Re: Sports figures' salaries and a rant

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: : Whatever it is, it's way too much. : -How so? The money is there because of the popularity of the sport, and will only go away when people stop liking it. Who should get the money then? The owners? They are just somebody who's only skill in life is that they have money. : : They ARE played to play the sport. The other merchandising comes along after they are proven "popular" among the fans. : -If they were paid to play a sport, women baksetball players would get paid the same amount as men. But they don't. They don't because NOBODY goes to the games, or buys the clothes, or watches them on TV. Bottom line. Same thing for hockey, not as many people like it, so they don't get paid as much. : : : Sports figures are put on a pedestal in high school and given everything on a silver platter. : -So? So are whiz kids. : Kid has trouble reading? Can't pass math? Doesn't matter: the son-of-a-bitch sure can score those touchdowns/hit those homeruns/make those jumpshots. : -Right. So are you saying that a kid with tremendous atheletic ability should deny him/herself the chance to play professional sports because they can't do acedemic things as well as you? : Kids see the salaries these people are making, : -And owners see the revenues they bring in! : and if they have the slightest athletic ability, everything else takes a back seat. : -So? You are good at being a librarian, and you like it. Should you have been forced to become a better basketball player in high school? Nope. : : It infuriates me that players of sports (and some actors, too, let's be fair -- does someone REALLY do $20 million worth of acting for a picture?) : -If their presence alone can make the studio $100 million dollars, why not. : are paid multimillion dollars for it, while teachers, librarians, and other people who actually accomplish things to help people in this country are paid squat. : -Teachers rock. My mom was a teacher. One of the best in the state when she was. Yeah, they should be paid more. John Singleton gave an awesome speech on this a few years ago. They made the choice though. : Policeman and firefighters who put their lives on the line daily are being denied pay increases. : -You seem to be forgetting that professional atheletes are NOT common at all. Teachers are. Simple economics says that the rarer something is, the more valuable it is. : Teachers will do far more to influence and help the youth of America than, say, Emmitt Smith or Mark McGwire. I'm sorry, but it's true. : -Sure. I never said different. : And while the sports figures have their money guaranteed, the teachers are working 60-80 hours a week and getting bugger-all to show for it. : -Their CURRENT contract is guaranteed. : : Jealous? Never. Sick, yes. : -You shouldn't be. Walk with me to hypothetical land with me... Lets say you work for a private library, if such a thing exists, and once you start working there the number of paying visitors doubles or triples because YOU are such a good librarian, and your boss is selling t-shirts with your picture out in the parking lot, there is a show on tv that shows you while you work, advertising billboards are put up all around you, you notice that your boss is drving a nicer car, and has a nicer house, and seems to be making some serious bank, and ALL of this is directly related to YOUR presence. Would you want a higher salary? Would you make yourself sick asking for it?

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