“I always turn to the sports page first. It records people’s accomplishments; the front page, nothing but man’s failure.” That was former Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren in a moment of non-constitutional candor. We get it. We all need escape, however brief, from all the reminders of what’s wrong with our society and the world.
And when the season was upon us, there was nothing like college football. Especially for a Catholic kid with family fealty to Notre Dame. Football was a combative, strategic, athletic sport with a fan following based on family tradition, alma mater allegiances and state pride.
Those were the days.
Today’s sports page–whether print or E-version–is looking increasingly like the rest of the news. It happens when a college game evolves into an athlete-acquisition business. The respite from that other news reality has largely disappeared. They now overlap—from economic pragmatics, legal scenarios, network hegemony and politics to more cheating, more recruiting scandals, more rap sheets and ubiquitous sports betting. Name Image and Likeness inducements, including blue-chip high school recruits, and transfer-portal free agency are precursors to increasing scandals that could play on page one.
When universities are calculatingly selling their brand identities, it’s not a news escape—but an unfortunate embodiment—of where our society is.