Are athletes so much better now?
- Not so fast!!!
Yes world records continue to be broken in most sports, yes football and basketball players keep expanding and they have much better marketing support now. But is this "better?"
There are different levels:
1) World records continue to be broken and some concrete qualifications standards have become more difficult.
2) But are "local elites" (ie. state champions) any better today? (My anecdotal observation says no. They are more or less the same.)
3) The "average athlete" might be a little worse- the 300th placed runner at the Boston Marathon is actually slower now than 30 years ago.
4) The average American male considers himself to be an "athlete" but would not be able endure half a day physical labor. (Something most of our chain smoking grand parents could easily accomplish).
Negative thoughts:
1) Sports change but not all change is "better." Basketball, football, hockey have all seen technical changes that favor heavier, stronger, LESS cardiovascular fit individuals.
2) Improved for who- weight training, sports drinks, training gurus- probably do help the top athletes. These things provide little benefit to the "local elites". Worse- they seem to perpetuate obesity and self delusion among average people.
Positive thoughts:
1) What constitutes "worthwhile" has changed- a girl on my swim team in the 1980s came in 4th in the Olympics (at age 15). She quit swimming. "What's the point. The dumb pretty girls still get all the attention. I will need a career. This takes up too much time."
- Not so fast!!!
Yes world records continue to be broken in most sports, yes football and basketball players keep expanding and they have much better marketing support now. But is this "better?"
There are different levels:
1) World records continue to be broken and some concrete qualifications standards have become more difficult.
2) But are "local elites" (ie. state champions) any better today? (My anecdotal observation says no. They are more or less the same.)
3) The "average athlete" might be a little worse- the 300th placed runner at the Boston Marathon is actually slower now than 30 years ago.
4) The average American male considers himself to be an "athlete" but would not be able endure half a day physical labor. (Something most of our chain smoking grand parents could easily accomplish).
Negative thoughts:
1) Sports change but not all change is "better." Basketball, football, hockey have all seen technical changes that favor heavier, stronger, LESS cardiovascular fit individuals.
2) Improved for who- weight training, sports drinks, training gurus- probably do help the top athletes. These things provide little benefit to the "local elites". Worse- they seem to perpetuate obesity and self delusion among average people.
Positive thoughts:
1) What constitutes "worthwhile" has changed- a girl on my swim team in the 1980s came in 4th in the Olympics (at age 15). She quit swimming. "What's the point. The dumb pretty girls still get all the attention. I will need a career. This takes up too much time."