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The other night, I was watching my favorite athlete on Earth, the one I actually will check on when she’s playing to make sure I don’t miss her. No, I’m not referring to Angel Reese. I am referring to Caitlin Clark.
As the second quarter went on, I felt less interested in watching her play. If she’s not making 30-footers, which she wasn’t, I am not captivated.
I turned the TV off.
This felt to me like the end of my lifelong love of watching any sports. If I had lost interest in Caitlin – who is more interesting than any other athlete in the world – this was a sign, a moment to really reflect. It felt as if by clicking off my remote, I was closing a door that would never be opened again.
The two fights in her previous game had been intriguing, but what I remember most were the 15 to 30 minutes it took for the officials to watch the replays a thousand times to figure out who should get technical fouls. It’s not entertaining to watch two referees stare at TV screens. Reading a good book, even a mediocre book, even a wacky Sportface blog, is time better spent.
My lasting memory of the game is refs boring me with their idiotic monitor staring. Nothing was happening. Sports are no longer happening. It’s become something else that doesn’t nourish.
When I watch an NFL game and they go to the monitors to decide if the receiver caught the ball or not, and they stare at the camera for a few hours, it’s not entertaining. It’s stupid business to think people will be drawn in by waiting a few centuries for the next play to happen.
My interest in all sports is shrinking rapidly. The question is why. Why would a lifelong sports fan feel this way?
There are plenty of reasons why my interest in sports has been incinerated. One is that watching the sports themselves, besides Olympic swimming – doesn’t pull me in anymore. I’d rather watch a TedTalk about how the brain works, or how to overcome confidence struggles, or even how to think differently about worms.
I see all this for what it is: money grabs, gambling addictions, excesses, and unimpressive behavior like never before.
This decline in interest intensified when pro golfers showed me they cared more about making tons of money on the LIV Tour than standing on principle that taking money from Saudi Arabians, who I believe were supportive of the 9/11 attacks, at least some of them, was wrong.
Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, and Brooks Koepka showed they didn’t care about those people who died. I’ve been showing them ever since I don’t care to watch or follow them in any way. Repugnant pigs. Filled their bank accounts, lost respect. Living in an undignified way, they are.
This is how I truly feel.
College sports have deteriorated into human indecency. College-age kids are leveraging their power and abandoning loyalty and friendships, and teammates to enrich themselves. Coaches are quitting because they can’t control everything the way they used to. Shedeur Sanders is wearing gold chains and driving expensive cars. People spend their whole lives working hard and can’t afford those luxuries. It seems to me he doesn’t deserve to be flaunting that he’s rich. It’s also a turn-off.
So unimpressive. All of it. All of them.
Plus, there’s this: Sports are not that important. They really aren’t.
I know this because I know what’s going on with artificial intelligence, and it’s worrisome at best.
AI is going to be so much more consequential than whether Bill Belichick keeps dating a woman 500 years younger than him. What a selfish jerk move. It’s unseemly and unimpressive.
AI matters. Sports don’t.
AI will change our daily lives. Sports used to be a nice diversion from the seriousness of our lives. Now they’re a constant reminder of how screwed up the world has become. They put a spotlight on selfishness and reward it.
Maybe this is all related. What I see is humans behaving unimpressively across the sports world and the AI world. Do you want to know why Satya Nadella, the president of Microsoft, gave the green light for Open AI to unleash ChatGPT on the world even though they weren’t sure how the technology worked, nor whether it was safe?
Because Nadella, who had invested $10 billion of Microsoft’s money in OpenAI, wanted to announce this before Google. His ego and testosterone boiled over. Leaders of tech companies are so insanely powerful right now, they know it, and we all know how power makes people behave the wrong way.
Nadella knew if he had OpenAI commercialize ChatGPT before Google, he would become a default market leader, positioning Microsoft to haul in more brand-positive vibes, market share, profits, and attaboys from his shareholders and board of directors. This is what he cares about. Not you and me.
You were already filthy rich, Satya. Why did you have to unload this dangerous technology on the world?
Nevermind. I know.
You’ve got a big ego. You have a lot of power. You love controlling things.
So AI is a huge concern, and sports are no longer entertaining.
This is where we are.
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Sammy Sportface, a sports blogger, galvanizes, inspires, and amuses The Baby Boomer Brotherhood. And you can learn about his vision and join this group's Facebook page here:
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