In the sports world, professional athletes are treated as though they were deity when , in reality, many are not so nice. It is possible to separate the talent from the character of these individuals but when the character is reprehensible do we really want to contribute to their financial success, and, should we? But, that is not the primary purpose of this blog.
I recently witnessed a PGA golf tournament. If you ever have or have seen any on TV, then you know that there are a million marshals around the course who constantly raise their arms in a gesture which requests absolute QUIET. Only in golf and tennis is this request made. In all other sports, the fans are noisy, boisterous, insulting, praising and sometimes display their emotions by throwing things at the players. Why are golfers entitled to QUIET?
The apparent reason is that they have to "concentrate" to play well and noise interferes with their concentration. Don't baseball, football, basketball, hockey and soccer players have to concentrate? Aren't they distracted by the noise of thousands of fans who are encouraging or booing them? The true measure of a "professional" begins at the point when he can perform under all conditions because his talent remains constant.
I'm not advocating that a fan should intentionally try to distract a player but the eerie silence they demand is scary, like the lull before a storm. I'm not certain, but if you should sneeze or cough when a player is about to swing, you could wind up on the wrong end of a five iron.
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