Hi there again....
You've read this before, maybe. If you're one of the regular readers of this blog (and I know there are a few of you), email me and tell me you're there.
Anyhowz, I have another notion that I'd just like to state, if for no other reason than to say that I did.
Some work and get paid, some work and get paid incredibly nice wages, some get paid really crappy wages. If you've read my previous posts, you'll know where I place myself in that list, but this one isn't about my plite.
This perspective comes in regards to athletes.
Major league baseball player - Hit a ball, catch a ball, stand out in a grass field and now and again run a bit, and get paid millions of dollars per year. The worse that happens to you is maybe a sun burn if an inning goes on a bit long. Maybe an ingrown nail for those that get paid to sit on the bench. Must be a truly rough life.
Badwater135 Ultramarathon - Run, and run, then run some more. Run through the hottest place on the planet, for hours on end, with no let up. The sun beats down on the runners. The usual that happens - Dehydration requiring IV fluids, blisters on blisters, stomach cramps, leg cramps, hallucinations, and thats just in the first day of the event. Most Badwater runners will be out on the race course for over two days. The winners still typically see the heat of the day twice in the span of a race. This is one of the toughest events ANYWHERE. Some would argue that it is THE TOUGHEST. Some would say the Spartathlon, some would say Western States 100, Me, I'll take Badwater as the king of the events.
So, just for the sake of sheer randomness, lets take a baseball player from say, the SF Giants. Matt Cain. He gets paid 20.8 million dollars per year. To throw a ball. This is a pitcher so he's not really expected to be able to hit a ball with a bat. 20.8 million dollars. You've got to be kidding me ?
Now let take a look at another athlete, just randomly. Scott Jurek. He's won Badwater twice, The Spartathlon once and various other ultra events around the globe. I would challenge anyone to stand in front of me, and with a straight face, tell me that someone like Scott Jurek shouldn't be listed as one of the greatest athletes in the world. Jurek doesn't live in poverty, but he's far far far from being in the economical class as, oh, say... Matt Cain.
So, compare what Matt Cain does for his money. Now look at Scott Jurek. This is wrong, wrong, wrong.
Oh sure, you'll say that what ever the traffic will bare... People are willing to buy the products that the sponsors are hawking at the events. People watch baseball, alot of people do. Not so many watch Badwater. Whats more difficult to do, throw a baseball around over the space of an afternoon, or run through death valley in the middle of summer. Consider that a rhetorical question.
So, go out and watch baseball. Have a beer, and some popcorn, and a hot dog. Realize that a good portion of that $5 for the beer is going into the pocket of an over paid, over pampered, under trained, under utilized, pathetic excuse for an athlete. Go out and watch baseball, and if you happen to be watching that game during the first weekend of July, remember there are athletes running through death valley, for hours on end. They do it not because someone is going to pay them 20.8 million dollars, they do it for the sport, because they can. When you're done watching that baseball game, and stretching out and think about how those baseball stars are so amaing, remember: Pro baseball players aren't even close to being worth what they're being paid. Not even close. You want to look at REAL athletes, look up Badwater on the web. Those are athletes.
W
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