Have Professional Sports Evolved For The Better Or Worse?

TOPIC: Have Professional Sports Evolved For The Better Or Worse?

The Question:

We constantly hear the old-timers say, "If it was only like the old days." Some people believe that sports have evolved into a commercialized business, where the players are overpaid and the fans are overcharged. Others believe that sports have evolved into exciting entertainment.

Have professional sports evolved for the better or worse? Why?

What changes in sports do you like? Which do you dislike? Why?

Which sport do you think has been changed the most? Why?

Show off your knowledge to the world!

The Winners:

MeadeJ9
BurningHeart
Backa53

Prizes:

1st place - 75 in store credit.

1st Place - MeadeJ9

Every story has two sides, yes professional sports have evolved for the better, but at the same time they have also evolved for the worse. However, in order to display this and make a good assumption as to which side out weighs the other we must look back at the origins of certain sports and compare them to now.

To display the vast amount of change, I pick three: Baseball, Basketball and Football. These are arguably the most preferred and talked about sports in America and withhold a large amount of change within just the past half century.

How Much Do They Make?

Now a days seeing how much a professional ball player makes has a jaw dropping affect upon us. It's outrageous! Currently the highest paid baseball player, Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees, makes slightly over 21.6 million dollars. I don't know about you, but as I sit here and add up all the money I've made in a lifetime, I'm pretty confident that I haven't even come close to 21.6 million dollars.

As we move on to looking at some of the highest paid athletes in basketball and football we notice similar results. Shaquille O'Neal, powerhouse of the Miami Heat pulled in a whopping 20 million for the 05-06 season and even worse, Michael Vick QB for the Atlanta Falcons, made 23.1 million dollars in 05'.

Often times we see athletic interviews and the question, "Why do you play the game?" arises. The typical answer is most commonly, "For the love of the game," my question is, if they love the game so much why are these outlandish salaries demanded by them?

Just briefly comparing older salaries to the new, in 76' baseball great, Hank Aaron made $250,000 a season for the Milwaukee Brewers. The average salary of a Brewers player now is 775,000 a season. Not to mention Alex Rodriguez is making nearly 87 times more than Aaron in 30 years time.

How Much Do We Pay?

The price the players make just so happens to go hand in hand with the price we pay to see them. Year after year the prices to attend these games sky rocket in efforts to afford their exorbitant salaries. The price of a ticket to Super bowl XLI, now on sale, can be obtained for the low, low cost of $2,600-$5,995 depending on desired location of seat. I personally, think I'll be watching this one at home!

Hopefully for you, your wife and kids aren't nagging you to take them to the NBA All Star Game in Las Vegas this upcoming year, if they are you'll be put out around $1000-$6500 depending on location of seat yet again. Your best bet, although still expensive would probably be taking them to the MLB All Star Game, tickets ranging from $550-$2200 a piece and yes, you guessed it, once again based on location of seat.

In 1969 tickets to the World Series were a mere $4-$15! I'd say there is definitely a bit of price difference there, at this rate in 10 years none of us will be able to afford to watch sports that aren't on TV.

Are Athletes Actually Getting That Much Better?

For the most part, yes! Athletes are consistently breaking through barriers we didn't believe to be possible, take for instance the time it takes to run a mile. For quite some time it was said running a mile in less than 4 minutes was conceivably out of reach. However, in '99 a Moroccan by the name of Hicham El Guerrouj shattered this barrier with his 3:43:13 time which still holds the record.

In 1927, Babe Ruth hit 60 homeruns in a season, at that time it was seen as amazing! Nevertheless, 74 years and a couple steroids later Barry Bonds hit 73 raising the bar on this record in 2001. Day after day, training session after training session athletes are slowly but surely making themselves bigger stronger and more physically, or mentally for that matter, capable of displaying their adaptations and readiness to compete and overcome in their designated sport of choice.

In essence they are leaving behind the records and standards set by the generations prior to them and raising them to new highs to be broken by those to come.

So What You're Trying To Say Is?

