Like I said, " our values are out of whack "

"How did the system get skewed out of line"? Well, one big factor is the changes in taxes and tax brackets that began evolving in the 1950s for the benefit of the more wealthy. Any country's government can control the amount of greedy overreach by way of its tax law. Another factor is social values of fairness. Around 1980 just like in the movie, America adopted a "greed is good" philosophy, which persists today (and can be seen right here in this forum)

Not all countries SHARE the US deification of GREED. This may have changed, but around 1990 Japanese CEOs would be SHAMED in society if their salary was more than 10 times that of their average worker. Recently Japanese citizens returned lost paper money to the bank in that nuclear accident. It shows big differences in attitudes in different countries. Maybe Japanese people have greater respect for their laws and their fellow citizens?

Jingoism is a belief in EXTREME patriotism and that one's own country IS the best at everything.

Have gotten? Where have you been for the past few decades? According to Minimum salary: - BR Bullpen

The average salary for a Major League Baseball player was $44,676 in 1975.

Only five years later in 1980, the average was $143,756 - more than three TIMES what it was 5 years prior.

Five years after that in 1985? $371,571 - almost twice what it was five years prior.

Fast forward to 2022: the AVERAGE salary for MLB players is $4,414,184. That's almost 100 times what it was back in 1975.

Check on any politician's annual paid salary, any teacher, police officer or firefighter, any administrative assistant in an office, any minimum wage earner, any restaurant manager - and you won't find those kinds of salary jumps.

Yep, that post is right again :1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

Our country, which BTW IS pretty much the best at everything (have some jingoism), would be so much greater if it weren't for those darn corporations and the rich people. They've contributed nothing to the building and growth of America, they've employed nobody, they've put forth no venture capital, and of course, they pay no taxes.

Give us a break.

To add to this, in the next couple weeks, notice the people, especially in the "student
section" in those college football stadiums.

Some of those tickets go for $150,00 -$250,00 EVERY WEEK and they all insist that their student loans be cancelled.

Is it really THEIR priorities or are they falling prey to massive propaganda created by massive ad campaigns? Up north people are often practically mesmerized by devotion to their city's pro football team. There are fewer activities available up north in the winter (football season). Often many people approach near insanity levels of devotion to THEIR pro football team. They act like they THEMSELVES win or lose depending on THEIR team's outcome on Sunday. They MUST have the clothing and other paraphernalia of THEIR chosen team. Then, on Monday at work, most conversations are about that near-holy team.

In the South, where there is more to do in the winter, pro Football teams like the Tampa Bay Bucs have less of an avidly insane following. Personally, I have always found spectator sports to be greatly lacking compared to participation sports. I actually feel that if Tom Brady came to watch me play softball, I MIGHT go to watch him play football. And incidentally, I find pro baseball to be so s-l-o-w that it becomes boring. They need to record the game and cut out the slow parts, then it might be interesting. I stopped watching pro baseball on TV in the 70s. So, naturally, pro athletes do NOT get their HIGH salaries from me. Sorry, Tom !

I think you got it right!

It's escapism, no different than the movies or even a good book.
People go to Star Trek conventions and dress up like Mr. Spock or Star Wars and dress up as Chewbacca. The more people perceive their life as sucking, the more they need to escape

Very well said. It is those rich people who make investments that provide lots of our jobs but so many think they should not be rewarded for their investments.

If team owners, leagues and associations didn’t think these people were worth the money they wouldn’t pay it. Yes, there are people that perform services that are much more important than what athletes do but you have to understand that when Tom Brady throws a pass millions of people are watching. Millions of people are buying merchandise. Millions of people are buying cable television channels to watch him. The people that own the team are making billions because of him and the other players. A surgeon deals with one person at a time. When 70 million people want to tune in to watch a surgeon at work and buy a shirt with his name on the back, when the hospital gains billions because of the surgeon then he’ll get paid the same.

It’s about tv money and gambling. Only going to grow.

None of those other people you mentioned have TV contracts...

No to mention that Japan was THE definition of "Jingoism" throughout history...

Lord knows that the SEC (South East Conference) of college football has no rabid fans...

They all must be out doing other things...

just take sure that you don't watch any of the sports on tv, don't subscribe to ESPN, don't buy tickets to the games, and don't buy the merchandise. Then you won't be participating in any of the payments to benefit any of the athletes of whose income you are jealous. Because if you are doing any of those, you are enjoying the benefits, paying the system, and being hypocritical for deriving the entertainment while criticizing them for making their money while doing so.

sportsguy

Chalk it up to good marketing by MLB. The players union works hard to get their members (MLB players) a cut of the sports revenues/profits. The elite players that help generate the most fan interest, and corresponding revenues, get the biggest slice of the pie. The professions you are trying to compare to professional athletes are either paid by taxpayers or are relatively menial low skill workers that perform a basic function that doesn’t correlate directly to producing revenue and or profits (with the possible exception of a restaurant manager).

The highest paid state employees in many states are the coaches of the football or basketball programs of the State’s Flagship University (often making multiple times the state’s governors salary) because they want to attract the best possible talent and have a winning program, which results in huge amounts of revenue. Make no mistake, that highly paid coach has no union protection, like many other state employees, and if the team he coaches doesn’t win and generate revenue, his ass will be fired in a heartbeat.