The Desensitized Sports Fan

Maybe I'm just jaded. Maybe there are more important things in life. Maybe it's because I'm 26 (old!). But for the past 10 or so years, so much insane stuff has happened both on and off the field/court/rink that I'm at the point where absolutely nothing will shock me. I mean, it would take something like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVrsGHs2MCk. (I know it's four minutes, but watch the whole thing plz.) Is that too extreme? Keep in mind this movie came out in 1991. Wow. Incidentally, if you've never seen The Last Boy Scout, do yourself a favor. Back then, something like that seemed so far fetched that it served as a great opening for a Hollywood flick. But if it was in a movie now? Let's take a quick trip down memory lane at some of the lowlights and strange occurrences that have dulled my brain to any kind of surprise.

Oh Iron Mike. This fateful snack unofficially christened the "WTF era" as we know it. (Well, technically the earthquake during the A's/Giants World Series predated this by about five years and was a bit out of left field...groan.) June 28th, 1997. Granted, this was on pay per view, but people actually still paid $49.99 to watch boxing back then. Sure, the sport was in shambles at that point but this did NOT do it any favors. Ten years later, heavyweight boxing is essentially dead. Smaller guys like Pacquiao and Margarito are exciting to watch but put it this way, Holyfield fought last October. We all kind of knew Tyson was a complete psycho, but this really skyrocketed him into a new level of crazy. I mean this did happen in a sport where dudes beat each other about the face, breast, chest, neck and head so how civilized should it really be anyway? Was it a matter of time? Either way, thanks Mike! All I know is both had pretty kick ass video games.

Where to next-how about STEROIDS! HGH! MUSCLE MILK! Okay, not so much that last one, but where do I even begin? Sosa and McGwire, Clemens and Bonds, Brady Anderson...

Heroes who were supposed to be at the top of the sport. They all cheated. Now I obviously believed every word I read in "Juiced" so there are a ton of other guys who might have gotten out of this with their reputations in tact. But in all honesty, after the Mitchell Report came out, ask yourself if you would be the least bit shocked at any name being thrown into the mix. And unfortunately, that's where we are at as sports fans right now. Even someone like (gasp!) Derek Jeter, you'd give it a second to make up your mind. There has been a lot written about this and in the coming years, I'm sure more evidence will be uncovered. But it's been such a barrage that I am numb to it.

What about a refined and proper sport like football? Not even mentioning the Cincinnati Bengals from last year where a fourth of the team got arrested at some point in the year, what was arguably the biggest sports story of the year in 2007? Heck, nevermind sports, this could have been the biggest story of the year period. Superstar quarterback, hero to the black community, face of a franchise gets arrested and is currently serving jail time for his connection in a dogfighting ring. What?!? This post actually came from an idea I had about comparing the movie Any Given Sunday to the current state of the NFL. Much like The Last Boy Scout, when AGS came out in 1999, critics and football fans alike bashed it because it was "so outlandish and unrealistic." Well lets see: aging defenseman suffering concussion after concussion to get a bonus, aging quarterback thinking of retirement but gets talked out of it by his wife (go with me on this, I can just picture Deanna Favre shouting, "You have two or THREE good years left in you!" while Brett cowers in submission), power hungry owner trying to get rid of a coach with little to no tact, players taking more medication than prescribed, and so forth. The whole Vick thing? Even Oliver Stone couldn't come up with something like that. Again so much has been written about this as well but putting all of this stuff together, you start to see where I'm coming from. And you know what, when he's starting for the Lions next year, I won't even blink.

Where to next? How about those fine gentlemen playing Dr. Naismith's game? Hmmmmm.

Yeah, that's a wrap on that one. November 19th, 2004. This was bad. Real bad. But what exacerbated the situation? THE INTERNETZ! Unlike the Tyson debacle, thousands and thousands could instantly watch this mess again and again. You could easily make the argument that the Pacers franchise still hasn't recovered. Poor Larry Legend. But yeah, players running into the stands and attacking people? Why not? This of course shouldn't be confused with the father/son all star combo running out on the field and attacking a first base coach. Because that happened too. I seem to forget wath ballpark it was at though... Anyway, the NBA had a pretty rotten reputation leading up to the brawl. Players were looked at as spoiled, lazy, drug abusers who were only out for themselves. (How that was different from any other athlete, I'll never know.) But after the "Malice in the Palice" David Stern did what he could in the way of damage control but it was a bit too late, even with Artest being suspended for the rest of the season.

What about actual play? Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce all end up on the best franchise in NBA history and win the first title of their careers in the first season together. Yup, didn't flinch. The best player in the NFL gets taken out in the first eight minutes in the first game on the year. Brush it off. The Boston Red Sox win their first World Series in 86 years and it's followed up by the Chicago White Sox winning the very next year to get their first rings in 88 years? Go baseball, what about next season?

It's just sensory overload. Great players and teams come and go but there is always someone waiting to take their place. So many unbelievable things forced their way into the everyday sports world that I feel like Alex DeLarge after suffering through the Ludovico Treatment half the time. Does this mean I'll stop watching any time soon. Of course not. Just don't expect me to jump out of my seat in shock when a dude pulls out a gun on the field and starts blazing. I'm sure I've missed a ton of moments that may or may not have desensitized you, the reader. What's your (least) favorite?