What I'm trying to say is yes Professional Sports have evolved for the better as far as what they are capable of doing and displaying during an "in game" situation. They're flat out amazing! The various things these athletes do and put themselves through to produce these outcomes are by far greater than the generations before, however everything playing into and around these Professional Sports has evolved for the worse.

Ticket Pricing:

Our ticket pricing is, as I mentioned above, outrageous - your everyday average Joe is more than likely not going to go out and pay $5,000 to watch a 3 hour sporting event when he only makes $50,000 a year. Before taxes that's 10% of his annual income and unless he's just a diehard fan, as many of us are, he's more than likely not going to be able to pull the string in his wallet around to afford going.

Also, take into consideration that's "just" the ticket, what about the flight there if it's not in your home town? Did you factor in the expenses for food and a room if you're planning on spending the night there? Before its over with you spent $5500-$6000 to watch the Titans lose to the Rams.

If these athletes love the game so much why are they demanding they make so much to play? Ever tell somebody, "Man I sure do hate my job." If so you probably got back the response "Its work you're not supposed to like it." Do you have to like your job to demand making more money? If so, maybe that what I've been doing wrong all these years!

Sportsmanship:

Sportsmanship for instance is still evolving for the worse in my opinion, in 2004 the Pacers and the Pistons got into a full team-on-team confrontation over Ron Artest's foul on Ben Wallace. To top it off, Piston's fan John Green threw a cup of beer at Artest's Chest leading to an infuriated Ron Artest charging into the stands breaking out a riot.

At this time Artest was making 6.1 million dollars a season and couldn't control his anger long enough to keep from attacking a fan? Yes, I agree the man should not have thrown this at him, but as an athlete and member of that team he is supposed to hold a higher standard for himself and control himself better in those types of situations.

If I knew I was making 6.1 million to play basketball it'd take a lot to put me in a bad mood, especially one great enough to feel the need to attack a fan that paid $100-$400 for his regular season game ticket!

Sports Training & Medicine:

One thing playing into the evolution of sports that I strongly believe has evolved for the better is sports training and medicine. We know much more about the body, how it works, what it needs and what outcomes certain drugs will have upon us.

Steroids, in my opinion, are not the answer, however they help, a lot! They can take an average baseball player and turn him into a homerun king and powerhouse like no other. However, on a more legal note, knowledge and understood usage on things such as creatine, glutamine and overall good nutrition have made athletes healthier, stronger, and more equipped to perform on a higher level.

Sports medicine allows the athletes to get back out and play faster than most of us see possible. I have watched Eddie George of the Tennessee Titans dislocate his shoulder, go to the sideline, have it relocated, put on a special brace and be back out playing in 10 minutes. I've dislocated my shoulder playing football many times, I however, did not return to the game, but due to the advances in modern medicine and these braces and supports he was able to play through this and to me that's phenomenal!

What Changes Do You Like?

The research and intelligence people have put into sports medicine and training methods to make the athletes better have in my opinion the biggest role in the game and is what I truly like most. Without modern medicine and methods of training the athletes would not be of such a high caliber and competing on such a high level in comparison to those that came before.

That's part of the fun of this, watching as new and improved ways of training, recovering through medical means and incorporating better nutrition allow us, the athletes, to continually out do our previous times and records. Without this new improved and gathered knowledge of training for athletics we'd all probably still be either overtraining or sticking to a workout program consisting of flat bench for 3 sets of 10 along with an array of abdominal exercises everyday, because they are "different" than our other muscle groups.

We have found there are many various ways to train for things such as improvement in speed, greater endurance, or overall strength, without this where would we be? We now have supplements that can increase endurance, up testosterone, and help to melt fat away allowing athletics to reach new heights in fitness levels and overall athletic output.

Nutrition, well that's just a given. With our expanded amount of knowledge on what our bodies do and don't need we've, along with increasing our physique and sports performance levels, increased our life expectancy. So my most liked and appreciated sports evolvement definitely is our expansion in knowledge over these few things because without them we'd in my opinion be competing on no where near the level we are now in professional athletics.

What Changes Don't You Like?

