Unpopular Opinions (sports edition)

[Bruce]

MLS players used to make no more than $70K on average (discounting the superstars who were exempt from salary cap requirements) and had second or third jobs. The league's standards and salaries have since been raised, and the quality on the field has improved in tandem.

The league minimum is now $88K and that's only enough to afford a shared apartment (usually with another teammate) and few luxuries in many markets.

[kphoger]

Should a baseball player with the unique talents to be the absolute best player in the world be making the same as a guy who spends most of his time seeing people in Wichita who are there because they need a note for their employer?

No.  You're right.  The absolute best baseball player in the world should make less than whatever Wichita doctor you might pick at random.  Because, again, he's just really good at hitting a ball with a stick and running around in a circle.

[Scott5114]

Should a baseball player with the unique talents to be the absolute best player in the world be making the same as a guy who spends most of his time seeing people in Wichita who are there because they need a note for their employer?

No.  You're right.  The absolute best baseball player in the world should make less than whatever Wichita doctor you might pick at random.  Because, again, he's just really good at hitting a ball with a stick and running around in a circle.

Congratulations on no longer being a capitalist!

[thspfc]

Well, us taxpayers should get ready to pony up for that $71 million Wichita doctor salary.

[kphoger]

Congratulations on no longer being a capitalist!

Note that not everything I think should be the case is something I think should be legally required to be the case.  I agree in principle that, if millions of people are willing to throw away large amounts of cash to watch people play games, then a lot of that cash can go to the players' salaries.  But I also think it's ridiculous that that's the case.  I guess that's the libertarian in me.

[I-57/Route 66 Fan]

Ivy League schools and Military schools shouldn't have sports like football because, one very bad tackle in football and you are no longer able to serve in the military. As for the Ivy League schools, those schools are for geniuses one very bad tackle in football and you are no longer a genius.

[Max Rockatansky]

Ivy League schools and Military schools shouldn't have sports like football because, one very bad tackle in football and you are no longer able to serve in the military.

The irony is that most former enlisted service members I've known are classified typically classified at least 30% disabled.  Getting frequently medically examined for injuries to maximize your VA benefits is just part of what you do.  My wife's cousin just got 100% disability after a medical discharge from the Navy last year.  A sports injury while serving at a military academy would be viewed no differently. 

[kphoger]

A sports injury while serving at a military academy would be viewed no differently. 

But, you must admit, it doesn't sit quite right to fund football injuries with veterans appropriations.

[I-57/Route 66 Fan]

Ivy League schools and Military schools shouldn't have sports like football because, one very bad tackle in football and you are no longer able to serve in the military.

The irony is that most former enlisted service members I've known are classified typically classified at least 30% disabled.  Getting frequently medically examined for injuries to maximize your VA benefits is just part of what you do.  My wife's cousin just got 100% disability after a medical discharge from the Navy last year.  A sports injury while serving at a military academy would be viewed no differently. 

Are you saying PTSD is a disability now?

[Max Rockatansky]

A sports injury while serving at a military academy would be viewed no differently. 

But, you must admit, it doesn't sit quite right to fund football injuries with veterans appropriations.

The fact that certain retired military members can shop at appropriated funded commissaries bothers me more.  For example, in Key West the RV crowd at the MWR campground was largely comprised of retirees.  They would buy up most of the food at the Commissary and leave not much for the actual enlisted personnel (or their dependents).

[kphoger]

Are you saying PTSD is a disability now?

Yes, according to the SSA, the ADA, the VA, ...

[TheCatalyst31]

As for the Ivy League schools, those schools are for geniuses one very bad tackle in football and you are no longer a genius.

It worked out for Ryan Fitzpatrick.

[Max Rockatansky]

As for the Ivy League schools, those schools are for geniuses one very bad tackle in football and you are no longer a genius.

It worked out for Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Never mind the fact that much of early college football era was dominated by the Ivy League.  If they sacrificed their academic standards like the big conference schools, they probably could still compete.

[Mapmikey]

Ivy League schools and Military schools shouldn't have sports like football because, one very bad tackle in football and you are no longer able to serve in the military. As for the Ivy League schools, those schools are for geniuses one very bad tackle in football and you are no longer a genius.

I have questions...

Why is it ok for engineers and a whole host of other professions at other colleges to receive brain damage?  Or high school students who will choose military or other professional careers?

How many tackles are you aware of that resulted in brain damage right away that specifically took away a person's intelligence? 

Which do you think happens way more frequently...a military academy football player (<500 people in a given year) suffers a disqualifying injury or a current member of the armed services (2.1 million right now including NG and reserves) gets into a motorcycle accident?

Can they be on the high dive team?  Those platforms aren't made of nerf...

[I-57/Route 66 Fan]

Ivy League schools and Military schools shouldn't have sports like football because, one very bad tackle in football and you are no longer able to serve in the military. As for the Ivy League schools, those schools are for geniuses one very bad tackle in football and you are no longer a genius.

I have questions...

Why is it ok for engineers and a whole host of other professions at other colleges to receive brain damage?  Or high school students who will choose military or other professional careers?

How many tackles are you aware of that resulted in brain damage right away that specifically took away a person's intelligence? 

Which do you think happens way more frequently...a military academy football player (<500 people in a given year) suffers a disqualifying injury or a current member of the armed services (2.1 million right now including NG and reserves) gets into a motorcycle accident?

Can they be on the high dive team?  Those platforms aren't made of nerf...

Not just CTE but also paralyzing tackles or needing a surgery to put metal rods in your arm or something crazy like that.

