To the editor:

As cutting-edge as they might believe their opinions to be, Greg Jerrett and Ben Godar make the same tired whines against the world of sports that every outsider makes. Since neither of the two Daily columnists has the fortitude or determination to be an athlete, what right do they have to belittle the ones who do?

How exactly do Godar and Jerrett contribute more to society than a professional athlete? Maybe I am just a meathead, but I find Charles Barkley’s basketball game to be just as worthwhile as Godar’s and Jerrett’s column writing. But I hesitate to put their column writing on the same level as a ball going through a hoop — their columns rarely seem to hit any sort of target with accuracy.

Take Godar’s complaint against pro athletes who are idolized for being “average, productive members of society.”

Those athletes are good athletes because they treat it as a full time career. If they have other talents, then those athletes should be respected.

Godar expects more out of an athlete than society should of any man or woman.

And in usual fashion, Jerrett manages to base his arguments on a perspective so narrow it makes the view through a helmet-cam look expansive in comparison.

Yes, if you reduce sports to the action of putting a ball through a hoop, sports are worthless. One could say column writing, when reduced to the action of hitting keys on a keyboard, is a meaningless pursuit as well.

As long as we are talking about getting a “real” degree, I would hope someone who majors in English would recognize the value of the themes of courage and perseverance that are the very soul of sport.

There is one point on which Jerrett is correct: There are very few Michael Jordans in this world. But there are very few Mike Roykos and Dave Barrys as well, and quite frankly, Jerrett and Godar are neither. And yet the two still write, for better or worse, and I don’t accuse them of pissing their lives away.

Godar and Jerrett should realize how similar in direction their logic is with a foul ball.

Dan Nguyen

Freshman

Computer engineering