Dropped Passes, Etc.

I have been following football as a spectator since 1967 and I am always amazed at a certain phenomenon of the sport (this applies to other sports as well). As you probably know, football is a very popular sport in the United States. Kids start out early in life playing sandlot football and touch or flag football at school. And then, there are organized youth football leagues that introduce them to tackle football. In junior and senior high school, most schools have football teams which filter out the best players to be on them. And then only the best players from the high school teams are able to be on college teams. And only the best players on a team can actually get out on the field and play regularly. And only those players who have exhibited supreme talent, strength, knowledge, and speed in their college football careers even remotely have a chance to be selected to be on a National Football League team. And only the best of those can actually be starters!. So, tell me, dear readers, why then do I turn my TV on and watch NFL games where players are constantly: dropping easy passes, moving on the line of scrimmage or jumping off-sides, hitting opposing players hard when they are already down or out-of-bounds, throwing awful passes, not protecting the football properly when carrying it, and foolishly mismanaging the clock at the close of a game or half? The last point applies just as strongly, if not more, to the teams' coaches!

It is as if, at each new level of an athlete's career, said athlete must completely relearn the fundamentals of the sport. But when I see a highly-paid professional receiver just out-and-out drop an easy pass, I remember me, as a little kid, never having any trouble at all hanging on to a ball once it was thrown to me. I don't mind my team being outplayed by another in a game anywhere near as much as I mind my team making stupid mistakes that they should have outgrown in high school at the latest!