dagblog - Comments for "Against Rock Stars"

Well, Johnny would have been

Doctor Cleveland — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 21:39:28 +0000

In reply to My son was glued to Cleveland

Well, Johnny would have been a disappointment even in the best case scenario, because of the unrealistic expectations placed upon him. Even if he had turned out to be ready for the big time, the team wouldn't necessarily have won. Making him a rock star (a role he all-too-eagerly embraced) was not just unhealthy for him. It was also unfair.

And I don't mean to knock Lebron, or say that he doesn't contribute to the community. I'm sure he gives back to good causes, as many pro athletes do. I'm also sure a few more people come to downtown sports bars because Lebron is playing. My point is about the SCALE of the Lebron effect. Having him come back to Cleveland is a positive, but the Cleveland economy is enormous; Lebron coming back isn't enough to drive major change on that scale. His charitable work is definitely a good thing. But Lebron is not going to personally turn around all the troubled youth in the area. He's just one more philanthropist, and every added philanthropist is a good thing, but his contribution won't turn around the whole problem of impoverished youth in a major city. And he isn't giving more than all of the other charitable givers in Cleveland combined.

Boston's economy has boomed like gangbusters over the last twenty years, and they've had a lot of winning sports teams. But the sports championships didn't create the economic boom. If anything, there was a very small effect going in the other direction. (Also, the Red Sox have had a very high-profile relationship for many decades with a charity that fights children's cancer. That is a good thing, but it's not the biggest, or the tenth-biggest. cause of progress in fighting those cancers.) Did the New York Yankees make New York City great? Or was it the other way around?

The existence of a sport like

ocean-kat — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 19:06:03 +0000

In reply to Against Rock Stars

The existence of a sport like football or boxing just illustrates how primitive and uncivilized we still are. No sane society would engage in a game that has such a high risk of brain injury. Any sane government would, if not outright ban the game, at least discourage it. Yet in our collective insanity governments actually subsidize it. If we ever grow up and mature as a species future generations will look at football the way we look at religious punishments for scientific research or the burning of witches in the middle ages.

My son was glued to Cleveland

trkingmomoe — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 06:22:24 +0000

In reply to Against Rock Stars

My son was glued to Cleveland Sports talk radio tonight over the internet. He is a Brown's fan and even has a set of dog pound puppies. Manziel is a disappointment.

My niece who is a social worker in Akron has told me the Lebron has worked with kids from his old neighborhood since he has been back. He is using his star power for some good that can't be easily measured.