America’s favorite pastime?

By Meredith

Star Boston Red Sox outfielder Johnny Damon has decided to become a New York Yankee after contract talks with the Sox didn’t work out as the power hitter had planned. Why should you guys care? Because it put a stake through my kids’ hearts.

I know, I know. Many people think that too much attention is paid to celebrities and professional athletes, that the attention is disproportionate to the good these folks contribute to society. That still doesn’t change the fact that my 7-year-old son curled up beneath his sheets the morning we found out that his favorite player -- the one whose shirt he's worn for the past two years -- had decided to leave our hometown baseball team.

The same thing happened to my daughter, a huge fan of Boston’s Nomar Garciaparra. She had a pink shirt with his name on it. Then he was traded to the Chicago Cubs. Then to the Dodgers. My youngest son was a fan of Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez. Then Martinez decided to leave the team for more money -– that was Damon’s excuse too, more money -– and went to the New York Mets.

My husband and I try to teach our children about the importance of playing fair, of responsibility, of loyalty, of teamwork. We treat our family as though we’re a team, every member playing a crucial part. One thing our team does is root for the Red Sox together. We watch the games on television or listen on the radio when we're in the car. We teach the kids how to keep score in special notebooks. We have family outings to the games and wear our Sox gear. Fandom and loyalty is something that was passed down through our families for generations, even when the Red Sox seemed cursed.

Yet nowadays in professional sports, loyalty, it seems, is for saps. You go where the money is. Players are commodities. Fans are expected to roll with the punches, as they’re encouraged –- particularly the youngest and most vulnerable ones –- to metaphorically wrap their arms around the players, to learn all about them, to memorize their stats, to see them as the embodiment of their hometown team, living symbols of a fandom cherished for decades upon decades.

And then trades/departures like this happen. Youthful fans look to their parents and ask why, why are their favorite players leaving? Again? Why can’t they root for a team that looks roughly the same from year to year?

And, if our family is a team, the kids reason, does that mean that our members are as interchangeable, that if there’s a better deal elsewhere, members will leave? That if the team “owners” decide a member isn’t contributing that he or she will be shipped across country?

Maybe my perspective on baseball is hopelessly antiquated. But it breaks my heart to share the love of a sport, the love of a team with my children only to have professional athletics teach them lessons I don’t want them to learn.

This is America’s favorite pastime? A loyalty-challenged, commodity-based emotionless business that consistently crushes its patrons? Maybe someone should buy Major League Baseball some peanuts, some Cracker Jacks and some heart. My kids are missing a piece of theirs.

Meredith O'Brien is a journalist who lives with her family in the Boston area

Comments

[Robin P]

I understand how sports is a business and he who offers the most money gets the player BUT I hate that teams are so temporary.
Rich doesn't know why I can't name the players of teams. Well, if they would stay put,I might have a better chance of knowing them!

I totally understand how you feel,though.

[Chag]

You guys realized he played for the Royals and the A's before he became a Red Sox, right? How did you feel when he became a Red Sox? Did you think he was turning his back on the A's and being disloyal?

It's all about money. But it's all about winning as well. The Red Sox are in disarray. Everyone's jumping ship (from Theo on down).

[Lauren]

I'm all for changing jobs if a raise is offered. But, that being said, the Red Sox were going to offer him 40$ mil. Sure that's 12 less then the Yankees, but COME ON! We are talking millions of dollars here. He didn't take it so he could be able to live more comfortably. To be able to have some "breathing" room away from credit debt. To be able to support his family better. He did it for greed plain and simple. I am sorry but this really touches a sore spot with me. What happened to playing for the love of the game? Team loyalty? Since when did making 40 mil become not enough? He plays baseball. He didn't find the cure for cancer. As far as I am concerned teachers should be the ones getting this sort of pay. Not actors and athletes. That being said, he disappoints me. Simply because he was greedy. If he wanted to go to another team, Fine. But of all teams to go to? If he had any sense of loyalty, he wouldn't have gone to the Yankees. Simply for the history between the two teams. But, I suppose money talks. Again in my head 40 to 52 MILLION dollars really isn't something to get all that excited about. $50 thousand a year to $100 thousand? That's a big difference. But what do I know, I just like the Red Sox and am sad to see him go. Then again, I agree with what Daddy Drama said too. *shrugs* *kicks soap box to the side* Uhm. *ahem*

Merry Christmas? =)~

[daddydrama]

The reality of professional sports is that they are businesses. However, before we criticize Damon or players in general, I wonder how many people would turn down a 30% pay raise, especially when the number we're talking about is $12 million? I'm guessing that Damon probably would have stayed if the Red Sox offer was within 10%, but it's nowhere close.

Change is a natural part of sports teams, whether from free agency or retirement. What's important to grasp and communicate is that the concept of team is more than just any one player, however integral that player may have been. What Damon did is merely business; what Terrell Owens did is ruin a team.

[Chag]

First of all, as a Yankees fan, Ill be glad to see a new (clean-shaven) face in town.

But I can't blame the guy. Isn't that what we all do? We change jobs because we want/need more money. We move into bigger houses or buy nicer cars once we can afford it. He's just on a national stage, so he is looked at as a traitor.

Can't wait to see him batting ahead of Jeter!