Robservations – ‘The Dream’ can take a drastic turn
A proud parent enters a sporting goods store.
Sure, the new baby’s only a few weeks old, but Dad’s still going to buy his son or daughter a mitt, a ball, a pair of skates; something fun that might ‘ just might ‘ influence a future in sports.
It’s just a symbolic gesture, rather than an actual plan. But who knows? Maybe, in time, the kid will take to one sport or another, and actually excel in its efforts.
If so, heaven help that kid.
It starts out so innocently. ‘Katie really seems to have taken a liking to basketball,’ or ‘We can’t get Junior to take his helmet off long enough to have dinner.’
Then, as time goes by, thoughts of the future start creeping into the mind:
‘You know, there may be a scholarship down the road if he keeps this up.’
‘I’m not trying to jinx anything, but she might actually have the goods to go pro.’
Time passes, and sure enough little Sally or Josh becomes the best player on his or her team ‘ then in his or her league. Traveling teams come calling, and before you know it there are camps, private coaches and under-the-table recruiting offers from high schools ‘ or even, in the extreme case, middle schools.
Still somehow, through it all, the young athlete maintains a love for his or her sport, which has now become his or her entire life. Dating can wait, jobs are for the other kids. It’s all ball, all the time, trying to land a starting spot with a major college team.
Lo and behold, that scholarship which seemed to be a preschool pipe dream arrives one day during that kid’s 17th spring, with the letterhead of a nationally known university across the top of the page.
Sure, the school may have the lowest graduation rate in the country, and they may have completely eliminated the science department to pay for a new stadium complete with a 750 square-foot Jumbotron screen. But who cares? They won the conference four years running, Billy or Amber is going to major in Business Administration anyway, and he or she has no intention of sticking around for more than three years.
The stats start piling up, and records start falling. First school records, then conference marks, then the national records all are left in the kid’s wake like the pop quizzes, term papers and final exams he or she was ‘too busy’ for. ESPN sets up shop in Mom and Dad’s living room on draft day, and the cameras are rolling as Dad holds up that battered old mitt or ball, and wipes away a single tear as ‘The Dream’ becomes reality. And alas, reality soon sets in.
The money flows like wine at a Mafia princess’s wedding, and with it comes the temptation to do things such as ‘ oh, I don’t know: Form dog-fighting rings, get in strip-club shuffles, smack their wife/friend/publicist/fans around or gamble on the results of the game they used to love back in their toddler days.
Suddenly, the law is involved. Out of nowhere, the highlight reels that kid used to be featured in are transformed into courtroom entrances and exits. And in the end, it makes you wonder why any kid would pursue a game so fervently, and why any parent would encourage that pursuit when the once-loved game has such an adverse affect on the kid’s lifestyle.
Somewhere, right now, that kid is out there, loving one game or another. And they’re showing progress. Soon they’ll be the best player on their team, then in their league.
God help them.