Dave, first of all, I want to say, I agree with you to a certain extent. But, I disagree with you to a certain extent also. Society needs entertainment. The best entertainers are paid handsomely because they are the BEST! They entertain millions of people and provide enjoyment for people's lives. Why are you singling out athletes? The top singers, dancers, actors, directors, writers, all make good money.
Dave, first of all, I want to say, I agree with you to a certain extent. But, I disagree with you to a certain extent also. Society needs entertainment. The best entertainers are paid handsomely because they are the BEST! They entertain millions of people and provide enjoyment for people's lives. Why are you singling out athletes? The top singers, dancers, actors, directors, writers, all make good money.
Agreed. While it's unfair that certain industries are abundantly wealthier than others, and is a justified pet-peeve, in general these people do work crazy hours, train for years, and have some natural talent to do what they do, and it’s a personal pet peeve of mine that sports and the arts (but mostly sports) are always seen as “easier” than academics (I honestly think they are equivalent, completing ten levels of my gymnast program took much more effort, determination, and discipline than getting my high school diploma). Obviously this cannot be applied to EVERYONE, and there are many who have no talent, are somewhat lazy, and do not work hard at all, but for some reason rise to fame or are given great opportunities. However, that aside, from my personal experience I would say any professional athlete trains and practices for years before they get to that point-- and those that do make a large sum of money (and that’s definitely not all, I know salaries greatly differ in the sports teams part, but I couldn’t quote) have to be better and beat out an extremely large amount of people to get there. They also pay for it later in life physically.
So I would not say it’s as simple as being paid millions for being able to throw a ball. In regards to those in the entertainment industry, you didn’t comment but I’m already ranting so what the hell! I’ll say that I feel similarly-- it disgusts me to see the Nicole Richies and Paris Hiltons of the world, and reality TV stars period, and while there are many pop singers and actors that have no talent and don't work that hard, those that stay in the industry for any meaningful period and manage to maintain their luxurious lifestyle I think do work hard and have talent. I'm more into sports, but my perception is that all theatre actors have training, work hard, and generally have natural talent and the same in regards to directors and writers (they also push for years and years to get to where they are). In regards to film actors, maybe not so much, but there's still a great amount of them that do as well. I would also point out that people who have seemingly more “legitimate” jobs, such as those in the business industry (CEOS and whatnot) make just as much money, if not more, than many professional athletes, also simply because there is so much money in certain industries (oil and technology being too big ones).Is that wrong? Not necessarily, but I don’t think it’s fair to assume that the guy who invented facebook or myspace, or even Bill Gates works/worked any harder or trained/was educated for any longer than SOME professional athletes (and there are so many people who are just born into that as well).
Anyway, rant aside: I fucking HATE when people don’t use their turn signals and then cut in front of me! It takes one second, do it!