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Sept. 29, 2005 Armageddon. The apocalypse. A war. Recently, I have seen these words used not in connection with current geopolitical events--no, that would be reasonable--but rather in describing the goings on in baseball this weekend, particularly the three-game series between the Yankees and the Red Sox at Boston's Fenway Park. Now, I'm all for a little melodrama in sports. Lord knows, I've been known to spread the hyperbole a bit thick myself. But, in light of the recent natural disasters on the Gulf Coast and the ongoing struggles in the Middle East, using words like these in the context of a sporting event is not only ridiculous, it's irresponsible and offensive. In his USA Today column on Monday, the normally astute baseball writer Mike Lopresti wrote that the Red Sox and Yankees were preparing “for Armageddon this weekend.” Really? Tell that to the folks in Texas who boarded up and evacuated their homes last week in advance of Hurricane Rita. Given what happened in Louisiana and Mississippi following Hurricane Katrina only a few weeks earlier, I'm sure many of them expected to return to find their lives destroyed. That, Mike, is preparing for Armageddon. To be fair, Lopresti is hardly the only guilty party in this. On Tuesday, an NPR commentator referred to the upcoming baseball weekend as “apocalyptic.” I wonder how he would describe the past two years in Iraq. This is not just a rant about political correctness. Indeed, I think what galls me the most about the excessive nature of the media coverage of the Yankees/Red Sox rivalry is the impact it has on the field and in the stands. While the Red Sox and Yankees have been bitter rivals since the infamous 1919 trade that changed the fortunes of both franchises, things have definitely been turned up a notch in recent seasons. Every game, every series is promoted and previewed with all the pomp and circumstance of a Pay-Per-View wrestling match. And with the increased media scrutiny comes the need for more to talk about. The games are no longer enough. Now, we need to have the latest opinions of the players and executives from both clubs. The result? More sniping and trash-talking off the field, and more brush-back pitches and bench-clearing brawls on it. The fans are fired up, too. Earlier this season, a Fenway fan took a swing at Yankees right fielder Gary Sheffield as he chased down an extra-base hit. That incident reminded me of an entirely different moment at Fenway Park that occurred 25 years ago. During a nationally televised game--perhaps against the Yankees, I don't remember--Red Sox outfielder Jim Rice, a player known for being a bit taciturn, lined a foul ball into the stands just past the Boston dugout, striking and seriously injuring a young boy. Rice ran over to the stands, reached in, picked up the little tike and carried him to EMS workers stationed in the dugout. As a New Yorker, and a Yankees fan, I was touched by Rice's actions. Could a fan feel similar admiration for a player on the opposing team today? I don't know what happened to that little boy. And I don't know what's happened to our collective sense of perspective either. Obviously, we all need to take a step back and calm down. Before someone else gets hurt. ------------ About the author: Brian P. Dunleavy is a New York-based freelance sportswriter. He can be reached at: bpdunleavy@yahoo.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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