What Have You Done For Me Lately?: The Mentality of the Modern Sports Fan

I have an issue with the "What-Have-You-Done-For-Me-Lately?" mentality of modern sports fans these days.

I know that we live in the SportsCenter era where we can see every play as it happens regardless of where we live. And we have literally hundreds of options for 24-hour a day sports coverage.

I'm not complaining about that at all. I feel extremely lucky to be able to sit on my couch in Dallas and watch my favorite basketball team play in Los Angeles and my favorite baseball team play in Atlanta.

However, there doesn't seem to be any sense of history anymore.

Case in point...

There is a big sports signing event taking place in Dallas the last weekend of November. Going through the list of players involved, and the prices they are asking for autographs, I'm scratching my head.

For example:

Terrell Owens

$150 for a flat item, $175 for a mini-helmet or football, $195 for a pro-helmet or jersey. $50.00 extra for up to a 4 word inscription.

Julius Jones/Demarcus Ware

$40.00 for a flat item, $50.00 for a mini-helmet or football, $60.00 for a pro-helmet or jersy. $50.00 for a photo that doesn't include an autograph.

Granted, all three of those guys are huge members of the current Cowboys team and will command some attention due to marketing and jersey sales, etc.

However, let's look at some of the big names available from Cowboys past and their prices.

Bob Lilly

(Pro-Football Hall of Famer, 11 time Pro-Bowler, 7 time All-Pro. Made 196 consecutive regular-season starts. In The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Football Players of all time that was published in 1999, he was the highest ranking defensive lineman and was the highest ranked Cowboy. He has also been named a member of the NFL All-Century Team. Known as "Mr. Cowboy" and was the first inductee into the Cowboys' Ring of Honor.)

Any Item—$35.00. Inscription is free.

WHAT? One of the top players of all time is $35, while Julius Jones is $40?

Drew Pearson

(Named one of the Top 20 Pro Football All-Time Wide Receivers. He was named to the 1970's All Decade Team. 3 Time All Pro. 3 time Super Bowl participant. NFL's Man of the Year in 1980. He also was the receiver in the original "Hail Mary" reception in 1975.)

Any Item—$25.00. Inscription is Free.

WHAT?

The list goes on and on, and the big name players like Aikman, Montana, Irvin, and Emmitt are going for huge prices. But it raises an interesting question.

Do newer sports fans not care about history?

If I am a fan, I want to know all that I can about that organization and eventually the sport itself. It's beyond my comprehension that guys like Rayfield Wright, William Perry, Mel Renfro, Ed "Too Tall" Jones and Thurman Thomas are commanding less of a price than guys who have been in the league for 2 or 3 years and have produced more hype than stats.

It isn't about the money or the cost of the autographs as it is about our current mentality as a society—that if it happened before I was born, who cares?

The history of things always intrigues me and more often than not is far more interesting that the present.

What say you?

Discuss this article below and at thescoreboards.com.