in the stands. Mr. Cobb went up into the stands and proceeded to kick the cripple’s ass. This caused something of a scandal, too which he stated something to the effect of “if someone is going to talk shit, they better be able to back it up.”
That was the era where when they weren’t playing sports, they headed home and worked on their farms
I dont hate people i personally dont know. Although I never really cared for sports in the first place.
They are paid what the market will bear. Fans aren’t going to stop watching and buying the merchandise, so there it is.
Good article, Sharp. I don’t think most of the guys here are necessarily directing their vitriol at athletes personally, but rather at the feminized buffoonery that surrounds them and makes up today’s sports culture and what it’s become compared to how it started. You have grown men walking around with another man’s name on their back. IMO, you might as well get his name tattooed on your inner thigh. Unless it’s a clothing label, no man should have another’s name on his person. ESPN spends all its time promoting cultural Marxist propaganda (Michael Sam, domestic violence, etc.) or trying to start “beefs” between athletes by telling them that “so-and-so said this about you, what do you think of that?”, which is the epitome of feminized/beta he-said-she-said nonsense.
My favorites are the guys who refer to their team as “We”, such as “We’re gonna kick your ass!” or “We’re gonna dominate this year!” As you’ve never been drafted or taken a professional snap in your life, the proper term would be “they”. You are not on the team, sir. It’s this obsession with sports that most of us have a problem with, not the athletes themselves. The author mentioned that kick-ass winners don’t have time for this foolishness, and that’s true. Kick-ass winners also don’t have time to sit around being obsessed with sports because they’re busy building wealth, improving themselves, etc.
The reason for this obsession is because America is so feminized and emasculated, the only way most men can feel like men is to live vicariously through professional athletes. I can’t count how many “men” I’ve known throughout my adult life who were married with kids and hated their lives because their wife was a bitch and wore the pants in the family, their kids shit all over them and showed them no respect, and they were in a dead-end job going nowhere. The common trait that all these guys possessed was endlessly talking about sports, the TV show The League, and their Fantasy Football team. When your society cuts your balls off at every turn, it’s only logical that you’ll find an outlet for the tiny ember of masculinity that’s buried way down in your soul.
In regards to comparing athletes to firefighters and cops, sure athletes put their bodies on the line and are probably barely able to walk when their careers are over, but week after week they run into a stadium to play a game, while firefighters and cops willingly run into burning buildings and Compton. I don’t feel it’s beta to admire someone who puts their life on the line every day and isn’t sure if they’re going to make it home to their families more than a professional athlete who doesn’t have to worry about that. The bottom line is that we as a society need to place priorities on what we want and what we need, and give appropriate admiration based on that status. We need firefighters and cops. We can do without professional athletes.
“It’s this obsession with sports that most of us have a problem with, not the athletes themselves.”
Absolutely. It’s fun to catch a game every once in a while, like treating yourself to a bacon burger and fries on a rare occasion, but once you take it beyond the level of a special treat then it’s a problem.
Food stamps and sports, it’s the modern American equivalent of the old Roman bread and circuses. Keep the public fat and mindlessly occupied, and they won’t care about society’s decay.
Some cops. Most cops spend their careers drawing a fat check and harassing innocent civilians on the highway shake down.
Retiring at 50 with a 100,000 a year pension. Immediately taking another job in another city, then ” retiring ” at 70 with two pensions. So much for noble public service.
I never understood the “we” thing either.
There’s a douchebag at work who routinely brought up the Seattle Seahawks even weeks after the conclusion of the Super Bowl. I finally asked him during a meeting if he played for them and he responded with, “I wish.”
Exactly.
Sometimes I hate on em a little bit because they make a shit ton of money to do what they love and party their ass off, If you dont dream of being able to do that you are lying your ass off. But on the flip side everybody has to eat so if they got it like that more power to them.
Men hate the individual whom they call avaricious only because nothing can be gained from him.
I remember I was at a party where the women were complaining about Lebron James salary and the fact that teachers are undervalued and should be paid as much. I calmly explained to them James deserves exponentially more than what he gets paid considering his presence boosts his organizations net worth by at least a half billion dollars. There is no salary for average athletes. The only ones that make it are elite. teachers as a group make more than athletes. If you show me a teacher that can bring 100 million dollars to a school then you can complain.
