The White Falcon - 02.10.1998, Qupperneq 8

1gjt Sports
America’s Sport:
keeping it’s style
By J03 Mike C. Jones
I can’t say I’ve religiously followed baseball this season. But,
when the homerun chase started picking up, I, like many others,
became interested. I was kind of hoping that Sammy Sosa would
catch up to McGwire in the closing games. He didn’t, but then
again, the Cubs are moving to bigger and better things. It
helps that Sosa is such a powerful hitter and more importantly,
a team player. The Cubs wouldn’t be where they are without
that kind of skill and sportsmanship.
Mark McGwire’s a household name now, and it’s well
deserved. He maintained a great attitude throughout the sea-
son, and now that he’s holding the homerun record, it hasn’t
changed him. The success hasn’t gone to his head. Even
though he’s in the most exclusive club in baseball, whose only
other members are Roger Maris and Babe Ruth, he remains
pretty low-key. You have to respect that. It’s players like him
that help baseball retain its style and class despite all the finan-
cial turmoil that seems to surround the game these day. Maybe
there’s hope for baseball to keep its title as “America’s Favorite
Pastime” after all. I think the race for Maris’ record between
McGwire and Sosa this year helped bring back to Americans
just exactly how important this game is to them. Baseball
needed that.
I remember reading in a news magazine a few months
back how baseball has steadily diminished in popularity when
compared to football and basketball, and even NASCAR races.
I would hate to see this trend continue. Not only has baseball
claimed a niche in American culture, I believe it remains
unchallenged as the most stylish of all the sports. I’m talking
aesthetics here. Nothing compares to the rising arc of grand
slam sailing up and over a baseball diamond as it enters the
stands. I remember George Will saying something to the effect
that people’s love of sports is rooted in the notion that athletics
provide us a tangible picture of perfection. If he wasn’t think-
ing about a homerun when he came up with that idea, I can’t
imagine what else it could’ve been. A slam dunk? Possibly ...
but I doubt it. Besides, if there’s one sport that’s having a little
trouble holding onto its style and class right now, it would have
to be basketball.
I’d love to tell you my views on basketball this season,
only there is no season so far. The NBA has it’s players
immersed in a lock-out that doesn’t appear to be ending anytime
soon. 1 think the whole thing’s a bit ridiculous. The reason?
Money, of course. So what if the players don’t make $30-million
each this year, they should play for the love of the game - like one
guy I saw who was interviewed by a news crew during the baseball
strike a few years back.
As any true baseball fan would agree, this gentleman believed
the strike was a disgrace to the sport and everyone involved should
be ashamed. He then said what like-minded fans should do is get
together and play baseball themselves, charging no more than the
cost to operate the fields and stadiums. That way baseball could
move ahead, driven by people who cared more about the sport than
the players and owners obviously did. Now that’s class.
Ice-Tales
by Mike Jones
E-MAIL: jonesms@mwr.is
Page 8
The White Falcon