Sports are central to the American consciousness and national identity. We start our kids playing sports as soon as they can run, even if they have difficulty changing direction and are uncoordinated. Sports teach “American” values– hard work, dedication, team work, and competitive achievement. They also encourage personal growth, independence, and individuation. Moreover, because they are held in such high esteem, they create role models out of professional athletes for millions of kids.
On its own, there is nothing wrong with institutionalized sport creating a group of alpha males whose only value lies in the extraordinary functionality of their own bodies. This is the ultimate entertainment, and as Vitamin Water, Gatorade, Nike or Under Armour will tell you, portraying sports as war and as hyper masculine sells big.
There is nothing wrong when sports and the sporting life are portrayed as entertainment, as water cooler and social media fodder. There is nothing wrong with sports stars being lambasted for making mistakes that would place many non-public figures in prison.
But there is something wrong when you market a professional sport as moral. Yes, MLB, I’m talking to you. First of all, you are a business. You are in the business of making money, not “helping people” or somehow living up to the mythical ideal of an American past-time.
Yes, I love your nostalgia. I love your patriotism. You are absolutely a powerful American institution when all five living presidents talk at your all-star game.
However, like America, you also have your faults. You are littered with players who are greedy, players who run into trouble with the law. Your historical narrative is also tainted by racism, corruption, and greed. But you hide behind charisma and every marketable player you can find. You mention Jackie Robinson in every other sentence. While I appreciate your effort to come to terms with your difficult legacy, I can’t help but be cynical.
But, like I’m prone to do on election day or the 4th of July, I am going to put my national cynicism aside and fall for your marketing tactics. There is something beautiful about the way a simple game with a wooden bat and ball can mean so much to so many.
These athletes are amazing to watch, whether chemically enhanced or otherwise.
Baseball—you could not be more American. You are riddled with problems and disappointments. Constant cynics point out your faults and moral decay. But somehow, the power of nostalgia and a carefully crafted and powerfully indoctrinated historical narrative creates a new generation of fans.
Here’s to hope in the face of both cynicism and corruption, both as a baseball fan and an American.
P.S. I apologize if this post was a little too over the top. I blame a combination of Obama, beer, and that patriotic music Fox is pumping at every inning change. I swear it’s a secret mix of both the West Wing theme, The National Anthem, and America The Beautiful. Oh, God. Now that Tom’s shoe commercial is on. Emotional overload.
