Tennis in the park has all but disappeared due to Covid-19 sanctions.
The trickle down effect of a public health crises contains more malignant elements than the economic policy illustrated by the metaphor of percolating water. The aptly-named Reagan fiscal philosophy of course is still more viable than the non-American pecuniary system in the world, including the liberating application of perestroika, which was responsible dislodging the locking mechanism on the Iron Curtain, only to have US and British concerns vastly underestimate the magnitude, scope, and ingrained influence of organized crime syndicates intertwined with party officials resulting in black market cannibalism. And the rest they say, is history. Kak dela, tovarish Putin?
Relevant history lessons aside, within the neighboring Seattle suburbs of Bellevue and Kirkland, affluent communities adorned by the lucrative fortunes of the tech industry, prestigious rivers originating from the harsh directives of the CDC and passing through an exhausting haphazard maze of labyrinths and catacombs before reaching the individual as tainted and fetid droplets, spurs localized confusion and disillusionment. The classic example of red tape has taken on a Green movement identity.
A team of hydrologists is not required to see the obvious detriment on the populace, especially among residents attempting to remain healthy through physical fitness during the Covid-19 lockdowns. Infuriatingly, the tennis courts in Bellevue are open, and the basketball courts are closed, while in Kirkland only two miles away, the basketball courts are accessible and the tennis courts chained shut. For a pair of tennis players attempting to schedule an hour or so to break a sweat, things are way too complicated. If two residents face grueling opposition and headaches in employing rigorous statistical analysis just to locate a free court near their homes, what chance in hell do actual organized sports have in materializing for the near future from high school competition all the way up to the pros?
Membership on the exclusive diamond encrusted swanky list of highest average household incomes nationally, does not buy clarity. Golfers faced a similar inexplicable fate as the idea of social distancing on a 100 acre course was lost on the inadequate spatial recognition capabilities of lawmakers. Until recently, only twosomes were allowed on private and public links, prompting outrage from a cabin fever level of frustration, an understandable backlash that has no perceptible effect on the trickle of nonsense. While Washington state Governor Jay Inslee has given counties and cities latitude to reopen at their own whim in ratcheting up freedom of mobility, approval is still required from the amassed collection of political subterfuge at the state capitol. The convoluted chain of information exchange emanating from health professional and apparent leadership is accountable for the insufferable inconsistencies that citizens endure given the nature of policy to be interpreted differently by various governing agencies. When reversing the viewpoint through the murky framework to the originating headwaters, things appear less optimistic.
As society struggles to participate in sporting activities, the wallowing financial behemoths of the MLB, NBA, and the NFL attempt to survive cryo-stasis, as the forced closure of bars and restaurants, and the absence of viewable content has all but killed the various messengers. Baseball, which in a normal world would have more than a third of the season under its belt and maybe the passing interest of 12 fan bases of teams still hopeful for a postseason birth, is not being missed. Naturally, the reality of the Coronavirus and the George Floyd controversy has all but extinguished any enthusiasm and anticipation that is not related to pro or college football. As a result, fans and folks starved for content have tuned into social media posts in following the sometimes train of thought of sports icons responding to mainstream news. The premise is dangerous for the stability of each league, as more times than not, the heralded gladiators effectively alienate a large portion of their fan base in pushing politics Kaepernick-style, a formula that is not conducive to healthy public relations or in some cases job security.
With the natural disconnect from the average viewer at an all-time high, as sporting events are not typically a priority for functioning individual, the discerning microscope with an impeccable memory dictating public perception is toggled to the highest setting in scrutinizing the character of the athlete, rather than performance. Not all the baseball in South Korea or MMA fighting events, can replace current void of content. As extremists ravage urban corridors, and reactionists admonish the entire law enforcement professional, and castigate every white responsible gun owner as a dangerous fascist via social media, ball players can’t resist urge to join the melee, and the resulting internecine among the professional elites is both disturbing and telling. Unfortunately, NFL star signal caller Drew Brees broke the cardinal rule of never trying to reason with activists, in posting his dismay for colleagues kneeling during the National Anthem, prompting a star-studded firestorm.
“I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country,” Brees said in an interview with Daniel Roberts. “Let me just tell what I see or what I feel when the national anthem is played and when I look at the flag of the United States.”
Without resorting to insults or hyperbole, the quarterback proceeded to share memories of grandfathers who served their country, and his understandable honor for the American flag. Cue the craziness…
A who’s who of the athletic elite (announced in the pristine style of Robin Leach) featuring the likes of LeBron James, Aaron Rogers, and Richard Sherman, instantly fired back at the New Orleans Saints legend and known gentlemen, insinuating that future of hall of famer is not allowed to have a suitable opinion on how professionals in a work setting should conduct themselves before the coin toss.
Brees had every right to criticize the kneeling display, or other antics as a slight to veterans, and his critics have every right to fire back their thoughts on the matter. However, this is about the castigation of a public figure not by what they said, but what they left out. Chillingly, this opens up the Pandora’s Box, where the principle of exclusion is now akin to a thought cri…, “cough, cough”, a hate crime.
The abrupt hijacking of the National Anthem by dime store sociologists and sanctimonious social justice warriors, who are now calling for the defunding of police departments, and the disarming of citizens based on the interpretation of crime statistics and arrests, and have conducted intellectually disingenuous research on the complexities of the justice system, has set to defile the concept of subjectivity. Why wealthy athletes have aligned themselves to a destructive element defies reason.
Suddenly, a personal opinion is either morally right or wrong according to the will of the collective, and being rebuked lands one’s persona in a harsh pigeonhole, which more or less has the superlative of “supremacist” or “racist attached, as Orwell’s entire barnyard choruses “redneck. redneck. redneck.” Curiously, as cops provide an invaluable security service for professional athletes, especially amid hostile and chaotic environments, the dynamics of the love-hate relationship by sporting starts regarding law enforcement, borders on the self-serving surreal.
If Brees, as a legend and leader is not immune to the divisive rhetoric of intolerable groupthink waging a war on the fabric of the entire nation, what chance do a pair of suburban tennis players have of living a life on their terms in the face of an unbalanced restraining order coercing and threatening the concept of free speech? The ultimate story of the underdog beating the odds and flourishing in the NFL is now being wasted for the sake of an agenda. Artificially-induced fear equates to an equal, but opposite daunting wall of submission, where climbing a 10-foot fence to engage in a leisure physical activity is the new norm.
At this point, apathy, which has been spearheaded by understandable frustration sets in that a three generational debate, cultivated and morphed to fit a specific agenda or argument when required, as the classic and honorable image of Roman gladiator forged and weathered through time, is graffitied by spurious politicization. It is pretty difficult to support and resoundingly cheer for athletes that actively promote the idea that fans should never try and will never understand. This harsh and demeaning indictment encapsulates the prevalence of societal and governmental ambiguities and scales of gray in attempting to negotiate a tedious minefield where there is only one correct answer based on the flavor of the month.
In this complicated world of paper-thin fortitude and resolve, Drew Brees is a martyr, and the Covid-19 outbreaks has created unthinkable and innovative applications of bureaucracy that have destroyed fitness and grassroots sports that adhere to the social distancing guidelines. With the competitive spirit of the average American being discouraged, and the younger generations addicted to the digital dream world of cerebral gaming, the pros had better be careful, or they may just tweet and post their way right into the vortex of obscurity.
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