I used to care about sports too, but as the cost of being a fan priced me out of the market, I woke up. To use hockey as an example, back in the '80's, my buddy and I had season tickets for the Blackhawks. They were $4 a game. The same seats today (actually the seats in the United Center are in no way desirable compared to the old Chicago Stadium) are $65 per game, plus service charge. Plus parking. Let me check my wallet to see if I can afford a hot dog. I suppose if you are a lawyer or a CPA you can afford to take the family to a few games per year, but I'm just the guy who does the work. Sadly, my paycheck has not increased 1500% over that time. There's no money in working. It made me stop and wonder why I really care if the pampered millionaire puts the puck in the net (okay, not as pampered or as rich as baseball players, but still...). So I voted with my feet. I have found other things to do with my time. Better things.

I still watch professional sports, but not very often, and I really don't care if the guy on "my" team hits the ball or not. The hype just doesn't work on me any more. I enjoy the competition and performance at high level, but the personal emotional investment is gone. I would turn off the Chicago team in a heartbeat to watch a better game on another channel. Better yet, what else is there to do? Professional sports is the modern day circus. There's a sucker born every minute. I can't see the Bears winning more than 5 games this year. Should I be upset about that? More to the point, should I waste my time watching them? I will surely not waste my money.