Play Ball

My condolences to all the Bradley fans over last Thursday night's loss to Memphis. Though it may have been a defeat, the Braves played very well against a tough opponent.

It's not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game. That's the lesson Bradley taught us that night. It seems more and more, society becomes more obsessed with sports. Peoples lives almost revolve around sports. Have you ever been to some event or meeting and you find someone who brought their portable TV or radio to constantly get an update on a game. Parents get in fights over a little league game. Over in England, British soccer fans go as far as to create mass riots. Even last week, the Gridiron was rescheduled because of the Bradley game. I would not be surprised that if the Bradley game took place on a Saturday afternoon, there would be a wedding somewhere in Peoria that would have been postponed.

The fans are not the only ones obsessed. Even the athletes. Jose Consenco and many other baseball players are found to be taking steroids. Pete Rose was found guilty of betting on baseball games. On the college level, you hear about stories of scholarships with perks and luxurious gifts if certain athletes will play for their school while they hold little or no scholastic achievements.

All the same, congratulations to Bradley and coach Jim Les for a great season!

Common Sense of it All: Good grief folks! It's only a game. However, the amount of money that is spent and is made off of sports has fueled this obsession. If people could put the level of interest and enthusiasm into their relationships, jobs, lives and their community as they do in their fascination over sports, they might find life to be a bit better. I bet there was a little more than 18% of registered voters more in tune to Thursday's night game than they were Tuesday's primary election.