While this blog could proceed endlessly about the validity of college sports, there are some aspects of college sports that elitists in academia sometimes miss.
1) There is no “bell curve”, you win or you lose and you have to deal with it. Nobody really cares about your self-esteem.
2) Team sports require a “team effort” which is very valuable in entrepreneurship, corporations and/or most capitalistic ventures. It doesn’t get mired in having a higher meaning.
3) Regardless of where you may have been born, each member of the team chose (of their own free will) to attend and represent a given school. They may have been recruited, but ultimately they weren’t “told” where to go. And if you think you’re good enough, you can try out, walk-ons are allowed. Pope money is not.
4) Athletics aren’t about making you feel good, they are about rewarding achievement. One wonders why Professors don’t learn from this.
I’m not a Carolina fan, but they worked hard together, represented their school, their conference, their state and the NCAA well and are to be commended. Their athletic prowess reminds us why we cheer, recollect, and live vicariously through them. It’s fun to watch basketball on Tobacco Road!
