In the news today is a story telling how Tim Donaghy pleads guilty to betting on games and taking cash payoffs.
This is, of course, not good.
What I don’t get is the hand-wringing and “how could this happen?” Some say its the worst thing to happen to sports because now the fans don’t know that the games are on the level.
The fans NEVER knew the games were on the level. Just ask anyone in Raider Nation.
Seriously, did no one notice that NBA superstars like Michael Jordan had their own set of rules? Did anyone notice that, when the 49ers were Super-Bowl good, their cornerbacks could mug the opposing receivers while if the opponents breathed wrong on Jerry Rice they’d be called for pass interference? Do you really think Roger Clemens pitches to the same strike zone as does Boof Bonser?
As a fan, the surest way to know my team has become an elite team is when the officials start making bogus calls in my team’s favor.
The difference between the tradition playing field tilt and Donaghy’s tilt is that Donaghy bypassed Madison Avenue. The league and its marketers didn’t get to decide which teams got it a little easier and which ones got the long touchdown pass called back on a holding penalty.