If it weren’t for the taxpayer none of the Big 3 ( football,baseball,basketball) would even exist in their bloated, extravagent form. It’s bonds borne by the taxpayers in those cities that have subsidized their collaseums (errr..stadiums). This monopoly enables them to financially ass rape the ticket holders and charge big $ for prime time TeeVee advertisements . In turn this gives them the loot to pay for this modern day bread and circus. To me Major League sports epitomize what’s wrong with our culture. It’s a giant distraction that is nothing short of a politically correct outlet for your run of the mill sad sack AFC to release the pent rage he feels from his helpless existence. Instead of feeling isolated, he now feels he can “belong” to a group of like minded supporters , instead of raging against a system that oppresses him daily, he can rage against the opposing team. The icing on the cake is its the one activity that’s been given the green light by the holder of the leash – the fat Matriarch of the home. How quaint, how structured, how safe. I look with bemused amusement at the passion that’s expressed surrounding these sports and all that comes to mind is the line from Shakespeare ” all sound and fury signifying nothing”
I don’t hate professional sports because I envy the money and status. I hate them because of how pretentious and entitled the whole thing has become. Like how close the hashes are on an NFL field.
Also, I never watch a sport where the men wear pink, no matter what the reason.
I agree. I watch some games but the godliness of some of the ex-player announcers like Marino etc and the general godhood of the Hall of Fame speeches etc. gets ridiculous. It’s a ball game. Have some self-effacement for being a guy who played a kid’s game and pass off ANY adulation immediately and remind people that you are not a soldier, not a chemist, not a doctor, not a civil engineer, not on a SWAT team. But no, the guys soak it up. When Marino interviewed Brady once it was like we were watching Buddha having a sit-down with Jesus Christ.
Also, what do you mean about the hashes? I don’t get that.
Hashes: The lines in the middle of the field which marks where the play can start. Compare how close they are in the NFL to the NCAA or high school.
No one can deny that professional sports has become the modern day Colosseum, hell the charioteers back in the day also earned sums based on their entertainment factor as well as their victories. That being said, our society is based on one that saw actors as lower than prostitutes, and we treat them like royalty now, so…
No-one will be mad at them soon though, all the racial (no n word) and sexual (fight with your wife and you’re done) stipulations that are/will be added to their contracts will turn them into proverbial eunuchs soon enough.
Let’s be clear: Athletes are only able to earn that kind of money because Sports Channels and ESPN are allowed to tax every cable or Satellite television subscriber, regardless of whether the person watches the sport or not.
So, don’t hate the player, but understand that you’re paying for him.
Baseball is especially low rated, but provides 162 games of programming (times 4 hours/game, times 2for the repeat that comes on late night).
Television is a scam.
Tax? How?
Private package bundling is not a tax, btw. Tax = government. But if they are taxing I’d like to know about it.
They’re not. But the NFL is a NON PROFIT NON TAX PAYING CORPORATION
I hate all team sports. Except beach volleyball.
Beach volleyball is highly addictive my friend.
Nobody red pill ‘hates’ professional athletes.
They simply think they should get paid minimum wage or below.
I watch sports, but I don’t engage in the ego stroking hate fest that is the media. It is amazing what some people will do and think in order to feel like they are in control of their lives rather than actually taking control of their lives. Much easier to criticize others from safety than to take a long hard look in the mirror.
There is nothing lower on the totem pole than a rabid sports fan who thinks that an athlete owes him or her something outside of the ticket price for a game performance. Next to a feminist, they are lower than pond scum. More idiots who don’t understand how a market works.
You pay a ticket. An athlete plays a game or match. Game or match ends. Your ticket’s benefits and the athlete’s obligation to you ends. Finito, done. He doesn’t owe you an autograph, jersey, or even time to talk. And when an athlete makes a mistake such as extra marital affairs or drinking, it’s none of the rabid sports fans business.
