Basketball is over-

Ok, so My youngest daughter caught me at a weak moment and I allowed her to play intramural basketball in the 3/4th grade level. There's been almost two months of practices (once or twice a week) and games every Saturday morning. I did my part in taking her to these events. Last night was the final playoff game. They lost, which surprised no one, but they didn't get creamed like the last time they played them and second place is a fine place to be.
If you only knew the effort it took to be part of this whole Sport thing. I hate sports. No, I detest sports! I hate just about everything to do with them. So, the effort to be a supportive mom of my very cool daughter was done in the face of all I stand for and hold dear. Sitting there gave me a view into an alien landscape though.
I saw a coach (a Dad) who had fun with the girls and was always saying, "that's ok" with a smile. I saw parents who were already planning their daughter's sports participation with an eye to a college scholarship. I saw parents who were cheering all the kids, with a good idea their kid would never be a basketball star. I saw some coaches who yelled at their team angrily.
I saw parents I've known for years completely ignore me because their kids were on the other team.
Now, if I'm seeing all this at the 3rd grade level, it will only get magnified more as the years go by. By the time they are in HS, teachers will be asked to give them a break for not having their class work done.(is there actual homework any more?) They'll get concessions and priveldges because they play a sport. Even more if they are winning.
By the time they get to college, they'll get scholarships paying for not only their tuition, but books, meals and housing. They'll get even more benefits, often donated by the booster club, for a variety of goods and services. There have been scandal after scandal reporting all the abuses of school policies on this matter. But, that doesn't matter to "the fans". People cheer for teams at colleges they never attended. In fact, the most rabid fans are the ones who never attended college in the first place.
Of course, that's just the foundation for the professional teams where hoards of people cheer for "their teams". These are the same teams owned by millionaires who don't care about the city at all and easily turn their backs on a city who fails to build them a stadium they desire in favor of a city that will.
So, what exactly do these teams do for their fans?
Give them something to bet on? Give them something to do on the weekend? Give them something to talk about? Well, we end up at The Superbowl, where the cheapest seat in the place cost hundreds of dollars and they got to watch the Stones mutilate their own songs.
Whoever thought that it was a good idea to have them play are seriously deluded babyboomers. Guess what? We don't want to see a 60 year old man (who never could dance) prancing around with his flabby arms waving around. We don't want to look at Keith Richards... And neither should they, unless they want to say ,"well, at least I stopped doing drugs before I looked like THAT!" What happened to the harmonies on the songs? Only one of them thinks he can still sing I guess. Maybe the Stones decided," why wait for someone to do a bad parody of us, we'll do it ourselves!" And so they did...er....Do.
Well, you can probably see I have quite a grudge against the whole sports machine. It's long standing and well earned. I spent lots of time in PE class wishing I didn't have to be there. I hated just about every moment of it. (the just about was running) People always say it is a good character builder. It builds teamwork. In my experience, people get arrogant and downright mean to those who are bad at it. It teaches that you can ridicule those who can not hit a ball, catch a ball or throw a ball. (pick your ball, it doesn't matter)
But wait, I had to PAY to feel bad in college. I had to actually PAY to take classes I hated because someone thinks it's a good idea. I worked nights at a meat packing plant, packaging smoky links and Bologna and hot dogs so I could pay for a class to learn to be bad at golf.
And while I was working nights and going to school days so I could pay for books and a roof over my head and food to eat (I had an art scholarship that paid my tuition one year) the basketball team was getting free tuition, books, food and housing... And they never WON a GAME!
I'm not against those who do well at sports. I'm against the inequality of that recognition. I want kids who are good at all sorts of things to be recognized. I want those who are smart, including math smart and science smart, to get the very best opportunities to use their minds. I want those who can play music to be recognized. Those who can be dramatic, those who are artistic and those who are innovative to be able to go as far as their talents can take them. I want all strengths to be celebrated.