The school district for which I drive is a state football power, one of the largest schools with historically one of the best teams in the state. Last year I drove the team to a road game against a school in a lower classification and watched my school win something like 45-6. Over the course of the year I probably watched them play 3-4 other times, usually smashing other schools, and it quickly became apparent to me just how expected this was...at one game I was listening to fans, parents or maybe alumni, gripe about mistakes they were making even as they were up by 40 points. When we would score, there was no joy; when the other team might get a first down, there was frustration, almost anger. At another game we were up again by 30 points or so, and I was sitting behind the student section. Most of the game they weren't paying attention, but at another point a chant started up. "This is boring! (clap clap clap clap clap). This is boring! (clap clap clap clap clap)" Ultimately they lost in the state semifinals. People were not happy.
I mention this because last night in the home opener our school lost 22-21 to the same team they had beaten 45-6 last season on the road. I'm guessing that people around here are gonna be ticked off today. I'm sure over the next few weeks I will be overhearing conversations about how bad the coach is or the players or lazy or whatever...but it strikes me that the great problem is simply that people feel entitled. When there is continued success, people think that somehow they deserve it and have every right to bitch and moan when they no longer get it.
We are entitled in this generation in so many ways. The lady sitting in the Wal-Mart parking lot waiting for a low-paid worker to load up her car from her online order, moaning about how long it takes. The 65 year old man I know who got evicted from his apartment but won't get a job in order to pay for a new one as he awaits another woman to come into his life and take care of him. The parents who expect their kids to eat both breakfast and lunch at school for free even as they drive around in a $75K SUV.
In many ways we have been blessed for so long, and in so many ways, that we won't know how handle a little bit of adversity as it comes upon us. As our idiot president continues to tank the economy and alienate us from all of our allies, things are gonna start getting much worse in the coming months. People are going to really be in a world of hurt if they think they can keep eating out all the time, spending hundreds of dollars on sports tickets, and drive around gas-guzzlers that are far more vehicle than they need. I'll be curious to see how people will adapt...but my instinct is that things are not going to go well.
