As parents have recognized that athletic success can burnish college applications, sports have come to resemble just another pre-professional program, with rising costs, hyper-specialization, and massive opportunity-hoarding among the privileged.
Me? I was the fat kid that was bullied and ostracized by the jocks when I was in school, so I don’t have a lot of feels for athletics anyhow. (I was also bullied and ostracized generally by the wealthier kids, so no feels there, either.) And as a secondary educator, I see the talented kids come along who could get all their tuition and books and room and board paid, even an allowance, but they can’t get a C in Algebra 2 and they grow up and work in a car wash and sit around and re-live the glory days. And the sense of entitlement...
They say there’s no I in team. But there definitely is an I in bulls**t. Or bullies.
Hmmm... Resentment much? Body shame much?
I guess I’m glad I got that off my chest...