Fatale Abstraction

I'll come right out and say I'm not a sports fan. I'm happy for friends and family when their teams win, but, generally, it's sorta not on the radar for me. Going to live games with friends is fun. Hockey is actually exciting. I generally don't think of it much and am happy for things to stay that way, but recent local news means you'll have to suffer along with me as I vent spleen for a moment.

Starting some years back, there was much flap and hoopla about where the Dallas Cowboys' next stadium would be. Local municipalities vied for that honor, including Dallas and the city of Arlington (where Six Flags and the Texas Ranger Ballpark are located).

Now I don't know how they do things in other cities, but let me tell you how it's done in Dallas. Some enormously, staggeringly wealthy person (who could afford to build the stadium on their own) proposes that the city contribute massively to building the venue. The city puts forth a bond package (to raise taxes to generate funds for the project) to the voters. Drooling sports fanatics will pay anything to have the stadium/hotel&entertainment revenue/traffic hazard brought to their fair city. The voters opt to build the stadium on the public dime, and all the profits for the venue - which will technically be owned by the fatcat (Perot, Cuban, etc.) - will go to said fatcat. Oh, and for building this enormous income-generating facility, fatcats get huge tax breaks. Goody goody gumdrops. How wonderful for them.

The Cowboys' new stadium is being built in Arlington, and the recent news was that the 2011 Superbowl has been slated for this venue. OK. Fine. Whatever. Again, I'm happy for the excited locals, and on a huge level I'm pleased that dubious honor will go to Arlington rather than Dallas.

There was bound to be a fly in the ointment, though, because in the local news, the bitching has already begun. In man-on-the-street style interviews, the whining is already reaching fever pitch. The most prominent complaints are that the common person won't be able to afford the tickets, and that the traffic is going to be a nightmare. No doubt the crying-in-the-beer will whinge on for 4 more years.

Um, hello? Y'all wanted that thing in your neighborhood, so get over it. Put on your big girl panties and suck it up and deal. Oh, and shut up, while you're at it!