The Fall is Always the Climax

Every morning on Facebook, a man named Ron Kittle, who if you are an intelligent baseball fan you know as the man who hit many home runs over the roof of old Comiskey Park as a member of the greatest team on Earth, the Chicago White Sox, always has a great message. Here are some of his entries:


…-.---..----…..-:::::---… Morse Code Morning to you.. or no way that top goes with that purple submarine ;) was a little chilly out to wear my mesh tank-topfor my walk had to throw on the winter wear....Make it a HELP DAY that means help someone out in someway.most are afraid to ask..offer it out 25ft High 5

Good Morning...it is going to be an awesome day..quit thinking about the stuff you have no control of..FOCUS on your strengths...makes everything a little less hectic...thinking skillet with the works..and Hawaiian Sweet Bread will be done in 7 min..hot and fresh..yep raspberry jam to :)... I feel so good it is scary...!!!!!

Ok we are a go on breakfast..working on it !!!!! It is going to be a great day had a nice walk..and heading north to meet some friends HOPE THEY are AWAKE ;) Get out your FAT PENCIL and write that list of the things you need to get done, because I know it could be a powerful list and if you can include a little charity also..someone needs your help. High 5 everyone...


Now how can you not feel good after reading that shit?

Ron was and is everyone’s kind of sports hero in the city. Never arrogant, always honest, and appreciated the game of baseball and the people who came to watch him. Then there is the opposite. Funny I bring this up but let’s say Barry Bonds. A guy who allegedly cheated his way to Hank Aaron’s record, said bad shit about his family to the press, and told Ron himself “I don’t sign for white people” when Kittle approached him about signing jerseys he could sell for his charity. So here we have two polar opposites?

I bring this up because I think its fascinating how people view athletes. There are those like my brother who say, “I don’t give a shit if he’s an asshole. If he plays good, that’s all I care about.” And then there are those like me who look at the stuff as major bush league. Do I care about arrogance? No. But I think ultimately you need to remember who your supports and customers are.

Sports aren’t really what they used to be back in the day. Most people would stay on a team forever. Very rarely did you see guys switch around. You would never see a superstar like Ryne Sandberg leave the Cubs, the thought of Michael Jordan being traded to a different team after his contract was up was preposterous. Nowadays, athletes jump from team to team not because they want to, but because teams are more concentrated on building a better product than loyalty to a player who helped them.

This whole concept has made the players feel either one or two ways. Helpless because what the player wants isn’t always what the player gets. Or the opposite, powerful because then the player feels like he’s bigger than the team. Now, I didn’t want to get into a debate about free agency, arbitration, and other facets of the business of sports. I brought this up for a reason.

We saw over the last week, Tiger Woods got more press than anyone. Why is it when athletes fail in life, we’re all over it? Everyone is guilty. The news writers and talk shows light the fuse because they know we’re eating it up. Why is it we like to see people fail; especially ones who experience success more than others? Perhaps it’s because their humanity shines through and they for about one hour, a week, perhaps a month, are just like us. They have emotions and it’s hard for them to hide it. So when we hear the voice mail from Tiger Woods telling his “girlfriend” to change his voice mail, we think back to a time when we felt we were going to get busted for something and tried to cover our ass. Unfortunately for the young icon, the girl rolled over on him, and not literally this time. It could be empathy.

Or maybe it’s because people enjoy the fall from grace. When Roger Clemens was in that courtroom everyone had something to say about it. When Mark McGwire was in front of congress talking about the future and not the past, everyone was saddened. Everyone has an opinion on what happened.

Then there’s the opposite. People like me who really don’t give a shit. I only write about it here because I just like to say shit about things.

I know I went on two topics but I think the point of the piece was, one, athletes should treat their fans better, and two, people care too much about what happens in athlete’s lives outside of the arena.

Carry on and as Ron says “high 5 to you today!”

M