(This one was random, but then suddenly it wasn't...)
I had a topic that I was going to write about (it's in the queue and will probably be next), but I went to the FSU baseball game yesterday and saw something that made me decide to write about it...well, a certain aspect.
Now, if you know me you know I'm a baseball fan. It's my second-favorite sport. I'd go on about baseball, but that would be boring and take attention away from the point of this whole thing. So this brother came out to the stadium with his two children. It was the cutest thing, and it combined a few items that got me to thinking. The result - well, part of it - is below.
Black Folk and Baseball
Now, obviously I have a great love for football. Everyone knows that. Basketball, not so much (particularly the NBA, but that's another matter). I don't get why so many of our children want to be football and basketball players rather than baseball players. I mean, I know why people do it...just doesn't make a lot of sense. Yes, there are more of us who play football and basketball. So what? There are more brothers in prison than there are in college. I don't see...nevermind.
There is a rich history with black folk and baseball - the Negro Leagues, Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier...that's one thing about baseball: it honors (or at least recognizes) the contributions that black people have made throughout its history better than any other sport could hope to do. The NFL only focuses on black QBs, and that only comes when one is doing well at the time. The NBA....um...uh...they only really lionize Bill Russell, and all credit for Russell is taken away by the fact that they ostracize Oscar Robertson. Robertson does sound like a bitter old man most of the time, but the league did push him in that direction so I can't put it all on him. Back to baseball...MLB does a pretty good job of recognizing the role that black people have played in its past and expressing its desire for black people to play a more visible role in its future (through such programs as RBI).
People like to say that the price of baseball equipment keeps many black kids from playing baseball. I'll buy that in favor of basketball, but last time I checked helmets and pads weren't cheap. That and the fact that many children in other countries are poorer than we could imagine, yet still find ways to play the game. Some play with sticks and rocks, use leaves as bases...but they play, and play rather well. While I'm on the point of economics, pro salaries...I think everyone knows that baseball players make more money and play longer than both football and basketball players. That gap will only widen by the end of this year. The NFL and NBA are both having contentious labor negotiations and the owners are expected to win big in both scenarios. There's another aspect of economics (it involves more than money) that people neglect to think about: the number of spots available. "Okay, there are fewer basketball spots but there are twice as many in football"...au contraire. You can take the line posiitons out of the equation since there's a size requirement that not many people are going to meet, and those who do meet that requirement aren't playing baseball anyway (spare the CC Sabathia and Prince Fielder jokes). That takes about 20 positions off the table and almost evens things out.
Now seems like a good time to mention the health issues that are prevalent in football - both physical and mental. When's the last time you heard about a former/retired baseball player having game-related health issues? You don't see stories such as those of Dave Duerson, Andre Waters, Chris Henry...you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone that even has a story like that of Earl Campbell. I'm not sure if it's still true (although I think I heard recently that it is), but ESPN ran a story in the 90s in which it was found that football players had an average life expectancy 9-10 years shorter than that of other humans. Jerome Bettis said every play was like being in a car accident...and that was at the beginning of his career. People talk about safety, but the owners want to add two games. Longer seasons and less money...sure, it makes a bunch of sense to keep sending our children to football fields. Now, if that's what they want and they have the talent, then God bless them. I just think we need to have more of an open mind.
Brothers Spending Time with Their Children
I don't need to tell anyone about this part of the equation - particularly concerning brothers who are unmarried and/or not with their children's mothers. I will, though, take time to shout out those who spend time with their children. Not to slight anyone else, but I know Larry and Mike (Preston) are heavily involved in their children's lives. One can tell from their FB feeds. I know my cousin Vince would give anything to be more involved in his son's life. There are plenty of fathers out there doing their thing, and the man who sat in the row behind me certainly goes on that list. The children were so engaged and happy to be at the game, and so was he. There was just something about being around that scene in person that got to me. For all the stories that we read about the opposite scenario, it was halfway amazing - I say halfway because it really should be more expected and normal, and in many cases it is - to see. His little daughter was playing around in the stands (I mean, she was 2) and his son was so funny. Son had to be about 6 or 7, and he was so into the game. "Hit the ball in the gap", "you need to throw more strikes", "better not leave that ball up in the zone"...this guy's son was so into the game. You could clearly tell that this was not their first baseball game together. You could tell that he spent a lot of time with his children. Now, in the interest of total disclosure, I did hear the guy say he was married. That said, the larger point is that there are so many brothers who have children - whether single or married - who do spend time with their children or long to do so. I also heard him say that part of the reason he brought the children to the game was so that his wife could get some school work done. That wasn't the only show of love and respect for women that he displayed that day.
Gender Equity, Black Folks' Viewing Habits in Sports, and Good Health
I couldn't come up with a catchy title, so I went for accuracy. The family left during the seventh inning of the game (FSU was comfortably ahead at that point)...and went to the softball game. Ladies and gentlemen, that is the only way you make such a story better - add gender equity. By going to the softball game, he gave his children - especially his daughter - the opportunity to see positive female role models. He was able to show his children that women can play sports too...quite well, at that (the softball team was up 11-3 in the third inning when the baseball game ended). Maybe his daughter plays softball at FSU in 2030. Maybe she doesn't. She knows that's an option, though - and that's what is so important. When we expose our children to varied forms of success, we give them additional avenues and opportunities to find their own successful paths. Obviously I have little to no idea what the children will end up doing in life, but they're off to a wonderful start given the little bit that I saw yesterday.
Going back to the viewing habits thing for a second, I've attended quite a few sporting events in my lifetime at the high school and college level involving both genders (by the way, I know that the correct term in this instance is 'sex' and not 'gender', but I'm not going back through and making that edit). I think most everyone knows that sporting events with male competitors are more highly attended, but with us the difference is more stark. This could be due to several factors, but at the same time it's so important that we show our daughters that playing sports don't have to be taboo to them. When we close the athletic realm off from our daughters, we take away the opportunities that we say we give our sons by encouraging them to play. Our daughters don't get the same chances to learn about fair play, sportsmanship, discipline, working as part of a team, and one other thing that's slightly important: good health.
No less important of a public figure than Michelle Obama recognizes the importance of living a healthy lifestyle. It is quite nice to see a black woman using her position to promote healthy lifestyles among all our youth, but maybe somewhere a young sister sees Mrs. Obama and says to herself "look at her talking about this". Maybe she acts on it and decides to live a healthier lifestyle. Doesn't have to involve sports, but sports wouldn't exactly hurt. Our boys are almost conditioned to play sports - many times for the wrong reasons - but our girls aren't. We need to make somee changes with that.
Conclusion
Yes, I'm actually writing a conclusion...might be a first (at least one highlighted in this form). That one scene served to dispel a few myths: black people don't like baseball, black men don't get involved in their childrens' lives, black folk are sexist (actually, this one may take some more looking into). One can say I took too much away from the sight of one brother taking his children to a day at the ballpark(s). My response to such a person is that they didn't take enough away from it, that they closed themselves off from the full range of possibilities that the moment could have had, that - to a degree - they closed themselves off to the full range of possibilities that we have as a people. As someone could argue using the statistics regarding black-on-black crime, sometimes the greatest crimes we commit are those we commit against ourselves.
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