By Reid Collins on 3.20.03 @ 12:06AM
Common decency and respect for those who risk their lives for us require that we put our sporting lives on hold.
Of all the phrases that self-serve, none is more revered than
"he would've wanted it that way." This was the phrase used by
defenders of the NFL decision to play its Sunday schedule November
25, 1963, as President Kennedy's body lay in state in the Rotunda,
though some teams elected to stand down that day. As a rule, we
impute our motives to the dead and do what pleases us most. We are
about to do the same in the name of the living.
The war for Iraq poses a different circumstance and summons a
slightly different rationale. "They (the troops) would want it that
way," say those who opt for the full athletic schedule, the NCAA
tournament, the NHL, NBA, U.S. Skiing championships. And all are
going ahead. Only Major League Baseball has slightly altered plans,
canceling the scheduled Oakland-Seattle opener March 25 and 26 in
Tokyo. Announcing the change, Commissioner Selig is careful not to
insult the host country by suggesting there are reasons of security
while at the same time saying the games are off because it is the
"safest course of action for the players involved."
Team and fan safety evidently was a driving factor in the
decision to proceed with the NCAA basketball schedule. NCAA
President Myles Brand says he has consulted Homeland Security
Secretary Tom Ridge and after that conversation "we see no reason
to make any alterations to our plan." Brand also says, "Our
thoughts and prayers are with the young men and women who are in
the desert."
Careful, now. This opens the argument. Are we playing simply
because we can, because the Homeland folks are confident the venues
will be safe? Once assured, what are other reasons for postponement
or cancellation? Let's try a few.
Respect. Respect for a volunteer service that is being required
to put its life on the line in a war that rivals Vietnam in
popularity. The same kind of respect that told some kickers in the
NFL of 1963 it would be unseemly to advance on the ball at the same
time a flag-draped casket of a slain president was going up to
Capitol Hill. That the decedent was a fan was irrelevant.
That those struggling for Basra and eating sand are sports fans
is also irrelevant. That the White House urges life to go on as if
nothing happened is irrelevant. What matters is how a people
express respect and regard for that other, now far-removed segment
of society which is being asked to give life and limb in their name
in a contest whose ramifications will reach far beyond the Final
Four.
Asked what they think is a proper course on the cusp of war, the
honchos of their sports repair immediately to the safety aspects of
their games and venues. Not the question, Bud, Myles, and company.
It ain't up to Homeland. It is Heartland whereof we speak. Should
we all be having fun, playing and watching games, while our
brethren are engaged in that other, more deadly pursuit, which
produces its own immutable statistics?
The conundrum of the question is especially evident in the case
of CBS, which has paid or promised $6 billion to carry the NCAA
basketball tournament in these years. If there is war action to
report, it may have to shift the games to some of the several other
networks owned by its parent, or to the sports network, ESPN, with
which CBS has made an arrangement. Viewers may have to search out
MTV, or TNN, or BET to watch basketball because that competing
business in Baghdad has taken precedence and Rather has won the
Blackrock battle of what is really relevant that night. Millions of
dollars are involved. Millions and more to the schools whose
amateurs are skilled enough to win. Which introduces another aspect
to letting the games begin. It is not just because "they would want
it that way." It is also because the treasurer wants it that
way.
As for the players: The college lads are not looking at a draft
number that would put them in the sand alongside those who fight;
many are looking at incredible numbers agents say they can get as
signing bonuses in the pro's. And the professionals themselves?
Michael Jordan of the Wizards says "we can only do what the
president has asked us to do -- continue on with our lives." Jordan
does say, "We'll all have a heavy heart. And we'll hope it doesn't
last long."
Yes. Let's hope it doesn't go to overtime, or extra innings, or
any prolongation that might give us time to think, "Is this the
right thing? Do I really want it that way?"
topics:
Business, Sports, Iraq
