[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Professional sports used to mean something when the teams were mostly local boys. You were cheering for your guys to beat the guys of other locations. A non-lethal form of battle proving your area's prowess over that of the pathetic "other". There was a "we" when the team won. You could point at a player and say "My cousin's hairdresser's sister went to school with that guy!"

Now days the teams have no local players and even the team is for sale to who ever has the most money.

Not to mention that professional betting has resulted in some rather INTERESTING calls.

[dfwgator]

And players used to have to get jobs in the off-season. And the money you got from winning a playoff game, was substantial.

I remember an interview with a player, when they asked him how he mentally prepared for a game, and his answer was, “I just look at the other team and think, “Those guys are trying to steal my money!”