If sports were gods, the United States might stand parallel to ancient Greece.
Not only has the US.. hosted more Olympic Games than any other country since ancient Greece, but the monolith that is sports culture — gyms, clubs, sports facilities, sports stores, sports apparel and sports advertising — looms over the American consciousness in much the same way all-knowing divinities might loom over their chosen people.
Although the idolization of athletics is certainly ridiculous, the combination of American passion for sports with a hungry demand for entertainment has had undeniable effects on all aspects of American society.
Locales that seem to have little or no connection to the sports world now pay a hefty tax to exist in the same country as our various games.
Universities are a great example.
To emphasize the point, it is helpful to imagine what power major American universities would hold in the minds of citizens if sports teams were disconnected from their campuses.
Is it possible to imagine Boise State without its blue turf?
How might one think of Michigan State without Mark Dantonio?
If sports do create such a name for universities, the value of sport’s roles would need to be equivalent to this notoriety.
It may be important to reevaluate the country’s obsession with entertainment when no other large country in the world emphasizes sports as an important facet of the university.
Although students can participate in sports through clubs and with friends, a team connected to an academic institution is not something taken lightly. University of Idaho’s Intercollegiate Athletics program was given a nearly $17.3 million budget according to a budget report from the 2016 fiscal year.
As the cost of college continues to be a highly debated topic, why is it that college athletics so rarely surfaces as a place to make cuts?
It seems necessary that any part of a university given nearly $17.3 million have a more important role than boosting school spirit.
Certainly sports play other roles and benefit people other than the competitors, but it is unlikely that the small number of student-athletes can wield the power to hold their entire university’s morale in the balance.
Less than two percent of high school students will be offered an athletic scholarship according to the NCAA. Does this small population of the student body have any real, direct effect on the rest of the student body’s learning experience?
Although an athletic experience is regarded as instilling certain ethics and ideas that are beneficial to all, regarding them as an equivalent to academia by espousing teams to universities is not well considered.
Reconsideration of such practices, which are deeply engrained in our culture, will challenge the idea that games are somehow equivalent to the immeasurable value of a university education.
Will Meyer
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Ichabod's bod
Could this article have been written more poorly than what we are reading? Probably not. So the "journalist" (used loosely) never connected with sport. Ever. That's all well and good, but the blatant ignorance to how sport is so commonplace and being a fan is status to many, may as well be labeled moronic. You may criticize America's fascination with sports, but did you actually fail to realize that maybe the fascination is because a lot of people don't agree with you? Like, at all? Suggesting this entire culture fit what you find to be appropriate is like asking Jews to quit circumcising their baby boys. Get over yourself. Ultimately, your argument doesn't matter. Sports attract money, your college career does not.