Sport is about the sport- and that’s all it should be. Individual competition is about ability. Team sports are about the team. Racing is about the vehicle. Shooting is about the weapon. But this has long since been usurped by MONEY.

Gambling, NI, and such destroys team sports. The team should be the draw in team sports- players will always come and go, but it’s the teams are continue for generation after generation. Same with racing- it’s the manufacturers that matter, the drivers will always come and go. Today, race cars don’t even have the actual manufacturer’s name on them anymore because all of the focus been misplaced to sideshows such as the “celebrity status” of the drivers, and to whomever pays the most to put their name on the side of the car (where now there’s even car manufacturer’s names on race cars that are actually made by a different car company altogether!).

It just makes no sense… unless you’re putting profit above ALL ELSE.

It used to be that fans were aficionados of their chosen sport- but that has gone to the wayside. I see more and more people who know little to nothing about the sports they appear to be interested in, but what I’m really seeing is folks just looking for brainless entertainment and being part of the “in” crowd (and gambling has been a boon for getting non-enthusiasts to pretend that they are actually fans of sports).

Again- follow the money.

I have been an endurance sports car and motorcycle road racing fanatic since the late 70’s, and I can sincerely say that I am PROUD that these sports have remained relatively immune to the “NASCAR effect”. What NASCRAP has done to stock car racing is unforgiveable- but it’s earned them a lot of money, and that has resulted in more traditional sports following suit. NASCRAP hasn’t been actual racing for decades- and, sadly, there’s a lot of “fans” who don’t even have a clue what a farce it truly is.

I would much rather see the shooting sports remain an aficionado’s sport- not some farcical “fan” show. When the end-all, be-all for sports becomes entertainment for the sake of profit- it is no longer an honest competition. And when actual competition is removed, there’s nothing left but scripted melodramatic entertainment for vacuous spectators- which I call the Kardashian effect.

Real sport deserves to remain REAL- it matters not if everyone and their mother LIKES it or not. Take wrestling for example- I wrested from 7th grade all the way through my senior year, and I still enjoy catching an occasional match at my old school during the season. But I’d never be caught DEAD at a “professional” wrestling event because that’s not a real sport at all- “Pro” wrestling, like NASCRAP, has become the poster child for everything that’s WRONG in modern “sports”… there’s lots of drama, vacuous spectators, and zero honest competition.

And judging by the market size of Pro Wrestling and NASCRAP- there’s obviously LOTS of “fans” who prefer being “entertained” over REAL, honest competition.

C’est la vie…