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SALT LAKE CITY — It usually comes after a tragedy — in this case it was the Boston Marathon explosions — that the same inane line is uttered in conjunction with these horrific situations.
“This puts sports in perspective.”
No, no and no. Not here, anyway.
Any sporting event, compared to real life, means nothing. Now and forever, please keep sports in perspective.
For most of us, they should never be more than mere games. It’s time to scale back their importance on all levels.
Unfortunately for many, including coaches, participants and fans, sports have been out of whack for too long. For those people, any tragedy — like what we saw this week at the marathon finish line in Boston — will only result in a temporary diversion. In short time, they will return to blowing up sports bigger than necessary.
We’ve all heard the horror stories of well-meaning Little League parents whose lack of perspective end up driving kids out of sports. In the name of winning, or the desire to see a child succeed, the ridiculous ensues.
At some point, embarrassment occurs. Many of us, including right here, know from painful experience.
Been there, seen and done that. All we can do is vow to improve.
The problem is, too often, boorish behavior is not contained to your kid’s youth and high school years. In those circumstances, it’s at least understandable that parental love can be manifest through inappropriate ways.
Face it, one of the great rivalries in college football has become far too nasty. And lost perspective is a significant factor.
It’s much harder to fathom outrageous behavior that stems from being nothing more than a fan. We see it exhibited every season in college and professional sports.
Locally, there’s plenty of blame to go around for BYU and Utah fans. Beyond keeping competitive balance, maybe there is another reason the BYU-Utah rivalry will take a two-year hiatus.
Surely, there’s got to be more than Utah not wanting to schedule BYU than simply adding Michigan to the schedule. It’s obvious that the Utes have a more difficult schedule in the Pac-12, but there’s room enough for the Cougars if they want the rivalry game.
Why bother with all the grief associated with the game? They don’t need it anymore.
Face it, one of the great rivalries in college football has become far too nasty. And lost perspective is a significant factor.
During a recent lunch, a former player and coach at one of the schools commented that he was shocked at how bitter the rivalry has become. Speaking from the field level, he is dead on.
We need to only look at the last game as Exhibit A.
Forget the fact that Utah fans stormed the field an unheard of three times in the one-of-a-kind game that saw three endings. Only a win over a heated rival can produce that kind of a reaction so early in the season.
Even if it’s become routine, there’s nothing wrong with celebrating a big win with the players — as long as it stays within boundaries. And those lines don’t include a gutless young person screaming in the face of the opposing coach who is walking to his team’s locker room.
For this example alone, the rivalry game isn’t worth the trouble. If a football game means enough for a fan to hurl insults like this one did, then something has gone seriously wrong. Liquid courage aside, there was no justification for his behavior and there needs to be consequences.
Don’t mistake the point here as taking sides. Unacceptable runs both ways and in all directions.
It’s much easier to comprehend that players can sometimes let emotions go astray. For the time being, as has been the case for many decades, this game is extra special for both teams.
It’s not a rivalry without a little jawing back and forth between the two sides. Even an occasional outburst in a postgame press conference is within reason, adding some spice that wouldn’t be found in any other game.
Leave the nonsense to the participants, who may get heated for a play or two. But fans, however rabid they may be, have no excuse to lose perspective.
And it shouldn’t take a tragedy to figure it out.
