The Slow Decay

I've never been the biggest sports fan, but something about the World Cup that makes you want it just a little. I think it has to do with the fact that your not the only one watching it.... it is viewed around the world by the world. It has more people interested in watching it than the war in Iraq. With this new found excitement I decide to go to a local soccer game here in Slat Lake City. Meant to be a grueling match between the Salt Lake Real and the New England Revolution. Never having been to a game of the Real or any soccer game for that matter, I was somewhat excited and taken in by the spirit of the event. Walking up the hill from the parking area, the stadium lights in the distance the excitement grew. I got in line to buy a ticket that I was told was $15 dollar but the man tried to charge me $20. When asked, he replied that the price went up $5 because it was the weekend of the fourth of July. Not letting this get me down, I followed through with my purchase looking forward to watch the game with a few friends. I went to stand in line and looked at my ticket and what I thought was the receipt, turned out to be two tickets. I went back to the ticket line and talked to the customer service window and was told that the tickets could not be "refunded, exchanged or transferred". I've been trying very hard to not let anything get me down but this one kind of hurt. I argued with the customer service man for about 12 minutes and finally said enough and went inside to meet my friends. When inside the game started and excitement filled the stadium. I started feeling better about all that had happend until the soccer game I thought I would be watching took a nasty left turn for me. I know I probably shouldn't be comparing World Cup with a local soccer match, but I started seeing things that never happened in World Cup. I would see four or five players fighting for the ball without moving more than six inches until the ball would be kicked out of bounds. This happened constantly. I would also see players chase the ball and hang on to it without passing and eventually loose the ball to the other team. But the most amazing thing I saw was one team scoring more than one or two goals. The game ended 5-0. Again I shouldn't be comparing local and World Cup. When the game drew closer to half time I was about to leave. I couldn't take anymore but thought I would stick around for the half time show. I have always thought of myself as a person of values and respect. but for some reason that night was filled Valueless, Disrespectful disappointment. During the half time show a woman comes out on the field with a microphone and talks about the fourth of July and says "and to celebrate our independence, we have sixty mini soccer balls that" we are going to through into the crowd. I'm not an expert or anything... but I'm pretty sure the founding fathers of our country would rather be spit in the face than to have people think that sixty mini soccer balls is the proper way to celebrate. Coupled with the the extra five dollars per ticket, the ridiculously high prices for food and water and the stands, the fine people at the Rio Tinto stadium has showed us that our country's independence is best celebrated by realizing a profitable marketing tactic. To see a day that families will most likely get together and want to enjoy an activity such as this and mark up prices and tell people that this is a celebration of our country's independence. Its a mockery. Over the past decade or two the values, views and opinions in this country have slowly decayed into what we have now, a market that is literally on the edge of financial collapse, a President that has helped to put us in this position and makes the types of decisions that only reckless and careless could describe and having no worries what type of effect those decisions will have on the very people who elected him into office. I get told all the time not to worry about things like this - that "its only this one thing"or "its not that big of deal". But when I spend money $5 or $10 at a time, these purchases aren't that big.... until I have twenty or thirty of them... now I'm up to two or three hundred dollars, all because I told myself "oh, its only $10, that's not bad". We as a people in this country need to realize those things however small and conscientiously choose not to let it slide. When we celebrate the day our country fought and died for and won its independence, it was a thing big enough to earn a place in history that we should not just passively try, but actively try to remember and honor and not mock.