Nothing sadder than a fat guy in face paint wearing a jersey heckling pro players in a sport he could never come close to playing. Armchair quarterbacks, make me nauseous. They are paid because less than 1% of 1% can do what they do. And furthermore, because idiots pay the full price to see them.
I agree with the whole steroids aren’t evil thing, but I think your rationale for taking them is way off. The vast majority of roiders are roiders from the get go, many from high school. in Eastern Europe, Olympic lifters are given steroids before they learn the lifts. Different aspects and attributes peak at different times, you are as big and strong as you’ll ever be in your early thirties, but by that age you are already losing speed, agility and recovery abilities fast. Nevermind accumulated injuries that plague most seasoned athletes. At 20, you are still baby, not yet at full maturity and without the time to have built up a massive strength/power base like the older guys who have had 10+ years in the gym + roids, getting huge. The roids help these athletes peak strength, size, speed early and at the same time, while their bodies can still handle punishment and before they are destroyed by injuries. Especially in the NFL. Point is it is foolish to believe steroids aren’t prevalent across the board. The teams and coaches are in on it. Even state commissions and governing bodies are in on it. 100% of NFL defences 70% of the offense, and 60% Olympic athletics. 50% in fighters, MMA and boxing etc. I think they should just be legal in sports, just to level the playing field, and so all aspiring athletes know the deal and can give their best shot.
That said, screw these guys, they are reimbursed financially or else they wouldn’t do it, they don’t need my respect or sympathy. Their sycophants are already a-plenty.
What’s the difference between ignorant and apathetic?
I don’t know and I don’t care!
That pretty much sums up my view on professional sports and the men who play them.
On the other hand, dogfighting, beating on women, taking illicit drugs, armed robbery: you can condemn those activities and the people who do them. There is nothing “masculine” about them, in any positive sense.
I just want to touch upon the ‘no doubt barry bonds juiced’ argument by people just by looking at his pictures. Are you telling me that a millionaire who happens to be skinny with access to world class trainers equipment and techniques cant put on pounds of muscle in his 30s and 40s? You people act like the guy was 70 bench pressing 400lbs.
You make okay points but would you bet on Bonds not having juiced?
Good points and good article, Sharp.
We need more men supporting men (not so much in the form of idol or athlete worshiping)…just more support is needed – think of it as a large circle where men are sitting, discussing ideas, having drinks, etc…in order to better society.
We don’t need more men hating on men (that’s what society and feminist want the most – for us to turn on each other). Take all of the positive aspects, traits, habits, etc…that you might admire and use these things to improve your own life.
That’s what it’s all about here – self improvement.
One way around some of the issues here is too explore the game subscription packages offered by the major sports websites. You can watch (somewhat) commercial free games, sped up and without the hype, announcers etc. If you purely like to watch the games and don’t need all the hype around it then that’s an option. You can watch a full baseball game in about twenty minutes or so.
In the case of football players, they are often underpaid. Most of this comes down to envy, pure and simple. Instead of putting all your time and effort into that business degree you have you could have been throwing a football or a baseball and now your jelouse .
Could not agree more. This is why rocket scientists aren’t athletic and pro athletes aren’t brain surgeons. In order to be great at something other aspects of your life suffer. That is how it is. It’s the same as athletes being jealous of egg heads (though they rarely are). You can’t have it both ways.
I will never idolize a man that gets paid millions to play a child’s ball game. Sorry. No hate. I DO hate the fan boys though. Talkin about how ‘we’ did in the playoffs or why ‘your team’ sucks. Easy guys, you literally did nothing to advance any team and they couldn’t give a fuck less about you. Stop riding another mans dick/accomplishments.
Mostly agree. I like to watch a good game sometimes, but have stopped using word “we” and “our team” when descibing a match.
Yawn. They are just pawns of the controlled media used to sell overpriced tickets, merchandise, and to use their teams to leach off of taxpayers in their cities. The NFL is the worst of the lot.
Don’t watch. Don’t care.
Do. Don’t watch others do.
If people stopped watching these children’s’ games, stopped buying merchandise, and stopped going to the games (already happening) it would quietly fade away.
