Where Have You Gone Joe DiMaggio?

This is the time of year we reflect on the past year and ponder what the future will bring for us all, its a time to be grateful for ones good fortune and keep charity in our hearts for the less fortunate, to remember the good and try to change the bad. It's also a time many of us sit inside and watch a lot of sports. While I was doing that a little Elf kept whispering in my ear why do some athletes have to be such jerks.In this day and age it sometimes appears that classlessness seems to be an end game for some sports franchises and athletes alike. Many of today's athletes seem much more concerned with their individual highlights rather than whether their team wins or loses. "How many points, goals or hits did I get and will it be on ESPN?" How often do we see an NFL player make a tackle, get a pick or sack the quarterback in a game where they are losing by 25 or 30 points and celebrate like they just won the Superbowl. When did performing like a professional and doing your job as expected become a special reason for a world-class celebration.There used to be a time when putting yourself before the team or acting like a Prima Dona got you traded or benched, or possibly and emotional "Code Red" from your teammates. We constantly hold up our past heroes, coaches and players alike as role models for our children to learn from. People with character, class and professionalism that did their jobs with discipline and distinction. Like Red Auerbach, Vince Lombardi, Scotty Bowman, Derek Jeter, Carl Yaztremski, just to name a few. Then we proceed to market and sell the biggest mouthed, most poorly behaved, self centered modern day athletes we can find. For whatever reason it seems they are more abundant in football - Keyshawn Johnson, Terrell Owens, Dion Sanders, Warren Sapp, etc. These people are responsible for their behavior, but they are not to blame alone. The TV Networks, radio, and newspapers are possibly even more responsible for encouraging flamboyant and loudmouth behavior. The media doesn't condemn or criticize this behavior, they market it, highlight it and in essence promote it with their coverage. If you are an obnoxious big mouth player in your career, many times you will end up on some NFL pre-game show as a reward after your playing days are over. They are all there, just look around. This dynamic is not unique to Sports, it's really a sign of the times and shows how much our society has changed. The more outrageous a celebrity's behavior the more coverage they get - Lindsey Lohan, Miley Cyrus, Kanye West, et al. It works in every arena just look at politics. The rub here is that we all watch sports to generally get away from all the crazy inappropriate things we deal with in our lives everyday. The sports arena has been invaded, its often been said that sports imitates life, so in this case we all would be better off still living in a fantasy.