[Max Rockatansky]

Metal rods aren't always debilitating.  I have a four inch rod in my left forearm courtesy of being hit by a car when I was out running in 2010.  I got the full range of motion back by binging rehab sessions.  These college athletes have way better access to quality physical therapy than I did. 

I've also had three known concussions.  One was from playing hockey and high school. The first was from crashing a sled into rocks when I was in the 3rd grade.  The latest was part of that 2010 incursion when I was running.  That last one got my head pretty loopy for about three months.

[1995hoo]

Ivy League schools and Military schools shouldn't have sports like football because, one very bad tackle in football and you are no longer able to serve in the military.

The irony is that most former enlisted service members I've known are classified typically classified at least 30% disabled.  Getting frequently medically examined for injuries to maximize your VA benefits is just part of what you do.  My wife's cousin just got 100% disability after a medical discharge from the Navy last year.  A sports injury while serving at a military academy would be viewed no differently. 

Are you saying PTSD is a disability now?

My father was considered a "disabled veteran" because, a few months before he was discharged from the military in the mid-1970s, he was found to have diabetes. It never really affected him to any great extent unless, perhaps, it contributed to other health problems the last few years of his life, but he got some small disability payment every month as a result. I don't know how much it was, but he emphasized it wasn't much and he considered it a bit of an embarrassment because he didn't consider himself "disabled." But from what he said, the bureaucratic hassles he would have had to go through to decline the payments would have been quite significant, which I suppose doesn't surprise me given the military mindset of not ever doing anything other than what they expect you to do.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Ivy League schools and Military schools shouldn't have sports like football because, one very bad tackle in football and you are no longer able to serve in the military. As for the Ivy League schools, those schools are for geniuses one very bad tackle in football and you are no longer a genius.

I feel this isn't really an opinion you hold, this is just saying stuff to say stuff.

[I-57/Route 66 Fan]

Ivy League schools and Military schools shouldn't have sports like football because, one very bad tackle in football and you are no longer able to serve in the military. As for the Ivy League schools, those schools are for geniuses one very bad tackle in football and you are no longer a genius.

I feel this isn't really an opinion you hold, this is just saying stuff to say stuff.

No I have been wondering this for a few years now

[kphoger]

Which do you think happens way more frequently...a military academy football player (<500 people in a given year) suffers a disqualifying injury or a current member of the armed services (2.1 million right now including NG and reserves) gets into a motorcycle accident?

I learned years ago that motorcycle and other motor vehicle accidents are the #1 cause of death among off-duty miliary personnel.

[JayhawkCO]

Which do you think happens way more frequently...a military academy football player (<500 people in a given year) suffers a disqualifying injury or a current member of the armed services (2.1 million right now including NG and reserves) gets into a motorcycle accident?

I learned years ago that motorcycle and other motor vehicle accidents are the #1 cause of death among off-duty miliary personnel.

If I'm reading that right, does that mean for all services, there are 50 deaths, and since 37 involved automobiles and 25 involve motorcycles, then a minimum of 12 deaths have to involve both an automobile AND a motorcycle, or on the opposite side of the spectrum EVERY motorcycle death involves an automobile so you have a distribution of:

25 motorcycle & automobile deaths
12 automobile deaths that did not involve a motorcycle
13 deaths that magically are allowed to be non-vehicular

?

[kphoger]

25 motorcycle & automobile deaths
12 automobile deaths that did not involve a motorcycle
13 deaths that magically are allowed to be non-vehicular

?

It's not my chart.  I just grabbed an image from the first article I found that corroborated what I remembered.  But, anyway, you're basically correct.

50 total off-duty deaths.
Of those 50 deaths, 37 involved privately owned vehicles.
Of those 37 vehicle-related deaths, 25 were on a motorcycle.

[DTComposer]

Ivy League schools and Military schools shouldn't have sports like football because, one very bad tackle in football and you are no longer able to serve in the military. As for the Ivy League schools, those schools are for geniuses one very bad tackle in football and you are no longer a genius.

I feel this isn't really an opinion you hold, this is just saying stuff to say stuff.

No I have been wondering this for a few years now

Why just Ivy League schools? What about other universities whose academic standards are comparable to (or exceed) the Ivies? Stanford, Duke, Northwestern, Cal, UCLA, Michigan, etc. are all regularly ranked in the top 20-ish academic universities in the country.

[NWI_Irish96]

Ivy League schools and Military schools shouldn't have sports like football because, one very bad tackle in football and you are no longer able to serve in the military. As for the Ivy League schools, those schools are for geniuses one very bad tackle in football and you are no longer a genius.

I feel this isn't really an opinion you hold, this is just saying stuff to say stuff.

No I have been wondering this for a few years now

Why just Ivy League schools? What about other universities whose academic standards are comparable to (or exceed) the Ivies? Stanford, Duke, Northwestern, Cal, UCLA, Michigan, etc. are all regularly ranked in the top 20-ish academic universities in the country.

Notre Dame became the academic institution it is because of football. Otherwise it would have been just any other Midwestern Catholic university.

[I-57/Route 66 Fan]

Ivy League schools and Military schools shouldn't have sports like football because, one very bad tackle in football and you are no longer able to serve in the military. As for the Ivy League schools, those schools are for geniuses one very bad tackle in football and you are no longer a genius.

I feel this isn't really an opinion you hold, this is just saying stuff to say stuff.

No I have been wondering this for a few years now

Why just Ivy League schools? What about other universities whose academic standards are comparable to (or exceed) the Ivies? Stanford, Duke, Northwestern, Cal, UCLA, Michigan, etc. are all regularly ranked in the top 20-ish academic universities in the country.

Those schools have a bit of a party scene, especially Cal.