I want to be rich and famous. Hell, just give me the famous! It is not fair to the rest of the world needs reservations two years in advance to get into trendy restaurants and pay for their own meals. It is also not fair that regular folks not only have to pay full price, worse yet scalper rates, for tickets to hot sporting events if they are even lucky enough to get them.
Though a HUGE sports fan, the difference in lifestyles between athletes and the rest of us is just an injustice. However, it only gets worse when it comes to stage and screen (or no go reason other than I’m rich) celebrities. As a slap on the face to every die hard New York Yankees fan, Billy Crystal will get the opportunity to play in an exhibition game the day before his 60th birthday. Now, Crystal is an avid baseball fan and has grown up loving the Yanks. But be honest, if he was just a regular schmuck, this would not be happening.
The ultimate fan fantasy is coming true all because of Crystal’s celebrity status. Regular folks would have to pay thousands of dollars to wear the pinstripes at a fantasy camp and have the benefit of some farm leaguers showing them how to bunt and throw rather than an active player. And though preseason is a chance for the young kids to shine, Crystal will get to train with the entire team. And no doubt, he will get a high-five from Jeter if Crystal happens to make contact with the ball. Or maybe a good luck slap-on-the-back from A-Rod before exiting the dugout when Crystal is next on deck. He might even get to share a cycle with Giambi. (OK, that was a bit much).
Crystal isn’t the first person to get special treatment in the sporting world because of who he is. Isn’t Spike a permanent fixture in the Knicks’ locker room? I am not denouncing celebrities as sports fans, but because of their social status they get treatment most of couldn’t even pay for if we won the lottery.
So, what do we regular folks get? - jacked up ticket prices and autographs at $40 a pop. In a way having Crystal sign for one game does make sense. How else do you get fans in the seats for an exhibition game, especially one against the pathetic Pittsburgh Pirates? Of course Bud Selig approves. Baseball is in a slump. Even the superstar status of A-Rod and Jeter is not enough to make Americans fall in love again with this nation’s pastime. Sure you have your diehards, but maybe gimmicks are what the sport needs. What better way to shrug off a year of steroid scandal then with a comedian in the outfield?
Though a HUGE sports fan, the difference in lifestyles between athletes and the rest of us is just an injustice. However, it only gets worse when it comes to stage and screen (or no go reason other than I’m rich) celebrities. As a slap on the face to every die hard New York Yankees fan, Billy Crystal will get the opportunity to play in an exhibition game the day before his 60th birthday. Now, Crystal is an avid baseball fan and has grown up loving the Yanks. But be honest, if he was just a regular schmuck, this would not be happening.
The ultimate fan fantasy is coming true all because of Crystal’s celebrity status. Regular folks would have to pay thousands of dollars to wear the pinstripes at a fantasy camp and have the benefit of some farm leaguers showing them how to bunt and throw rather than an active player. And though preseason is a chance for the young kids to shine, Crystal will get to train with the entire team. And no doubt, he will get a high-five from Jeter if Crystal happens to make contact with the ball. Or maybe a good luck slap-on-the-back from A-Rod before exiting the dugout when Crystal is next on deck. He might even get to share a cycle with Giambi. (OK, that was a bit much).
Crystal isn’t the first person to get special treatment in the sporting world because of who he is. Isn’t Spike a permanent fixture in the Knicks’ locker room? I am not denouncing celebrities as sports fans, but because of their social status they get treatment most of couldn’t even pay for if we won the lottery.
So, what do we regular folks get? - jacked up ticket prices and autographs at $40 a pop. In a way having Crystal sign for one game does make sense. How else do you get fans in the seats for an exhibition game, especially one against the pathetic Pittsburgh Pirates? Of course Bud Selig approves. Baseball is in a slump. Even the superstar status of A-Rod and Jeter is not enough to make Americans fall in love again with this nation’s pastime. Sure you have your diehards, but maybe gimmicks are what the sport needs. What better way to shrug off a year of steroid scandal then with a comedian in the outfield?
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