Cashing in on two sports franchises – the players. J. Letness Sportz Correspondent/the UrbanFly July 12, 2010
Minneapolis – Two hometown heroes. Two destinations.
LeBron James of Akron Ohio, will cease his employment with his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and play for the Miami Heat in the 2010-11 season. The contract was reported to be for 5 years and is worth close to $99m.
Joe Mauer, of St. Paul Minnesota will be playing for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MBL). He signed a contract in March 2010 for 8 years for a reported $184m.
Two elite athletes, and two mid-market communities experiencing anxiety rashes over the continued employment of two favorite sons for the home teams. Whoever wondered how important professional sports are to the psychological health of a community can take some notes.
For the Twins, the crisis weathered by paying for Joe Mauer will only be eclipsed by the crisis of paying for Justin Morneau in 2013, or Delmon Young through arbitration at the end of the 2010 season. Mauer won an MVP, has became an historical figure (the only catcher EVER to win an American League Batting Title), and understood that if he had went to the only places that could afford to pay his ransom; he would, ironically, have been professionally second-fiddle. In Minnesota, Mauer is king, or at least the first among equals.
LeBron and The Cavs were saddled with a different burden. There were equally few options for James to go where he wouldn't be the ONLY one. Two-time reigning MVP, he was set to sea in a league uniquely beset by me-firstisms (12-man teams and half the active roster jobs of the other major team sports of North America). In a field of five, It's impossible not to be king, and the Heat were one of the few destinations were he may play on a team with a threesome of equals. Well, we'll see, with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh and little else in the fold; who the go-to-guy will be may sink the experiment through an on court paralysis or dialysis. There are five guys in the game, but only one trough.
On to the games. Now for the Poor James Almanac; in the nationally televised spectacle entitled, "The Decision", he looked like he had just sold his soul – and had to explain why it was a good idea. Forlornness has a face, and no amount of pay can make it go away. The cruel dimensions of a mercenary industry such as Pro Sports is the arrival of the sad but inevitable day when you seem compelled to cut out your heart to save your soul – or more accurately, to create a legacy. In this case the term legacy being short for membership into the exclusive club of pro athletes who have won championships. This writer does not pretend to be competent to judge the virtue of such decisions, except to note that such calculations can bring unintended consequences. .
Video courtesy: AssociatedPress July 8, 2010
Curiously, the refrain often proffered was, "It wasn't about the money", an odd claim about a decision that involves such sums. But it is more than just pay, it is about the burden of status such sums bestow; the absurdity of pricing yourself into a realm of value well beyond the zen of just playing a game. There is irony in being entrapped by a society mesmerized by conspicuous consumption, and obsessed by the lives of the Rich&Famous. The illusion of choice, when the pursuit of status and privilege so severely narrows the options. For now at least, these young men should at least be able to feed their...
Post Game Moralizing. The betrayal felt by the fans (pro sports consumer) in Cleveland and the relief of the fans in Minnesota provide the fuel that drives the pro sports engine. One can be dismayed by the easy manipulation of the fan by exploiting their tribal loyalties and their susceptibility spectacle, but that is where the treasure lies for the pro sports combine (leagues and media). As Nelson Mandela so pragmatically demonstrated, what is more important in this world than the local pro team, the revenue it generates for the well-heeled partners, (not so much for the home town) and the sense of belonging of the unwashed fans and of the egalitarianism of standing in public square, all in the same shirt, chanting wildly over the victory of the national team.
