Money Hogs Essay, Research Paper

It has been over fifty years since Jackie Robinson played in his first major league game. He broke a major barrier in baseball and will always be remembered. He showed people what the game was really about and that was fun. Today players get big salaries and plenty of fame. But do they really deserve it? Many people wonder what has happened to what was Americas Pastime. Well I can tell you it is nowhere to be found in the players of today. So I poise the question, why haven t players of today followed in Jackie Robinsons footsteps.

This question can be asked of any professional sport these days. So many athletes have lost the love for the game as the paychecks have increased. It can be seen in so many different ways. Players are often seen on ESPN talking of how good they are and how much there contracts are worth. There used to be a day when players played for the free. A day when fans loved the sport just as much as the players. Fans would stick with there team regardless of there record. There was a day when players had time for the fans. Now it seems they just are to good for us. Locking themselves in there mansions after the game.

Jackie Robinson brought a lot of things to the game of baseball. First of all and probably most importantly he was the first to break the color barrier in the majors. This took a lot of courage. He had to deal with a lot abuse from the fans who did not want him changing anything in baseball. He came with all odds against him, but left as national hero and icon. Secondly he played as hard as he could every single game, every single play and every moment he ever he was involved with the majors.

Today players are hot headed and arrogant, many people cant stand to watch them. They have forgotten what players like Jackie Robinson stood for. Jackie would not like what has happened to major league sports of today. They have become a big money business.

Jackies best feature about him was his character. He had to deal with lots of hate from fans, players and even his own teammates. Jackie proved himself though. And as time went on more blacks found themselves following in Jackies footsteps. It was not easy for them, but they knew that it had to be done for every black person.

Players of today have become so arrogant with themselves that they have forgotten that they are not the most important part of the game. Players of today need to realize that the fans should be the most important thing. Without us they would not have jobs. They would not be the big celebrities that some have become. They wouldn t have the chance to leave there names in history if it were not for us. And as fans we need to regulate this situation. If there is something we do not like about the game we must voice our opinion.

An example of players greediness of today is the 232 day strike that occurred in 1994 and 1995. For 232 days players and owners argued over how much the players deserved to get paid. I guess for some 5 million a year just wasn t feeding there families. There has been eight work stoppages in major league baseball since the year 1972. And over what, contracts. When you let people get into the spotlight they are going to get greedy after a while. What ever happened to rec. leagues. The leagues you had pay a participation fee to play.

I guess the only way we can turn is to ammeter sports. But it seems that greed has swept down to there level too. Giving an example of the many players from the Wisconsin Badger football team taking discounts from a shoe store in Wisconsin.

It is not even necessary for players of today to finish college or even go to college for that matter. Some players wave there eligibility in collegic sports to go pursue the big time. Some players don t even go to college to begin with.

Athletes of today take for granted there big paychecks every month. They laugh in the faces of fans and swear at us on national television. They make racist remarks in nation magazines. Players showboat in games. They argue with there coaches. What ever happened to listening to coaches. Today professionals tell coaches what to do and coaches listen. Fans no longer have that big of impact on players. Players do not want to have anything to do with fans.

What has happened to the days when baseball was played for fun. When fans would come out and cheer for there team no matter what the record. We need to send the message to the players that we do not like what they have done to what was once the great sport of baseball. We also need to send the message to athletes in other sports as well. We are there number one customers and we should be treated that way. Very few athletes in history have been good role models, but if you were to pick just one. Jackie Robinson would be my pick. He paved the road for many other well known black athletes in sports. He didn t want to do what he did, but he did it anyway. He did it for the good his race, the good of baseball and most importantly the good of himself.