The Season Is Coming, where will you be?

Once again the American sports fan parks it on the couch
or frequents a favorite watering hole
bets will be made, odds will be revealed
jerseys bought, copious amounts of fast food and beer
consumed

Dancing teams and cheer leaders will be organized
vendors with envious dexterity will trace up and down stands
throwing peanuts with accuracy that rival any pocket pass
tailgaters will smoke gigantic portions of animal flesh
and strangers will find a cause to rally behind

While my interest may gravitate to an occasional game
not facing the consequences of a significant other neglected
my zeal was extinguished decades ago
by market forces and profit

I being a native Los Angeleno felt the dagger two times
first as a fan of the Rams who employed my dad on game days
 heading to Anaheim, then to Saint Louis and now back to L.A.
the Roosenblooms seemed often more intrigued by
"tinsel town" then constructing a solid organization

Along came the Raiders, right on time to present me
with my first weekend job, like pops ushering games
a bird's eye seat to Al Davis' frugality
and heartbreak once again

Now for purists it is the perfect karma
professional sports finds L.A. a huge target
for the energetic capitalist
from baseball, basketball, and football
seeking more dollars out West has been routine
heck even inner state departures to
the second biggest metropolis in the nation

But seeing the fickle nature of owners
demanding city revenues go into mega stadiums
and destroying a world class running track
the comfortable fit into the "greed is good" ethos
hoisting players up on a pedestal
oftentimes undeservidably so

For society fawns over the physical prowless
while cultivating mental faculties and community ideals
are so carelessly neglected

So on the weekend morning or night
when the tv viewer relishes in men hitting other men
I will plead guilty to an occasional indulgence
for not nearly the spectacle found in a boxing rink or a caged fight
but any sustained enthusiasm is tempered by a return to reality
by the Super Bowl's drive in extending disparities
among income classes