In my opinion, college athletics are the pinnacle of sports. Across the nation, and right here at FSCJ, student athletes dedicate their lives to a sport based solely on their love for the game. They train and practice for hours on end, while simultaneously attending a full schedule of college courses. They attend study halls and conditioning drills without the expectations of a shoe contract, worldwide celebrity, or lucrative signing bonuses. Outside of a scholarship, most student athletes will never receive one dime for playing their sport, and they couldn't care less.
In return, fans of college sports show their appreciation by turning out in droves to support their teams. Fans of college basketball, for example, will paint their bodies in the school colors, camp outside just to get tickets, and scream at the top of their lungs for the entirety of every game. Examples such as "The Cameron Crazies" of Duke University and "The Rowdy Reptiles" of the University of Florida epitomize a dedicated college fan.
After witnessing the lockouts in pro sports this year, it seems hard to imagine that at one time professional athletes were once college students themselves. Players in the NBA and NFL seem to treat their job as just that, a job. In the process forgetting who they once were, hungry student athletes.
2011 has been the year of the lockout. Contract disputes between owners and players in both the NBA and the NFL have placed both seasons in jeopardy. In the case of the the NBA, commissioner David Stern recently cancelled the first two weeks of the upcoming season. The NFL nearly experienced the same fate, but the players and owners were able to come to an agreement in the eleventh hour.
Although the rich arguing with the extremely rich put off many football fans, the NFL was able to bounce back with minimal loss of the fan base. I don't think the NBA will be as lucky. The NFL is America's golden child, while the NBA is the equivalent of a redheaded stepchild. (For anyone with red hair reading this, just kidding, your step-dad still loves you).
Most fans of the NBA will not even watch this season due to the lockout. I think most sports fans will agree with me when I say, if I want to watch a bunch of people who don't do their job and argue about large sums of money, I'll turn on CSPAN. I expect it from politicians, but I hold athletes to a higher standard.
If NBA players would take a step back and remember their college days, I think negotiations would be much different. If they could remember what it was like to practice twice a day for no pay after a long day in class, maybe they would realize they have an amazing opportunity that millions of fans across the country would kill for. If players would remember their past, the fact they are playing a game they enjoy, I'm sure it would be hard to quit their jobs over an extra comma to their already large bank accounts.
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