Nothing against the athletes themselves, but rather the way our society worships (and encourages men to worship) men who can merely run faster, jump higher, have ridiculous genetic gifts, or lift more than most men. $$$ to pay children’s’ games.
None of my money going to support any of it.
2¢
I have to admit author has a point. Today’s sports are even harder to succeed than in the past, because the games have gone global and more and more kids are trying to make it. Professional athletes have decades of very hard training behind them. They have given up on normal life most of us lead (especially in teen-age). And after 35 most have almost no work prospects and sometimes serious injuries…
I don’t envy athletes, I just don’t like sports. I skateboard.
“NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell makes over $40 million a year (and he deserves every penny as he successfully runs a multi-billion dollar corporation) ”
Really? Goodell deserves it? An athlete’s value is determined by a market bidding for his services. Any organizations out there offering Goodell anywhere near $44M/year to come work for them?
Cable companies are lining up to give their money to the NFL and the fantasy football craz has been a huge windfall for the league. For the life of me, I don’t see any special skills or abilities Goodell brings to the table that’s enhancing league value. If anything, his poor leadership skills have caused the league nothing but embarrassment and needless controversy. I question how far he would have made it in life without being born into a very well connected family.
I hate people who break the rules. Hence the PEDs piss me off. Don’t like the rules? Don’t play. I’m not going to respect the man who breaks the rules. Is the rules stupid? Sure. But work to change it first. Otherwise we should let everyone use PEDs, which balances out to nobody using them. Fucking pointless.
Typically though, I hate fans and fanbases more. Because they are comparable to me.
Good post this. I was a big Formula 1 fan for many years and through my adolescent/ teen years I hated Michael Schumacher. I HATED him. Whether it was his cheating or his hypocrisy when chastising other drivers for engaging in the sort of on-track behaviour that he himself would do, I couldn’t stand him and would think how great it would be if he met the same end as Ayrton Senna so that the commentators would stop wanking on about how great he was. I regarded it as near blasphemy every time he was compared to previous greats like the aforementioned Senna, Prost, Fangio etc.
Then I got older, and then he had his snowboarding accident after retiring from F1 the second time. I found myself thinking of his immediate family, having to live with the fact that the man who is a husband/ father to them first and foremost may never recognise them again, despite being kept alive. I was at the Autodromo Dino Ferrari in Italy for the 20th anniversary of Ayrton Senna’s death, some 6 months after Schumachers’ accident and the hashtag #keepfightingmichael# had been going around through the F1 world. I wrote ‘Keep Fighting Michael’ alongside an ‘RIP Ayrton’ message on one of the guard rails down at the bend where Senna lost his life, and at the circuit museum they had one of Schumachers’ helmets and Ferrari race suits on display. Again, the message above it was ‘Keep fighting, Michael’. The tragedy of Senna’s death 20 years earlier seemed only to be compounded by the fact that the driver who won that day was right now himself in a coma. It dawned on me, the poignance of the fact that the man who gained the most from Senna’s death and survived unscathed from a Formula 1 career spanning 3 decades, had (arguably) a worse fate waiting for him only after he quit the sport.,,,
Getting older and having a clearer perspective made me come to realise that Schumacher is (was) a dedicated sportsman, ruthless and perhaps overly cynical about how he went about winning. But I could actually learn a lot from how dedicated he was, how brilliant his ability to make complex tactical decisions was, and despite the fact I didn’t like the manner he’d so often go about winning, he wasn’t worth the naked, immature hatred I used to bestow on him. When I think of him now I think instead of the fact that a family are left hoping that the father and the husband they remember will return, and that leaves me hoping for their sake that he does, some way or another.
In modern F1, I dislike Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel because they’re your classic Gen Y, narcissistic spoilt brats who think everything should be handed to them on a plate and and then bitch and whine when it doesn’t go their way, but I’d never say I hate them. That’s just retarded. I’d rather focus on getting better and doing the things I do best and making a career for myself than bothering about whether a couple of highly paid racing drivers are winning or not.
Keep fighting, Michael…
dont hate or like. I just ignore becuz I’m focused on my own stuff. simple.