I don't enjoy seeing athletes take advantage of modern medicine and use it in bad ways such as steroids. How is it fair for a baseball player to take steroids, get gigantic, seize the homerun record, and say it was "all him." To me that's just plain wrong and unfair to the people that bust their @ss everyday in the gym getting what little gains they can to give them an advantage over the other guy. They are suddenly sent to the bottom of the food chain because another guy chooses to "cheat" themselves and the sport by taking steroids to enhance their performance.

I also hate the price tag we place on these players, why did we ever let them keep demanding more and more money to play these sports? Making 20 million dollars to attend practice, workout sessions, training and games is astronomical! How in h*ll can you possibly deserve that much for something so simple?

If we wouldn't have let them demand more they would have had to play for less, if we simply put a 5 million dollar cap on all athletes of every level and sport we'd be a lot better off. What are they possibly going to do, refuse to play for 5 million dollars and go work at McDonalds for $5.15 an hour instead?

Even at a 5 million dollar cap they'd still be highly over paid, but don't they all say it's not about the money its about the love for the game, if we want to get that technical about it why not tell them we'll pay them $50,000 a piece? Maybe then it'll be less expensive to actually attend a game, practically the only way a normal everyday guy is going to get to go to a professional game is if he wins his tickets off the radio.

The audacity we see in these players is pathetic, they know they make more money than half the world and regardless they don't see it necessary to carry themselves on a higher level. Attacking a fan in the bleachers is ridiculous. Picking a fight with another player over a tackle is idiotic.

Yes there have always been discrepancies on the field, the diamond, and the court, but these athletes need to recognize they are not only paid to play these sports, they are role models for children. Ask an 8 year old child what he wants to be when he grows up or "if you could be anybody in the world who would you be?"

His or her answer is probably going to be some type of pro ball player and the name of a highly regarded athlete such as Michael Jordan. Do they think showing these children that truly adore them and their physical capabilities that these actions and ways of life are alright?

What Sport Has Changed The Most?

Football has, simply put, changed more than any sport, it originated in the 1800's as a game basically, where they beat the living h*ll out of one another with no pads, into a much less dangerous game we know and watch now a day. The whole basis, rules, ball and nearly everything about football has changed.

In the beginning it was just several colleges, Columbia, Princeton, Harvard and Yale, each had representatives meet in Massachusetts and together they adopted the rules of rugby to play by. Later they reduced the team size from 15 to 11 players, dropped field goal value from 4 points to 3 and devised a rule stating that if 5 yards was not gained in 3 downs the ball was forfeited to the opposing team, sound a bit different?

At this time football embellished intense rivalry and being paid to play was considered to be dishonorable. However the first paid player was William "Pudge" Heffelfinger on November 12, 1892 who was given an exorbitant amount at the time, $500, to play in a game for Allegheny against Pittsburgh, however his pay was not known about until several years later.

Not only were a lot of these rules and beliefs different than now, it was much more dangerous, in 1905, 18 players were killed during games, nearly forcing Teddy Roosevelt to outlaw the game. Due to this in 1905 and 06' 19 colleges met to ratify the rules of the game in efforts to increase safety.

Unfortunately, the changes did little to support safer ball play and in 1908, 33 players were killed due to the dangerous interlocking formations that took place. In 1912, the field width was reduced by 35 yards, touchdowns were upped to a value of 6 points and a 4th down was added before turn over.

Due to player injury, in 1927 the collegiate goal posts were moved from the goal line to the rear of the end zone and later widened to 23'4" in 1959. By the mid 60's football passed baseball as American's favorite spectator sport. The AFC and NFL were devised and stole majority of the attention from college football and along with this the Super Bowl was created to declare a world champion of pro football.

Throughout the course of these years other changes took place such as the change of the balls shape. Originally, it was a spheroid elliptical rugby ball, but was later changed into an elliptical ball slightly pointed on the ends that we know and play with today.

