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Last week, students at Northglenn High School protested a new dress code, which forbids jackets, T-shirts and caps with the insignia of professional sports teams. School officials said such regalia is often worn by gang members.
If we really wanted a better society, we wouldn't just ban the heraldry of pro sports from schools and amusement parks. We'd ban professional sports altogether.
The economic benefits should be obvious to any metro-area taxpayer who's paying for Coors Stadium, but they extend further. Pro sports take money from people making $18,000 a year, and pay it to people making $5 million a year. For ten years of Reagan and Bush, we've had a government that takes from the poor and gives to the rich. We just don't need sports to provide this important benefit.
A more substantial economic improvement would be an end
to the speculation in baseball cards, autographed balls and
similar memorabilia. Americans invest
millions in
items which have no productive value. No wonder the
Japanese are beating us -- they invest in manufacturing and
research while American entrepreneurs collect baseball
cards.
The social benefits would be even greater. This World
Series has been marked by protests. Native Americans say
the tomahawk chops in Atlanta are demeaning. They also
dislike team names like Braves,
Redskins
and
Indians.
With growing enlightenment, we'll see the Marine Mammal Association picketing at Dolphins games, communists at Cincinnati Reds games, Catholics at Padres and Saints games, and the ASPCA not only at Bronco games, but wherever you find Bears, Eagles, Tigers, Lions, Rams, etc.
Since any team name or mascot might offend someone, the fair and sensitive solution is to get rid of the teams.
There would be environmental benefits, too. American newspapers devote about 10 percent of their space to sports. Eliminate that, and we save about 5 million trees each year. Also, pro sports increase the consumption of gasoline, jet fuel and other non-renewable resources.
The educators of Northglenn and elsewhere should also
support the elimination of pro sports. A kid will think
Why bother to study? I'll be a pro making a million a
year before I'm 23.
The kid has better odds of winning
the Lotto jackpot, but that still doesn't make him pay
attention in school.
Further, the kid may notice that our judicial system is often lenient when big-time athletes run afoul of the law. Without pro sports, the kid would have to accomplish something significant -- like winning an election to Congress -- before he earns soft treatment.
Granted, some would suffer if pro sports were banned. The industry employs about 125,000 people, but that's only the number of manufacturing jobs America lost in the last eight weeks. Who cares?
TV would have to find some new programming, but we're
not losing anything real. A college football game starting
at 11 p.m. to meet a network schedule, or a pro game with
the two-minute warning
for a TV commercial break, is
not an honest sport. It's a made-for-television event, just
like American Gladiators or All-Star Wrestling. Let the
networks invent more spectacles if they need them.
Banning pro sports would improve our economy, our society, our environment, our educational system, our mass media and our culture. Banning Raiders caps at school is a good idea, but it's only a start on a great project.
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