As an elementary school student in the 1960’s, I can remember my father commenting on the issue that the Soviet bloc athletes were professionals (paid by the state) and that America’s athletes were amateurs. I thought that was unfair until “we” redefined the participation rules and many of our professional athletes were allowed and encouraged to compete in the Olympics, where there are probably few examples of self-supported amateurs competing in any event regardless of the country that the athlete represents.
With the advent of popular marketing, the world has also seen the rise of professional athletes competing in what used to be an amateur-only arena, the Olympics. The first Olympics to allow professional athletes to compete were the 1988 Games for some sports and the 1992 Games for the remainder. It is no coincidence that this era also saw an unprecedented sports marketing boom. The emphasis on professional sports, often to the detriment of amateur sports, has had a trickle-down effect on sports at the college and high school levels.
The emphasis on performance is strong at both levels. Capital campaigns and development efforts at many schools are enhanced by the success of the institution’s sports teams. It was not until the introduction of Title IX in the 1970s that women’s athletics were included in the sponsored sports programs at most schools. Since then, women’s athletics have blossomed and at some institutions, they’re as important as men’s athletics.
The focus on athletics in America has changed us culturally in many ways. Believe it or not, there are high schools and high school leagues that have an extraordinary focus on athletics, possibly to the point of obsession. When I was growing up, a good athlete was someone who lettered in at least two sports in high school. An excellent athlete lettered in three or four sports and may have lettered in at least one sport for four years. Today, good or great athletes are under pressure to specialize at an early age. They may forego varsity sports in their “off” season to continue their primary sport on a club or AAU team. This is the perceived path for an athlete’s best chance at landing an athletic scholarship to college. No one informs the average athlete and his/her family about the odds of receiving an athletic scholarship. More importantly, how many young children spend more time with sports than reading or doing homework?
“The horses are already out of the barn” was a phrase that my grandfather used to say. Is it possible to put a little less spin on the focus on professional athletics in our culture and more focus on education, particularly in the K-12 grades? I don’t know. I am not against athletics. I enjoyed the competition of high school and college sports. I am a college and professional sport season ticket holder. The commercialization of the Olympics has served as a reminder that there’s a delicate balance between sports and education and I would like to see the balance tip back a little more toward education.
