While sports are a unique form of entertainment and a daily part of many people’s lives, this doesn’t mean they don’t come without their flaws. Oftentimes I find myself watching a game and saying, “Why don’t they just get rid of that?” — as if it were that easy. All year long this column has dealt with these gripes, and here’s the breakdown of my biggest issues, sport by sport.
Baseball
Put simply, the game is too slow. In an ever-changing world, those who do not adapt are left behind. Baseball has not adapted to our culture, and this leaves it sadly falling behind more popular alternatives. People don’t have time to sit down for three hours a day, 162 times a year to support their favorite team. Rules need to be implemented to speed up the game to not only keep the viewer’s interest, but also keep people coming back to the sport for years to come.
Basketball
There is nothing more excruciating in sports than watching the last two minutes of a “not-too-close-but-close-enough” basketball game. You know the kind of game I’m talking about — the one where the Celtics are leading by seven with a minute and a half left.
The traditional strategy has been foul, foul and foul some more. In the rare occasion that this approach works in the losing team’s favor, the timeouts begin to lengthen the game even further. There needs to come a point where the game is finished on the court, rather than the sidelines and at the free throw line, or else the last two minutes will continue to take the same amount of time as the 22 minutes that precede it after halftime.
Football
Football stands as the model of the sports world. The season is slightly shorter than the others with a length of just under six months, but it is spread out enough to keep people’s attention for the entire slate. Games are only once a week, making it very easy to pass just one Sunday watching your favorite team, instead of the nightly grind that comes with the baseball season.
However, the perceived perfection of the sport may in fact be its biggest flaw as well. As an avid sports radio listener, I often find myself frustrated when miscellaneous news about the NFL is discussed in early June, when I want to hear about baseball or the NBA playoffs. The backwards logic is that the NFL is pushed at us so often that it could encourage us to pursue other options to relieve us from the 24/7 football hype.
College Sports
I find the ongoing argument that college athletes should be paid appalling. I’d be more than happy to sit an advocate of paying college players down with an average college student and have them hand over their tuition bill, followed by the housing, dining, activities fees and other miscellaneous charges. When all is said and done, these athletes will be leaving school without having paid a cent out of pocket, and in my mind, that’s equivalent to paying in itself.
Hockey
The biggest problem with hockey is simply that I don’t know enough about the sport to give it a complaint. Hockey has never caught on with me, nor with the majority of sports fans in America. From the numerous lockouts to its inability to draw in the “casual fan,” hockey has a long way to go before it can be considered a serious contender with the other professional sports.
And that’s the short — but certainly not collectively exhaustive — list of what should be changed with the various sports leagues. Until next time, sports — you’re sacked!Jordan Bean is a rising sophomore who has yet to declare a major. He can be reached at Jordan.Bean@tufts.edu.You must be logged in to comment on an article. Not already a member? Register now