In 74' the Pros finally moved their goal posts to the rear of the end zone just like the collegiate league had in 27'. Later in 91' the collegiate adopted 18'6" widths for their goal posts as used in the Pros. Overall, no sport has changed as much as football, it's a relatively new game as compared to other sports, because it's only about 200 years old, but it has certainly made many changes in efforts to improve game play, fairness and safety.

References:

Salary information:
asp.usatoday.com
Ticket Pricing Information:
hypertextbook.com
Football History:
en.wikipedia.org

2nd Place - BurningHeart

Part 1:
Have Professional Sports Evolved For The Better Or Worse? Why?

Sports have been changing since the beginning of time when they were first developed, and they are still evolving. The definition of evolution is, "A gradual process in which something changes into a different and usually more complex or better form." This definition absolutely applies to professional sports. These changes include:

1. Greater Safety Regulations

Decreases injuries
Some contests last longer
Attracts a wider pool of competitors

2. Advanced Training Techniques

Athletes can achieve a better physique sorted for their sport
Decreases injuries
The sport is played better and in a more entertaining fashion

3. Advanced Nutrition

Healthier players
Better competitions

1. Greater Safety Regulations:

An example of greater safety regulations would be the evolution of boxing. In boxing 150 years ago, there were no gloves. People fought bare-knuckled until someone could not go on any longer. There was no point system after a certain number of rounds; the fight did not stop until someone was incapacitated.

In fact, the longest boxing match ever recorded was 114 rounds, which makes the current limit of 12 rounds pale in comparison. Moves that would get someone instantly disqualified in even mixed martial arts such as eye gouging and grinding a boot to the opponent's shin were legal.

Needless to say injuries were common, especially broken hands from not using gloves, and they even punched differently back then to protect their hands. This is where boxing took a major evolutionary change and introduced gloves. Gloves allowed boxers to better protect their hands and punch with more force, hence the decrease in injuries by these greater safety regulations.

With more safety regulations, a sport becomes less brutal, and often attracts many more competitors to it. When a sport has a wider pool of competitors, the companies can use stricter regulations on selecting the players. This makes the sport better played. It is a continuous cycle that better improves professional sports.

2. Advanced Nutrition:

In terms of new training techniques, our world has made outstanding progress in the past 50 years. These new training techniques have allowed us to maximize our potential in training and make the most out of every workout. Bodybuilders' physiques from the 1950's, while still good, are achieved by many casual weightlifters these days.

With these ever-growing bodies, sports are becoming more and more competitive in terms of entering the professional ranks and becoming well known as a player.

3. Advanced Training Techniques:

Nutrition plays its part in professional sports too, with new supplements that are becoming the staple of athletes' routines. New research with protein and amino acid timing, continuing research with creatine, and the latest news on nitric oxide are just some of the huge advances we are making in terms of sports nutrition.

It is amazing to think how far we've come in terms of nutrition just in the past 50 years, many times more than the progress than what was made in thousands of years.

Part 2:
What Changes In Sports Do You Like? Which Do You Dislike? Why?

I Like And Agree With:

1. Shortening The Game In Various Ways.

Soccer, for instance, was once limited to a maximum of 200 yards across and 100 yards wide. Shortening the field allowed for players to not spend as much energy running that extra distance, thus putting on a better competition.
Another way of shortening a competition was put into effect when on November 13, 1982, boxer Duk Koo Kim died in the 14th round on a televised bout for the WBA Lightweight title. Shortly after, boxing rounds were changed to a maximum of 12, instead of 15. This change had a few good effects, first it allowed boxers to exert more effort in bouts, it benefited the health of the fighters, and it provided for more exciting matchups.
In the beginning of the UFC Mixed Martial Arts fighting, bouts would last an unlimited number of straight 5 minute rounds, with no breaks. This often wore fighters out quickly, and matches would become stale. Now non title bouts consist of 3... 5 minute rounds and title bouts are 5 -5 minute rounds, both with a 1 minute rest period between rounds. This encouraged fighters to spend more energy during the bouts, making them entertaining to watch, and helping catapult the UFC and MMA into the mainstream.

2. The Advances In The Science Of Nutrition & Training:

While sports figures have generally always had the best physiques that people look up to, the advances in nutrition and training has vaulted their excellent bodies up even further.

