LeBron James (aka King James) recently signed a 4-year $154 million contract with the LA Lakers. Holy Cow! That’s more than a king’s ransom, and LeBron isn’t even bonafide royalty!
As inflated as James’ salary may be, though, the ironic truth is most Americans weren’t particularly shocked when the news broke. Professional athletes in other major sports also enjoy large salaries. The average annual salary of a player in the National Football League is $1.9 million although rookies typically fall short of that figure, and some high-profile players receive far more. Let the average American worker come close to a six figure income, and he thinks he’s made the big leagues!
Many Americans grind the stone every day and still have more month left at the end of the money. The perplexing thing is that most of these hardworking Americans are die-hard fans when it comes to rooting for the home team. And these fans aren’t just buying tickets to the games. They’re sporting their favorite teams’ colors and buying “official” team merchandise. From foam fingers to footballs, sports fans across the country go to great lengths and spend millions of dollars showing support for their favorite teams and players.
So, the question remains, “How do Americans justify the idea of placing more monetary value on a professional athlete’s work compared to that of a teacher, a fireman, or a nurse?”
No doubt a professional athlete works hard to achieve his or her success. While many Americans begrudgingly visit the gym once a week or complain when they can’t score a front row parking spot at the mall, these professional athletes are lifting, running, jumping and hitting for hours each day. They work weekends and holidays, and their jobs often take them away from their homes and families. But how much are they really contributing to their fans' well-being? After all, these athletes aren't saving lives or molding the minds of future generations.
The answer is simple, although mildly obscure, and best answered with this question: “Can we place a dollar amount on the distraction and enjoyment professional sports provide?”
Whether we get a kick out of World Cup Soccer, we proudly sport a wedge of cheese atop our head, or we risk hearing loss at Daytona Motor Speedway, we will, for a moment in time, forget about the overdue mortgage, the car’s balding tires, and our unreasonable boss. For a brief moment in time, the only thing that matters is the game.
Just like when we were kids, the game makes the world around us seem insignificant. The game is what we lived for back then. Amid the homework, the chores, the family dinners our mother’s insisted we attend, the game is what moved us to believe, to hope and to dream.
Remember when we would bolt out the front door with ball glove in hand and race to the dusty patch of dirt the neighborhood kids had transformed into a “major league” baseball diamond? And on Friday nights we fought a valiant battle against our cross-town rivals for football bragging rights. Even if we preferred to be spectators rather than players, we lived for the game.
With the same unbridled passion as our younger selves, as adults we still live for the game. The game unites communities and erases - if only for a few hours - the differences among our fellow sports fans.
Yes, professional athletes get paid a ridiculous amount of money to do what some consider mere child’s play, but perhaps professional athletes contribute to our well-being more than we realize. Perhaps they give us an opportunity to be kids again and just focus on the game. Perhaps, amid the struggling economy, the political tension, and the world’s social concerns, these athletes allow us to truly enjoy life - one home run, one touchdown, one hole in one at a time.
Monday morning will come soon enough. The bill collectors will call, the tires may go flat, and the boss - well, let’s hope his team won this weekend. Until then, sports fans, let’s play ball!