In the just completed presidential election, one of the common phrases heard time and time again was spread the wealth. Although I am not sure what this applied to exactly, I like the idea especially in sports.
Let’s look at high school football. Timpview High School just won its third straight state championship. That does not seem exactly fair. How is it that they can win over and over but cross-town rival Provo cannot hardly win at all. Timpview needs to share the talent.
Emery High, with an ever-shrinking student population, could use a couple of Juan Diego’s big linemen. Why should they get all the 6’5″ guys that weigh 290 pounds. We should be able to have at least one of them.
And Delta, do they really need all those good wrestlers? They, along with Uintah and Wasatch should spread those wrestlers around to all the other schools. Why should they all keep adding to their totals when it comes to championships?
And how about me? Why should I not have had more stuff spread to me? If I had been nine inches taller, I might have been a really good power forward in basketball. If I could have hit a curve ball, I might have been a really good baseball player. It just doesn’t seem fair that I lacked while others did not.
Unfortunately, spreading the wealth will never work in sports. Pro basketball has a salary cap but it does not stop the good teams from being good or the bad teams from being bad. Legislation cannot prevent excellence. Or can it?
Can we really spread the wealth or the talent? Not really. That has always been the driving force for me. When I was a kid, everyday I would show up to play one on one basketball with one of the neighbor kids and everyday I would go home looking forward to tomorrow when I just knew that I would beat him.
When I hit the golf course, I play time and time again against the same people hoping and working to get a better result. Some days I compete and some days could be better but I always try.
I can hit a 300 yard drive regularly but I cannot hit a 30-yard pitch shot with any regularity. I keep trying though. I will shoot par golf one day because I work at it, not because Tiger Woods decided to share the wealth of his talents.
Spreading the wealth or the talent will not work on any permanent basis. If you want to help, you have to spread the opportunity. That is all I ever wanted. Just give me a chance. Let me see what I can do. If I work hard, I will be rewarded, if I do not I shouldn’t be. That’s just the way it is or at least should be. To be fair, just give me the opportunity.
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