by Mike Lupica
Reviewed by lefty@YankeesSuck.com
Growing up a Met fan, my early baseball knowledge came through the wisdom of Mets commentators Ralph Kiner, Bob Murphy and Lindsey Nelson on WWOR-TV9 out of New York. Later, in college, a stack of the morning’s sports sections always accompanied my morning coffee because, although I’d seen Dave Kingman strikeout five times the night before, I needed more commentary on why his new “Compact Swing” wasn’t quite working. On the top of the stack, in case time was an issue, was always The Daily News. Mike Lupica’s column was usually the reason.
Lupica always seems to find a new perspective or different point of view on well written subjects. Or he states the obvious in a way that validates his reader’s thoughts that somehow couldn’t be put into words “Exactly!” I’d often blurt while my fist slammed the table to spill my coffee and startle a police officer or two sitting at a nearby stool.
So years later, after marriage and a couple of children and the1994 baseball strike, my interest in pro baseball had diminished drastically. My wife must have observed this void in my soul, because underneath Santa paper one New England Christmas was a copy of Mike Lupica’s book, “Mad as Hell – How Sports Got Away from the Fans – and How We Get it back.”
“Exactly!” I exclaimed as I pounded my fist into a pillow startling my wife and awaking our sleeping baby. “Sorry dear, but you bought me the book,” I reminded her after I put the baby back down and turned off the light.
In the book Lupica goes into every sport and exposes the scams and problems. He exposes the biggest sports scam he dubs the new-stadium hustle. Here he describes how the owners leverage their teams to coerce governors and mayors to give them what they want and get you, the taxpayer, to foot the bill. But after every chapter, he offers reasonable ways that society and fans can take back their sports.
In a chapter titled “Old dogs, Old Tricks,” Lupica tells the charming story of how Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell after telling his fans in 1994 he would never move his team, in 1995 in sold out the city of Cleveland by moving them to Baltimore while riding on a private jet with Maryland Governor Parris Glendening, while telling fans he “did it for his family.” “Owners have all the qualities of dogs except loyalty,” he writes.
Some other chapter titles are; Agents and other Weasels, Sports as the Cotton Club, and Talking Pigs, a chapter on pro boxing. What’s his solution for the boxing fan? Stop acting like Kevin Bacon in Animal House by taking the punishment while declaring “Thank you sir may I have another. ”
At one point in the book, Lupica reminds us that as in society, “the good guys will always outnumber the bad guys.” So at least we have the numbers on our side, even thought our numbers don’t have the dollar sign in front of them. Our dollar signs are behind us.
At the end of each chapter Lupica asks; So what do we do? Mike Lupica wrote the book. We started this web site. What are you going to do to help us reclaim our beloved sports?
Your first move should be to read his book!