Letters to the Editor
Amerigo
Published Letters: 955 Editor's Choice: 60
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Why we care...
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It is interesting that so many people seem to think it is a great shame that Vick has passed up millions of dollars in earnings by his foolishness and criminal behavior. But no one seems concerned that his behavior may have any effect on the sport of football. They are probably right, but why is this so?
Clearly we identify with him in some way and see parallels with our own struggles out of poverty, hence the first question we ask is how could he put millions of dollars of easy money at risk? The fact that we ask this question tells us more about ourselves than about Vick.
Pro football is a corporate creation, financed by those of us who are willing to pay extra money for branded goods promoted through the sport and on the TV ads inserted into the broadcasts. (This is not very rational on our part, but we do like to be entertained).
All of the players make enough money to never have to work again after a few years, or even from the outset. Generally they accept the devil's compact and knuckle down to become company men, but not all. Vick is the most egregious example of one player who refused to toe the corporate line. Maybe he read Vance Packard's seminal text The Pyramid Climbers while he was in college and made a rational decision to reject mainstream values. More likely he was just stupid and nasty and cruel.
There is nothing about making a lot of money and playing football that makes a stupid, nasty, cruel person into a Nobel prize nominee. Really the amazing thing is that so many players do buy into the system and make out like nice guys. If I earned the money they earn, I would probably be absolutely corrupted.
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Amphetamine laced expresso
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Hard to muster up much indignation about steroids, for example, with a bottomless pot of amphetamine-laced espresso on hand in every players’ lounge in professional baseball.
How do you know this?
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The FInances of Football
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]You could also say it's financed by those of us who are willing to pay extra money to see the best in the world. Why is that not rational? (Or are you saying liking to be entertained is not rational?) I'd pay more to see my favorite major-label recording artist play than to see the guy who strums his guitar in the subway station. Am I just irrationally wanting to pay more for branded goods? I don't think so.
I was not thinking of major league sports being a branded product for which people pay high prices for tickets (though that is true) as much as of the TV money which really supports the sport by selling branded beers and hangover remedies to stay-at-home spectators. This, I think is where the money really comes from and what makes the players rich.
No one I know ever goes to a major league football game, or plays football, so if it was not for TV I doubt whether it would survive very long as a major sport or that there would be many people playing for fun or exercise.
No, I don't think it is rational to pay over the odds for headache remedies containing common ingredients just because they are advertised in between plays in the NFL. Paying over the odds for a better product is perfectly rational, but better products are often not the ones that are expensively advertised.
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The passions of Karl Rove
[Read the article: Fantasy island]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]So Gerson wrote of Rove:
"His most passionate, obsessive love -- after his wife -- is American history."
This opens up a whole new Rove we never knew, the man who is passionate and obsessive about his wife. Inquiring minds want to know more.
So Roves order of passionate obsession is:
1. His wife.
2. American history.
3. (Presumably) politics.
Quite the all-rounder, I would say.
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No washing machine?
[Read the article: My husband won't do his laundry]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Don't these folks have a washing machine? I am a single male and live alone (most of the time) and have a washing machine and dryer on my back porch. It takes almost zero time to put washing plus detergent in the machine and then take it out and put it in the dryer and then extract it when it is dry. I often launder while cooking or baking, and use the timer to remind me to take out the washing. Hence the amount of time devoted to laundering is negligible, especially when overlapped with other activities.
Now, the ironing--that is a different matter, but I have cracked that one by playing poker online while I iron sitting down. Both activities require a lot of folding, so they are a great match.
Show this letter to your hubby, LW. Then again, maybe not.