The Gap Between Fans and Athletes Is Greater Than Ever Before

I spent much of my Monday afternoon last week hitting the refresh button on my Internet browser, doing my best to keep track of what was going on with the Tiger Woods-Rocco Mediate thriller. I’d walk around my office, giving updates to buddies who were just as eager to know what was going on.

I couldn’t wait until my day was over, so I could get in my car and throw on the sports radio to hear a recap of everything that transpired in the nail-biting finish. Five o’clock rolls around and I am driving down Route 66, hoping to hear some analysis and commentary on an incredible performance by what many consider the greatest athlete in the world, Tiger Woods.

Much to my surprise, I got very little analysis and a lot more negative and suspicious talk.

“What I want to know is; why was Tiger only grimacing on bad shots? His knee seemed perfectly fine when things were going well,” callers chimed in with similar views and beliefs that Tiger overacted, that his performance was a fraud. For one of the few times, when it comes to sports, I was stunned. 

As I continued my drive, and began to tune out what I believed to be ignorant remarks, I started to think about why the gap between the fan and modern athlete is so large, much larger than ever before.

Why is it that fans now look at an athlete's performance with a tainted and suspicious view, rather than taking it at face value? Why is it that the small number of people who were suspicious of Michael Jordan’s “flu playoff performance” have grown to a much greater figure? Is it a reflection of our society’s distrustful persona, or could it be the narcissistic, "me-first" attitude that athletes and their Hollywood agents have beaten us down with. 

It’s a little bit of both. 

The first thing I look at is the athletes themselves. They are bigger, faster, and stronger than ever before. Their abilities and their talents are so far superior to those of the average Joe, that putting the two next to each other would be like standing Roseanne next to Jessica Alba in a beauty pageant (pre-pregnancy of course. Otherwise it’d just be weird).

With the training facilities, personal chefs, personal trainers, and newest technologies, athletes have turned their bodies into machines. 

Years ago, when you looked at Joe Montana or Jerry Rice, they looked like someone you knew. In fact, I’m sure you knew someone who was buffer than Jerry Rice or stronger than Joe Montana.

But now, look at players like Vince Young and Terrell Owens. When you watch them on Sunday, neither you nor any of your buddies can have the hypothetical argument that would go a little something like this, “Yeah, I could definitely bump him at the line and keep him from getting off the line quick."

We all know that Terrell Owens has more muscle mass in his left bicep that most of us do in both arms. It is a trait of all human beings to be drawn towards those who are similar to themselves. Fans and athletes no longer resemble each other.    

Also, with their physical gifts and talents come the opportunities for agents to seize a cash cow.

More so now than ever, athletes are told from an early age (sometimes even at the age of seven) that they are greater than everyone else. They are told that their talents are not even in the ballpark when compared to others their age, and their destiny isn’t just making it to the NBA or NFL, but to the Hall of Fame. Kids are made to believe that they are the greatest things to ever walk this earth. 

Since this is drilled into their mind from an early age, they actually begin to believe it. Once they believe it, they find it shocking that others don’t feel the same way.

Criticize a talented 18-year old? Don’t even think about it. He’s perfect because his agent and Nike have told him he is.

Pretty soon, bloggers and media folk start talking about how the kid with the killer jump-shot sits on cloud nine and is a bigger diva than Mariah Carey. That gives fans yet another reason to root against that person.

The most obvious reason for the disdain fans hold against athletes could be the issue with dollars and cents. Most fans have absolutely no issue with a top player making $15 or $20 million a year. What fans have an issue with, and cannot relate to, is when a player has $10 million left on their contract, but they want an extension and will hold out and bad mouth the team until they get receive this.

This pouting and acting like a spoiled child is what turns people off. I don’t care how many explanations I hear from athletes like Chad Johnson telling me that this is a business. I know it’s a business, but I will not feel sorry for you because you’re stuck in Cincinnati, being paid millions, and you feel you should be getting more. 

The day will NEVER come when fans are taking the hold-out athlete’s side and saying, “Yeah, pay him another $25 mil because he deserves it” while we’re stuck trying to figure out what to do when gas hits $5 a gallon.

Furthermore, it is an insult to the fans’ knowledge to say, “Fans need to understand this is a business.” Contract disputes should be handled behind closed doors. Anger brews amongst those who pay $75 dollars for a ticket, $20 for parking, and $15 for a beer and a hot dog when they hear someone whining about a signing bonus. 

Another critical reason for the growing gap between the two sides could also be pinned on the behavior of a few athletes who give everyone else in the world of sports a bad name. The Pacman Jones—wait—the Adam Jones, Chris Henrys, and Tank Johnsons infuriate fans. 

Why? Because if we got caught in a shootout at a strip club that left someone paralyzed, got numerous DUIs, or had more guns in our house than our troops in Iraq do, we’d get fired!

Yet these guys get chance after chance after chance. They continue to make extraordinary amounts of money, despite their inability to stay out of trouble. The sports industry is the only industry where you can get away with these things and still get a paycheck. That rubs people in the wrong way.

All that said, it is not that fans are jealous of athletes and dislike them just because of who they are. After all, who has made sports and athletes more popular than ever before by filling the seats, despite the prices?

The biggest reason that athletes today are not loved by society the way athletes in the '70s and '80s were comes down to one simple issue: attitude. 

Back in the day, guys did not demand trades because their team was losing. They did not make comments like Dirk Nowitzki did a few years back, about not playing through an injury and risking their career for the sake of the team or playoff run. Fans didn’t have to worry about falling in love with a player by watching them grow and become a star, only to see them leave for more money. 

I know how people looked at Gilbert Arenas here in Washington DC before last season, and trust me, I know how they look at him now (since he’s begun blogging non-stop about his contract situation).

Athletes used to be representatives of a city. Their conduct on and off the field, their personality, and their gamesmanship was a reflection of the city they played for. Now, the only identity athletes have is their contract figure and their endorsement deals. 

Taking this back full circle, I realized why so many people questioned Tiger Woods. I realized why people didn’t give Paul Pierce the benefit of the doubt that he was really hurt during the Finals. Though I don’t agree with criticizing or suspecting either, I understood that it’s not specifically against those two particular players.

It is larger than that.

It’s the scorn and resentment fans have built up against athletes as a whole. The gap is larger now than ever because fans have lost faith in so many athletes. Fans have grown tired of their acts, and fans no longer want to vehemently defend a player who will leave their team in a heartbeat for more cash.

The fans want to believe, but every time they do, they set themselves up for another letdown. 

Just a few weeks ago, after hearing Cedric Benson swear he was wronged in the boat-arrest incident, I gave him the benefit of the doubt. He convinced me. “Maybe he’s telling the truth, and he was not treated properly,” I thought.

A month later, he got arrested for a DUI. Was I angry? Was I surprised or appalled that an athlete misled thousands of people, myself included? Unfortunately, no. 

“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me” never rang more true than it does today when it comes to the relationship between the fan and the athlete.