[ARETE] Sport and Society - Tampa Bay and Dick Butkus

[richard crepeau]

Sport and Society for Arete

October 7, 2023



Over the last few days Major League Baseball has concluded the first, and new round, of “wild card” games. Each of the four series ended quickly. One of the more interesting of these series was the one held in St. Petersburg, Florida, where the Tampa Bay Rays were overpowered by the Texas Rangers.

However, the real humiliation took place not on the field, but in the stadium. Attendance for each of two games hovered around 20,000 fans. This was the smallest post-season crowd since 1919 in Chicago where the White Sox took on Cincinnati.

The poor attendance was no surprise to those of us who have watched the Rays over the course of their existence.  In recent years, the Rays have often been a contender in the American League pennant chase. Unfortunately, they have had a difficult time attracting fans to Tropicana Field, known locally as the “Trop,” and more accurately, as “The Can.”

Rays’ attendance has been a topic of discussion for several years. In nearly all such discussions, two reasons are put forward to explain the weak attendance figures.

First is the stadium, which frankly was a dump when it first opened for Rays baseball. It was a slightly nicer dump after an attempt to refurbish the place. It was, and to some degree still is, a somewhat dark and dismal place with an erector set structure. At times, although it is an indoor domed facility, it resembles an aviary rather than a ballpark.

Second is the location. To get to the Stadium from Tampa requires a drive across a causeway leading to a traffic jam on game nights. To get there from Orlando requires traversing the same course and dealing with two traffic jams, or even three in some cases, to get to the stadium. Coming from the south requires a bridge and a traffic jam. It is no surprise that huge numbers of people do not choose to make these irritating trips.

All of this is not news. What is news is the announcement by the Rays and the city of St. Petersburg that they would be partnering to build a new stadium at the cost of $1.3B, as in Billion, to the team and the taxpayers. The team will pay just over half the cost and any cost overruns. What is amazing to most rational beings is that the new stadium will be built just next to “The Can,” thus failing to address one of the two basic problems that have dogged the franchise since its inception.

I am still in a state of disbelief.



Another major story of the past week was the announcement of the death of Dick Butkus of the Chicago Bears. While playing for the Bears from 1965 to 1973, he helped to redefine the position of middle linebacker in professional football. He brought speed, agility, and fierceness to the game. Along with Sam Huff, Ray Nitschke, and others of this era, Butkus helped to increase the intensity of the NFL game and gave increased focus to the raw violence of football. Butkus said that he created a mindset of anger before each game and then directed his hatred at the opponent.

Sam Huff is remembered in part for the CBS documentary, “The Violent World of Sam Huff.” It focused on the bruising hits and collisions that occurred in nearly every play of an NFL game. Media attention to both men concluded that it was this sort of violence that was the basic appeal of the NFL and explained its rapid growth in popularity over baseball.

Indeed, the league was fully conscious of the appeal of violence and marketed that aspect of the game. With the coming of NFL Films and the weekly program of highlights created at NFL films, violent hits and collusions were a major feature of the highlights. These films were augmented with sound effects, dramatic music, and the stentorian voice of John Facenda.

Living in the Midwest, I saw many Chicago Bear games and highlights and was inundated with Dick Butkus highlights. I was made aware of him as a formidable force every time the University of Illinois played the Minnesota Gophers.

I also remember a particular incident from a Bears’ game of October 24, 1971, when Chuck Hughes wide-receiver of the Detroit Lions collapsed on the field at Tiger Stadium, was carried off to Ford Hospital, and died within the hour.

It was a shocking event, but what I remember most was a photo that appeared widely across the media. It showed two NFL officials standing over Hughes as he lay on the field. In the foreground looking back at Hughes was Dick Butkus. This is not to suggest that Butkus had done anything to cause the death, but it was such a striking juxtaposition that it was burned into my memory. It was one of the first things I thought of when I read that Dick Butkus had died.

Then in the same season as the death of Hughes, Daryll Stingley was paralyzed in an exhibition game. In more recent times the growing awareness of the ramifications of concussions has led to rule and equipment changes to make the game “safer.” All of this reminded me of just how much has changed in the NFL and in football.

Among those changes is the way in which the NFL is presented in print, on television, and by NFL films. The focus on the collisions and violence has been greatly reduced, and the new focus is on the speed and athleticism of the game. It remains a violent sport, but this is no longer presented as something to glorify.

One result has been that NFL football is more entertaining than ever, and its popularity has increased with each passing season.

On Sport and Society this is Dick Crepeau reminding you that you don’t have to be a good sport to be a bad loser.



Copyright 2023 by Richard C. Crepeau



Here is a link to the photo mentioned in the text:

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