How sports have become so incredibly soft, and why it matters.
In the never-ending conflict between an aging generation and the one taking over, it has become cliché for the older group to claim they had it much tougher and were able to endure far more hardship than the spoiled kids who are now taking their place in an ever-softening society. Most people seem to understand that it is human nature to revise history in ways that help those losing relevance to rationalize their reality. Consequently, we are naturally and justifiably predisposed to evaluate such declarations as inherently suspect, and often even worthy of ridicule.
But sometimes that understandable cynicism prevents us from accepting an important truth, even when the evidence is overwhelming. That seems to be what has happened over the course of the 21st century with the dramatic “wussification” of most of our major sports in America.
I come at this vastly under-discussed topic from a remarkably germane and at least somewhat unique perspective: I grew up in the Philadelphia area during the 1970s. That was a sports era dominated by a two-time Stanley Cup champion Flyers hockey team famously known as the “Broad Street Bullies,” a nickname that obviously would never be allowed by today’s PC police. The Philadelphia “Fightin’” Phillies baseball team was led by Pete Rose and Larry Bowa, two undersized warriors known for their intense style of play and unwillingness to back down.
Philly-based NFL Films was coming of age, promoting the unapologetic narrative that football was televised warfare, all narrated by “The Voice of God,” fabled Philadelphia news anchorman John Facenda. Meanwhile, the iconic movie character Rocky, whose training routines were inspired by those of real-life Philly boxing legend Joe Frazier, was birthed in the City of Brotherly Love, becoming an international multi-generational symbol of physical toughness and overcoming adversity.
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