Today, as I watched the Panthers game, I saw something that struck me as sadly ironic. The camera showed a Panther in uniform entering the stadium, high-fiving a line of fans. These fans were also in uniform--military uniform.
Here was a sports celebrity being cheered by his fans. The celebrity was preparing for a game, a contest of no real significance. He was being cheered by a dozen men who are trained for real battle.
Think about this. A celebrity-athlete makes millions playing a game which merely entertains us. He is cheered by a line of men who may only earn enough to feed their families.
Without the service of our military personnel, the celebrity-athlete would have no opportunity to play an entertaining game. We the public would not need to be entertained, because all our energy would be spent on survival.
Something seems out of balance. I participate in the society that values sports-entertainment enough to make millionaires of athletes. These soldiers cheer on the football players as though the players are heroes. The real heroes fight the battles that really matter.
I can barely remember who won the 2015 Super Bowl.
History will remember the battles that really matter, and none of them occur in stadiums.