3. Sports Medicine Advancements:

Medical treatment has come extremely far these days. Injuries that used to keep athletes out for months, years, or permanently can be treated quickly these days. An example would be a back injury. Just 50 years ago, a back injury could be considered a career-ending injury. With the advanced sports medical field of today, the same injury that would end a person's career 50 years ago can be healed up and ready for competition in a matter of weeks now.

I Dislike And Do Not Agree With:

1. The Decline Of The Popularity Of Professional Sports:

The decline of professional sports was brought on by many ways. Some of the most notable that could have been avoided are the scandals and money of the sport. Even though sports players have always made good money for the time, players keep asking for more. Since when do you stop playing your sport because you want to make more money a year, when you already make more than most of the population?
Scandals have brought down professional sports also. Steroids are a frequent issue in the news today, often always paired when talking about sports in the media. More people these days are more concerned with the behind-the-scenes drama of sports than the actual sport.

2. The Corporation Of Professional Sports:

Sports are considered a money maker these days. The owners are leaning more and more towards making the biggest profit from the fans. This leaks onto the managers wanting the biggest profits, the players wanting the biggest profit, and the stadium wanting the biggest profit. As the prices rise, the "recreational Sunday" seems to be dying out.

Part 3:
Which Sport Do You Think Has Been Changed The Most? Why?

The sport that has changed not only the most, but the fastest is the mixed martial arts fighting (MMA) of the UFC. While sports such as football, baseball, basketball, boxing, and wrestling have been around for hundreds or thousands of years, the recent organized version of MMA fighting has taken a front seat with those popular sports.

The UFC first organized the sport of MMA fighting in 1993 when it held its first Ultimate Fighting Championship. It started as a single eight man tournament of any type of fighter to see whose style was superior. It was a competition where hair pulling, groin strikes, and headbutts were actually allowed.

Footwear and gloves were optional, but it was against the rules to kick with footwear on. No judges were present for the first UFC, thus a bout could only be won with a submission, knockout, or throwing in the towel. Referees had little play in the fights, as they were there to just enforce the rules and call a match ending.

Bouts consisted of an unlimited number of five minute rounds, thus a fight could go on for tens of minutes on the ground without much action. Rules on attire were almost non existent, as fighters often wore shirts, pants, and GI's to the ring.

In only 4 years, at UFC 12, the UFC went from having no weight classes to two weight classes, Lightweight (199 lbs. and under) and Heavyweight (200 lbs. and over) Then only months later at UFC 14, gloves became mandatory. Three months later at UFC 15, stricter rules were placed on permissible striking areas.

These rules banned headbutts, groin stikes, strikes to the back of the neck and head, kicks to a downed opponent, small joint manipulation, pressure point strikes, and hair pulling. The sport even evolved further two years later, when at UFC 22, the five minute rounds with a minute break between were introduced.

Today pants, shirts, and GI's are no longer allowed, 4-6 oz. gloves are mandatory, footwear is no longer allowed, and grabbing the cage is no longer allowed. Referees today have more responsilbities, as they can intervene in the match to stand two fighters to their feet if they are at a stalemate on the ground, and they have the ability to pause a match and restart it in the same positions where the fighters left off at.

There are also now five weight classes:

Lightweight (146-155 lbs.)
Welterweight (156-170 lbs.)
Middleweight (171-185)
Light Heavyweight (186-205)
Heavyweight (206-265)

The MMA of the UFC is steadily growing in fan base and evolving for the better. What was once a near extinct and banned sport has become bigger as the years pass. Buyrates for Pay Per Views have been on a constant rise, from 86,592 for the first UFC all the way to over 600,000 for UFC 60. Fighters are evolving themselves by becoming better trained in mixed martial arts, as opposed to the earlier UFC where each fighter had a single fighting style.

These changes in the world of UFC MMA fighting ranks it far ahead of other sports in terms of evolving itself. The future of MMA looks extremely bright, never before has a sport taken off and become mainstream so quickly.