Costas calls Mets to apologize after slamming celebration

Costas calls Mets to apologize after slamming celebration:

'via Blog this'

Bob Costas may or may not be one's cup of tea as a broadcaster, but it's hard not to give him credit in a world where ex-jocks and other assorted know-nothings occupy the ranks of sports broadcasters. Costas is an intelligent and knowledgeable fellow who always brings a sense of context and history to events that he works at.

So, with a heavy heart I have to scold him for caving on this apology to the NY Mets for his description of their over-the-top end of game "celebration" for a walk off win in a recent game.

At the time, Costas equated the Mets end of game antics with "the ongoing decline of western civilization", an exaggerated but commonly used idiom that describes with disapproval a lack of class, or unnecessary tastelessness. After several Mets players responded angrily to this, Costas has issued an apology to the Mets.

Too bad for Costas. His initial criticism was right on, and I wish he had stuck to his guns. The Mets, perennial underachievers, are plodding through yet another 'rebuilding' season where there is little hope or excitement for their fans at all. Their play is too often characterized as listless, and the mood of the team, from ownership down through players, to their hapless but genial manager, is one of defeat and despair.

For a team in this state of disrepair, going nowhere and showing as little life as a professional athletic team can show, to celebrate a lucky mid-season victory as though they had just won a World Series game is a curious and pathetic sight to behold.

It isn't as if a win isn't important, or that the players aren't entitled to being happy and expressing their emotions. It's just that the fans of the team, what few paying ones they have left, are entitled to seeing more spirited play on a consistent basis, and not just when they are fortunate enough to win an occasional game.

Wins are never required. Effort always is.