The Campus Sports Guy
Say it ain't so...everyone
By Corey Ryan, Sports Editor
August 6, 2007 | 9:31 p.m.
I’m sure everyone has heard it at some point or another, but that is the origin of “Say it ain’t so Joe.”
The quote is regarding fan favorite “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, who was one of the infamous eight men out and it is relevant because Jackson epitomized what an athlete should be, in the minds of that generation. That is he played the game like a little kid, loving every minute of it, but also like a man, because no little kid could bat .400 in Major League Baseball.
For me, the headline signifies the end of innocence in sports. Sure there were greedy owners running franchises like tyrants and gambling fixes probably happened before that series, but that headline is brilliant and hits you like ton of bricks. It just sounds like a kid sad it and the newspaper printed it.
During the past month or so, sports fans could be saying the same thing, except regarding a cornucopia of athletes, referees, owners and commissioners.
First, the obvious is Barry Bonds, who tied Henry Aaron’s career home run mark Saturday. He may break it tonight, making this blog appear outdated, but I don't think that's relevant because I’m merely airing the things wrong. If I was a musician this would be my attempt at the Blues. If I was a Blues Brothers, I’d totally be Ellwood.
Bonds will break the record. He may never be indicted. He’ll probably disappear after the season. People will always either view him as a cheater or the focal point of racial bigotry. I don’t blame Barry or Mark or Jose, not like most people do, because they almost all had to do it. I know it is an anti-American sentiment, but regarding that era of baseball, it is my belief that everyone is guilty till proven innocent. I grew up in the steroid era. I was supposed to be innocent, but now my age of innocence never existed.
Sure I’ll go to games because I like the sport and I love going to the ball park, so I’m equally as guilty, but if everyone else is going to be selfish, then why can’t I?
Then there is Michael Vick, the gunslinger out of Virginia Tech who was supposed to revitalize the position, making the NFL untouchable. He never became the best player in the NFL. He probably won’t. He’ll probably play again because I doubt he’ll do jail time for executing dogs by hanging, electrocution, etc., but he cannot lead a football team.
There were question marks about Michael from the beginning. Could he be accurate enough? Could he stay healthy? Would he win if he had competent receivers? But now he needs to worry about being a human being.
Both Barry and Michael will play the race card and I’m not going to pretend there isn’t a racial bias in this country because I know there is. I don’t need ESPN.com to tell me about the southern reputation of bigotry. But if the whole world became color blind, I still think I’d feel betrayed and dirty.
Closer to home, the ever clean Ohio University athletic department has some how escaped national coverage, but Robert Andrey was supposed to fix the department’s budget, but instead stole over $31,000 from the university.
Robert was part of the crew that cut three varsity athletic programs last year because the school, which charges me $591 in general fees per quarter, can’t afford to even let the seniors play out the remainder of their careers as Bobcats.
And that isn’t the only scandal this university has been involved in that has fortunately been uncovered during the summer months. Apparently the school that cannot afford to keep those sports has been receiving money from student loan companies after persuading students to use their loans. Ohiobobcats.com has a link to the University Financial Services web site which has recently disappeared like Athletic Director Kirby Hocutt’s tongue when something bad has happened.
That brings me back to professional sports with former NBA referee Tim Donaghy, the target of a FBI investigation for allegedly betting on games after getting involved with the mob. I’m not up on this because I have been trying to avoid it because I can’t take it anymore. It’s a mad world out there and I’m not even going to go political. No, I won’t go Bill Maher on you, but I will conclude with this.
Sports are meant to be a pleasurable escape from the world. Some people read or watch movies or go sky diving or fight dogs or gamble. Sports are supposed to remind us of our innocence when we were young, hitting game winning homeruns in little league or hitting game winning shots in a pickup game. Sports are supposed to be fun, but with every scandal, a little bit of the kid in me disappears.
I’m not going to make any effort to watch Barry’s 756th homerun for one reason. I already have had one memory cheapened, watching Mark hit homerun number 62, with my dad, when I was ten years old.
Say it ain’t so.