How a futurist might adjust sports thinking

Sometimes we wonder if nothing is what it seems. We look at big-time sports and figure it must be heaven on earth to be a "household name" in sports.

People who are able to climb that ladder can find it's a jungle. The media create the fantasy world.

Sports is an escape for us, we greatly relish. We expect our heroes to deliver the goods. We seek euphoria. Don't we all feel a "rush" when tuning in for the first prime-time Vikings game of the fall?

There are hopeful signs we are awakening to some of the more sober realities. We can see the unreasonable power that a successful Division I college football program can obtain.

This pathetic case of Jerry Sandusky shows how intoxicated people can get with football success. Fault has been found all the way to the top of the ladder in Pennsylvania. Many individuals are going to be dragged through this the rest of their lives. Football simply gained too much power at Penn State University. People were fearful of revealing anything scandalous.

Successful football brings prestige and more importantly money. Joe Paterno came to be seen as a saint. Granted, his program wasn't always setting the world on fire toward the end. There was some grumbling but not enough to threaten the patina of saintliness "Joe Pa" had acquired. He had "dug in" with his regime.

The common sense of having him retire at a reasonable age got vetoed. That's because the world of sports can seem other-worldly with its power. We are waking up slowly and beginning to ask more questions. We learned in the Sandusky case that the emperor has no clothes. The glory that is Penn State football, or was Penn State football, looks like a pathetic illusion.

I am undergoing my own personal transformation. I have had some fun writing about the apparent shortcomings of U of M Gophers football. These shortcomings can be easy to document by the usual standards. The answer now isn't for the U to see if it can become like Penn State or other powerhouses.

The U recently announced a new athletic director but I found it interesting we didn't see the kind of fanfare or "buzz on the street" we might normally expect. Frankly I can't tell you this guy's name as I sit here writing this (at 4 a.m. on the morning after the Fourth, accompanied by my mug of caffeinated beverage and the sleeping dog).

Having a non-winning college football team seems not such a big deal now. Now maybe we're wondering: Should we even be "playing the game" any more? When I say "the game" I mean the timeworn treadmill of big-time sports - the heroes, money and ethos of winning.

We have seen how power corrupts. The Sandusky matter was pushed aside for a long time. What if he had been in a losing program?

We had a coach in Stevens County who was likely caught belatedly for the same reason. I could erase "likely." A person of high standing who works downtown, when asked why that matter was attended to belatedly rather than in response to earlier suspicions, had two words: "He won."

We can look at Penn State and see the familiar model being followed. When you win, this sheen of greatness forms around you. Winning coaches can of course be very Machiavellian. The real world of "success" can be a dirty and petty world.

A writer who once profiled Sandusky's "Second Mile" charity said he privately wasn't that impressed. He described it as "joyless" and found this curious. But it didn't come through in his writing. He expressed regret about that and admitted he was really expected to generate a "puff piece." It was no situation in which to pen an expose unless you could really put your finger on something incriminating.

Journalists can cower at the feet of these sports figures. Newt Gingrich talks about "the elite media" but he really overestimates us. We (in the media) live in a gritty world in which we have to deliver the goods like everyone else. We have bosses.

And somehow we're all in awe of big-time sports and its winners, ready to kiss the ring. Except, maybe not so much now.

We have peeled away the pathetic veneer of power and concealment at powerful Penn State. At the same time, revelations about head trauma in football are changing our very perception of that sport.

I am wrestling with my own conscience. The world may not be waiting with anticipation to see what I'll do on this website. But I have to wonder if I should ever write in the standard way about football again.

I have been as guilty as anyone buying into the fun aspect. This fall we are all going to be tested on that. Do we really want to be so entertained by these gladiators?

All of those players, whether high school or pro, are taking discernible risks with their health future. It's far worse than the occasional torn ACL. Even that type of injury should give us pause.

Football players can't always be mended so they're "good as new." And the head problems might not even reveal themselves immediately. We're learning that the routine hits players experience in the typical game take a toll.

So what are we to make of this, as Morris Area Chokio Alberta Tiger fans? Can we really show up at the local stadium with typical enthusiasm this fall? Should we just strive to be in denial?

I have found it fun the last couple of years coming to home games and generating coverage for the new media. It would seem so easy for me to just do that again.

The reason "business as usual" is hard is that I have a curious mind. You might say I'm an intellectual (such a trait being defined by curiosity, not by innate intelligence). So when reports crop up about how we've been underestimating head trauma in football, I pay attention and then I research.

There is one inescapable conclusion: Anyone who gathers knowledge about these head issues would give football a complete "thumbs down." No excuses.

We can't just shake our heads and say "oh, but we love football."

I will have a hard time returning to the Big Cat Stadium sidelines. I won't say here and now that I won't. I'm too insignificant to have any effect on the debate.

I'd like to say I like the community spectacle of football but that's part of the problem. It's a little enthralling. The people sitting on their fannies aren't endangered. We must be sure the boys who play the game are informed.

But the problem is, if they are fully informed, the majority of them wouldn't choose to play.

It looks like we need to tone down sports in our society. In an ideal world, maybe it would be best to have intramural boys and girls volleyball in the fall and intramural boys and girls softball in the spring. I don't know if it would be fast-pitch softball but it would have to be the kind where the offense has a chance.

Intramural? Hey, it's easy to envision. The competition would be intense, participation might be higher than it is now, and you might be surprised how many fans would turn out. Costs will be lowered through no travel.

Former Morris school board member Les Lindor once said "I don't see why the teams have to travel so far." What a refreshingly frank statement.

In the winter we could preserve the traditional varsity model for sports. Basketball seems reasonably safe and is obviously popular. Gymnastics and swimming are healthy but don't draw many at-large fans. I have reservations abut wrestling because of the weight loss aspect, and also because forfeits can spoil a lot of the fun.

Of course, varsity sports in winter means traveling in winter conditions. But winter seems an ideal time for sports because outdoor activities and exercise are limited by weather.

Hockey? I have never understood the appeal of hockey, try as I might. I "went along with the crowd" in contributing money for the construction of Lee Center. It was the thing to do.

I am disturbed that so many boys seem to like the violence of hockey. The "penalties" don't seem to be much of a deterrent.

In the spring, I would think most boys would prefer softball over baseball. It seems an easier and more pleasant game to play.

I offer all these thoughts as a futurist. I think we all need to question our long-held notions and enthusiasm about traditional sports.

We need to question the elite model of college sports. A lot of that can trickle down to high school.

We need to move on like the Robby Benson character in the movie "One on One." For a long time that movie looked dated because of its, well, deconstructionist stance with sports - a typical view from the 1970s.

Annette O'Toole co-starred. At the end we see the two lovebirds having fun playing with some ghetto kids, with Benson having walked away from his scholarship and the "bad guy" head coach. Remember Benson's "red hot poker" line? Preceded by words that wouldn't be appropriate for sharing here?

What goes around comes around. Now I'm beginning to see that closing scene as perhaps reflecting current logic again.

Let's stop feeding the monster. We might have erred in pushing for the construction of Big Cat Stadium here in Morris.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com