Ours has become a sad, sad country. We don't even care. At least about anything that matters. Youth are taught to hang their righteousness on vast, sweeping ideological crusades that cost them little in terms of self-sacrifice. Like global warming. Actual character or values barely make the grade at this point.
I thought of this as my eldest - our resident sports guru - was commenting on the upcoming Super Bowl. Before Sunday night's game, he said the real betting was over which narrative would come out on top. Would it be the Detroit Lions, everyone's favorite worst NFL team, finally winning the Super Bowl? Or would it be the corporate media's insistence on the Chiefs, with the lucrative tie-in of Taylor Swift Incorporated, that would win out? Apparently that has dominated much of the chatter on sports sites and other outlets.
And I though on that. I mean, we realize what this means don't we? It means people are discussing this with the assumption that the fix is in. That it isn't a case of 'which team will be the best.' It's which narrative will be sustained for the benefit of whoever benefits from it. That is - it's rigged. And more to the point, nobody cares.
This has already been demonstrated by the cheating accusations against Michigan's football program. If you don't know, Michigan University football has been accused of cheating for the last couple years. It's being investigated, and I'm the first to say innocent until proven guilty. But the evidence does look damning. After all, Michigan's football program struggled up until Covid. Then, suddenly, it flipped and became a powerhouse, this year making it to a victorious national championship. The worst part is that the accusations of cheating match the turnaround for the program.
Now, as I said, innocent until proven guilty. But what has shocked me is the Michigan fans who have said they don't care. If it's true, so what? A meteorologist who used to work here but moved back to her Michigan hometown said as much. If Michigan cheated, it's on the dopes who were cheated - not on Michigan. They won and they won. That's what matters. Even the press and sports media seem to have swept it under the rug, mentioning it only as an afterthought. If it's mentioned at all. I compare this to the outrage that arose when the New England Patriots were found to have cheated, and how that one scandal sort of tarnished the entire program no matter what they accomplished.
Yet today? Nah. Just like the discussions about which narrative will win the day at the Super Bowl. It's as if we just accept corruption and corporate manipulation. That people are talking about it like discussing the weather suggests a beat, lost, done nation. Granted, this is only the internet and social media. But I have always subscribed to the idea that where one example is found, hundreds of others haven't been. And there were enough my son pointed to that suggests this is not some fluke from one site or another.
I just thought on that. Is it only football? Yeah. Is it life ending? No. Are there bigger things to worry about? Sure. And yet there seems to be a connection. 'Say it ain't so, Joe', became a veritable proverb and was often repeated in my youth even if I didn't understand the context. So devastating was the news of corruption from that earlier period in time that the phrase passed down to my years as part of our national lexicon. Yet today? We seem to take it in stride.
Isaiah says woe to those who call evil good evil and good evil. Beyond the clash of good and evil, we have right and wrong. We seem to have lost the ability to care, much less discern, the difference. And I can't help but think that isn't a good thing. Because if we no longer care about right and wrong, not caring about good and evil can't be far down the road - if it's not already here.
It will bother me as a life-long Michigan fan if the sign-stealing scandal led to some real competitive advantage. I don't subscribe to the win-at-all-costs mindset that I have also heard expressed.
ReplyDeleteI fear if it is true, it couldn't help but lead to a competitive advantage. I fear more that few would care. As I said. there are so many wondering which narrative will win the Super Bowl, as if the game itself is merely a stage play for other actors. Even if it's true, that people think it is true is problematic. The only good part is that if Michigan is found guilty, it won't change the coverage of the basics because those who could make a deal about it won't.
DeleteOh, yes. I'm certain the Chiefs fix is in after watching some of their games and the calls they got. And the ambivalence about our 3 soldiers killed overseas in a drone attack... I'm wondering what happens if we go into outright conflict? Who is going to fight for this country? I say Biden voters' kids first, but will any of our young even care to take up arms and fight?
ReplyDeleteOh there's been a LOT of commentary over if there's a draft, who's going to fight? Jail would be preferable to getting shot at.
DeleteAnd... that's kind of the trap the Left has laid for themselves when they throw their political enemies in jail. You kind of ruin the incentive.
My son found an article a few weeks back. It was an ex-NFL official who said he and others were literally approached about throwing certain games. As my son said, note that virtually no national outlets even bothered with the story. Of course this goes way back. When the Patriots won their 4th Super Bowls from a Seahawks play that a middle school coach would never be stupid enough to call, or when you began having 'Cinderella Story' championships one year after another. Or sometimes key calls that are outside of any case of reality. It has happened over the years to be sure. But the growing number, and almost always in line with what the press is saying is 'the awesome narrative' of the day, makes believing nothing is going on far harder than believing it's all just sports as normal.
DeleteI'm about as casual a football fan as one can be, but I AM a fan of games and systems and fair play and as a gamer this definitely offends me. I was even talking about this with a co-worker the other day because it seems like there's a lot of mumblings and rumors floating about.
ReplyDeleteNow certainly I agree with you, Dave - innocent before proven guilty and all. Still there is something to be said on avoiding even the appearance of guilt. Yes this can go too far and I don't subscribe to the "if you're innocent you have nothing to hide" but there is SOME responsibility on the part of folks to earn trust. I can't help but notice that it seems like the NFL of late has had a lot of penalties that are... "hard to challenge." Like in one game I watched live where a 2-pt conversion was called back because a player didn't "report in as a receiver" (is that right? again, very casual watcher). How would you prove that either way? As best I could tell, it would literally be the player's word against the ref's.
If I were in charge of the NFL, I would adjust several rules just to avoid even giving the appearance of fixing games and close off avenues for that kind of thing.
And you're right, "it's only football" but then i think about the "broken window" theory of crime. Small things often foretell large things and snowball into them. A man who will cheat you for pennies, will cheat you when it involves dollars. Likewise a culture who has forsaken even truth in its games, will forsake truth in the big things.
That's what my son says. Like the 2020 election. He'll give that nothing at all wrong is happening, but they're going out of their way to make it appear otherwise.
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