There is no Better Example for the Demise of America than Professional Sports

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart

My America, the nation I loved for most of my life, is nearing its end. Not a single agency tasked with the protection of our nation’s people and the preservation of the Constitution is willing to do the right thing and end the dictatorship of one man, the worst individual in the world, Donald John Trump.

However, for once, I write an article which is not about the orange buffoon.

This is the America I will always remember.

As an original baby boomer, I was a typical child raised in the 1950’s and 1960’s. As a young man, my greatest loves were baseball, basketball, and football.

Growing up in Los Angeles, I was very excited when I learned that the Brooklyn Dodgers were moving to my hometown. Major League Baseball was my first passion as a young man. I made it my primary goal to learn about the players who would soon become the Los Angeles Dodgers.

These were the early days of television. We didn’t get to watch many of the Dodger’s games in 1958 or 1959, unless they were playing the San Francisco Giants in the Bay Area.

Their games were broadcast on the radio. Vin Scully was a master of his craft. His play by play was so descriptive, I felt I was at the game. I had a transistor radio and a flashlight which I used to keep score under the covers.

My mother, brother, and I lived in a one-bedroom apartment in West Los Angeles. We had a wonderful landlord. One day he surprised our little family. He had purchased two tickets for a Dodger game. The games were played at the Los Angeles Coliseum. He said he would drive my brother and I to the game and pick us up when it ended.

I will never forget what I saw on that day in 1959. As my brother and I walked from the tunnel and into the open area where our seats were assigned, I had never seen such a sight. The players were warming up on a field so green it was hard to believe it was real.

John and I played catch behind our apartment every morning before walking to school.

In 1960, my first year of high school, the Minneapolis Lakers moved to Los Angeles. Jerry West played his rookie year at the Los Angeles Sports Arena in 1961. I was on the “B” basketball team. I practiced very hard in an effort to copy the way the man who would be called, “Mr. Clutch,” executed his jump shot.

It was not until I graduated from high school in 1964 that I truly became a fan of the NFL. However, the Los Angeles Rams were not very good.

However, in 1970, the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Terry Bradshaw. He was a typical rookie; making many mistakes. The Steelers had an incredible defense and head coach Chuck Noll was building a team which would become the greatest group of men who ever played the game.

In 1975, the Steelers won Super Bowl IX, defeating the Minnesota Vikings.

I never had a lot of money. When I could afford tickets, I would attend a Dodger game or a Laker game. In the 1970’s reserved seating for a Dodger game cost $2.50. Laker tickets were between $3.00 and $8.00. In 1967, the first Super Bowl tickets cost between $6.00 and $12.00.

Things change, and one thing you can always count on is the greed of corporate America.

In the early 1980’s, I was living in North County San Diego. I soon became a single parent. I bought tickets to the San Diego Padres games for myself, my son, my daughter, my girlfriend, and her two sons frequently. Tickets cost $3.50 each for seats behind home plate on the third level. With tickets and food, a great day cost me about $50.00.

Moving ahead to 2025. My wife and I are retired. We were both forced to leave the workforce because of age discrimination. No one would hire us. We exist on Social Security, which we both paid into for over more than 40 years. However, with an increase of 60-70 percent in grocery prices, we struggle every month to pay our bills and care for ourselves, one dog, and one cat.

Even if I was still working, I couldn’t afford tickets to a professional baseball, football, or basketball game.

The closest professional teams are in the Bay Area: the San Francisco Giants, the San Francisco 49ers, and Golden State Warriors.

San Francisco Giants charge between $300 and $8,000 for a single game.

Seats for a 49ers game are priced between $250-$450, depending on the competition and day of the week. However, for “special seating,” the cost is as high as $5,000 each.

Golden State Warriors tickets in the “nosebleed” areas range between $200 and $300 dollars, with “good seats” reaching into the thousands of dollars.

Playoff and championship seating is nearly 10 times the cost of a regular season ticket.

It is a fact that the reason for these incredible prices is based on player’s salaries.

The top 10 players in Major League Baseball are paid between 30 and 70 million dollars each year.

The top 25 players in the NFL receive between 60 and 30 million dollars per year.

The top 10 NBA players are paid between 59 and 53 million dollars annually.

I loved basketball, and would have paid to play in the NBA. No one man is worth the money they receive.

The greatest professional basketball player in history, Bill Russell, received just over $100,000 for each of his last two seasons. He helped the Boston Celtics win 11 championships over the 13 seasons he played.

The greatest quarterback in NFL history, Johnny Unitas, never received more than $100,000 per year. He had to call his own plays and be a real football player, unlike today’s princesses.

I consider Hank Aaron the greatest major league baseball player of all time. His highest salary was $240,000 for the 1975 and 1976 seasons. “Hammerin’ Hank” broke Babe Ruth’s record although he received death threats over the entire season.

What’s wrong with America? Our nation’s current motto says it all: “profit before people.”

Op-ed by James Turnage

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