[Hrycaj]

Here is my wonder. While I agree with most everyone's comments that have already been shared, my wonder is if this is a case of "ignorance is bliss"? I'm assuming that most people around here commenting have been watching sports for a LONG time and have become completely jaded because they have learned the truth some time ago and that truth ruined the romanticism they/we held for sports as kids growing up when players were our false idols and the sports were all that mattered. So while I believe all of the reasons listed are valid and justified many have been around for a really long time as well. Here are just a few examples off the top of my head.

Gambling on sports especially baseball has been around since the 1850's. Some baseball authors have even gone as far as making cases that it was gambling more than anything that led to the rise in popularity of baseball in the 1850's.

PED's you say? That also goes back to at least 1889 when Pud Galvin decided to inject what was known as the "elixir of life" back then. (It was testicular fluid from a number of animals) Tom House was drafted in 1967 and admitted to taking steroids that you "wouldn't give a horse."

Damn I hate the cheating f***ing Astros: Do you feel the same about Tony LaRussa and the White Sox of the early 80's when he had a camera on the scoreboard zoomed in on the catcher to see the signs and then installing a semi-sophisticated system of relaying the signs to him on the bench. Or how about the 1976 World series between the Reds and Yankees where in Game One the Yankees were caught with staff in the pressbox on binoculars relaying signs to Billy Martin in the dugout all on live TV. (That game is a great watch and can be found on youtube) I could go on with all the cheating scandals but you hopefully get the point.

Hate teams that aren't trying to win?? How about the Kansas City Athletics acting as the Yankees AAA team in plain sight back in the 60's?

I hate having to have multiple subscriptions to watch my team: I don't know about you guys but the all the Detroit sports teams aside from the Lions were on PASS sports in the 80's. You needed a special subscription outside of what regular cable costed to view them. Consequently, I watched more Atlanta Braves games on WTBS (as it was called at the time) Chicago Cubs games on WGN and there was a station I cannot remember that would play Mets games, than I ever saw of the Tigers who would be played sporadically on local TV.

These are just a very limited amount of things for one sport that could be used as examples. Thing is though, when I grew up I wasn't aware of any of these things and I just saw the sports as pure enjoyment. It wasn't till I was older that I became more aware and jaded. Now arguments can possibly be made that things are worse now but maybe that is expected as we live in an era of the 24 hour clickbait news cycle and the over saturation of all sports on TV. However my wonder still stands, is this really at the heart of things a situation where ignorance WAS bliss.