Is Barbaro unworthy? I say neigh
Doug Robinson
That's Barbaro, who is a horse, of course.
The Kentucky Derby winner has become a household name since shattering his leg in the Preakness.
By now you already know that the horse has since received an outpouring of sympathy and support. A fence at the entrance of the hospital where Barbaro was treated was covered by mementos and signs urging people to pray for the horse and wishing him a speedy recovery, apparently under the delusion that the horse can read as well as run.
The hospital received flowers, religious symbols, stuffed animals, toys, gift boxes and enough carrots and apples to make a tossed salad for an entire football team.
TV stations played the gruesome images of the break over and over. The last time we flinched like this was when Lawrence Taylor met Joe Theismann's ankle.
There were nearly 100 reporters at the hospital to receive updates on the horse's condition. Newspapers and TV stations made regular reports on the status of the horse — Barbaro "enjoyed a nap and appeared stable and happy Wednesday," Associated Press reported.
It was one big Ron Howard movie, but, wouldn't you know it, there were some party poopers who begrudged the horse all of this. One man protested that such a fuss should have been made over the less-famous horses that had died of similar injuries. A columnist questioned the propriety of such an outpouring of sympathy for a horse when there are so many people suffering in the world and that this was our celebrity culture at its worst.
Question: Since when is it news that people obsess over athletes and celebrities in general?
A man paid $10,000 for a wad of gum that had been chewed by baseball star Luis Gonzalez. A fan paid $2 million just to play a round of golf with Tiger Woods. Ty Cobb's false teeth sold for $8,000. Dirt from baseball pitcher Tim Hudson's cleats was sold for $50.
In our own city, streets have been named after men whose sole claim to fame was that they could play a good game of basketball (for millions of dollars). Statues were commissioned of their likenesses and placed in front of the local basketball arena.
We have sports channels 24 hours a day. We have radio talk shows and bloggers that drone on and on for hours talking about whether Barry Bonds' records should be listed with an asterisk or whether basketball players should wear ties on the bench or whether the DH is the ruination of baseball.
There are card shows and autograph sessions in which people pay multimillionaire athletes to scribble their names on paper.
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