SUPERBOWL XLIX

I don’t mind competitive sports – or the fact that many professional sports athletes train so hard to achieve their wildest dreams.  Let’s take a look at how much professional athletes get paid or what their contracts are worth…..

FOOTBALL

1. Matt Ryan ($43.8 million)
2. Matthew Stafford ($33 million)
3. Peyton Manning ($27.1 million)
4. Darrelle Revis ($23.8 million)
5. Geno Atkins ($22.4 million)

BOXING

1. Floyd Mayweather ($105 million)
2. Manny Pacquiao ($41.8 million)
3. Wladimir Klitschko ($28 million)
4. Canelo Alvarez ($21 million)

SOCCER

1. Cristiano Ronaldo ($80 million)
2. Lionel Messi ($64.7 million)
3. Zlatan Ibrahimovic ($40.4 million)
4. Gareth Bale ($36.4 million)
5. Radamel Falcao ($35.4 million)

BASKETBALL

1. LeBron James ($72.3 million)
2. Kobe Bryant ($64.7 million)
3. Derrick Rose ($36.6 million)
4. Kevin Durant ($31.9 million)
5. Dwayne Wade ($29.9 million)

These salaries and endorsements for these athletes totalled $838.2 million dollars, according to Forbes:

http://www.forbes.com/athletes/list/#tab:overall

Here are some statistics for this years Superbowl – Superbowl XLIX:

• 118.5 million viewers watched the halftime show
• 120.8 million viewers in the 4th quarter

**Above statistics from Nielson Ratings**

• $4.5 million – cost to run a 30 second ad during this years Superbowl.

The NFL is listed as a not-for-profit who’s commissioner was paid $44 million last year.  Taxpayers are losing $10 million due to the tax exemption the NFL is granted as a not-for-profit….does this make sense?

Couldn’t $4.5 million be used to fight poverty or feed the hungry?  The brands that are paying these professional athletes – are they allocating the same amount of money to charities as they give to athletes as endorsements?  Is it justifiable to give athletes millions of dollars in salaries while those who are committed in saving lives receive a fraction of that?

In a world that is continually being divided due to income inequality and the tax breaks that big businesses receive – is it any wonder that world citizens are craving for a revolution?  The distribution of wealth, corporate greed, corrupt governments and politicians are the reasons why people are at a breaking point. 

Would 120 million viewers be as engaged if they were exposed to commercials about the violence animals face on a daily basis?  Would people be more concerned about the planet if they understood the implications of how these same brands are polluting and destroying the earth in order to advertise and sell their products? 

It would be fantastic to see a PETA, Greenpeace or WWF ad during the Superbowl.  People need to be made aware of what is happening in our world and commercials from these real not-for-profit organizations would definitely engage them to act.  Maybe it’s time the NFL start thinking about creating real positive change in the world.

Together, we can make the world a more positive one!

 

 

NO ONE SHOULD BE DENIED THE LUXURY OF LOVE

The Michael Sam kiss stirred much controversy – only because it was a male-on-male kiss.  We have never seen this type of scrutiny over a heterosexual kiss.  People need to realize that we are not all the same and there are different types of relationships.  I don’t recall as much controversy on the show ‘Sister Wives’ and their polygamist lifestyle (which I believe, doesn’t really justify the sanctity of marriage).  Needless-to-say, this group of polygamists are supposed to be in a loving and devoted marriage consisting of 1 man and 4 wives.  Yet – many of the religious right are outraged by two men kissing on live television.  Shouldn’t we be encouraging people to celebrate love?

Bill Maher gives his perspective on the kiss and I applaud him!

Love doesn’t just happen to a man and a women – it happens to all men and all women.  There are all types of love – love for your friends, love for your family, love for your pets, love for a television program/celebrity – there is also love for a partner, soul-mate, lover and spouse.  If we grant, respect and validate this type of love for a man and a women, why is the concept so hard to grasp for two men or two women who love each other?  Simply – religion.  People take certain (not all) religious passages to be the word of God – only when it suits their purpose and only to justify their hate and ignorance for what they don’t understand or simply – what they don’t like.  To them, I say:  “Life is too short to waste hating someone you don’t even know.  Don’t tell me that what you believe is what is – because when it comes to LOVE and being in love – no one should be denied that luxury.”

Together, we can make the world a more positive one!

 

LOVE in all its GAY glory…..

Whenever something life altering happens in our lives – we usually face those moments with our loved ones.  Our friends and our family are the people we rely on to share moments of grief, love, loss, excitement, success and failures with.  They help us move forward in the tougher times and they keep us grounded in our successes.

Michael Sam has become the first openly gay man in the NFL in being drafted by the St. Louis Rams.  Here is his reaction:

This special moment was tarnished by those individuals who view homosexuality as deviant, an abomination, against natural law and just plain wrong.  Love is love.  It takes a special kind of man to show this type of vulnerability to the world.  Ignorance will always rear its ugly head and those who are against this type of love darken our world.

Michael Sam’s expression of his love for his partner is something I have been waiting to see for a lifetime.  Media has always shown the gay community in a different light – and always during GAY PRIDE events around the world were many people are in ‘party mode’.  The above video shows that we are just like everyone else – in a loving and supportive way.

For all of you who read this and are uncomfortable with this moment….you must look within and ask yourself “What is it about ME that is finding this loving moment uncomfortable?”  After all, it is only LOVE and that is what makes our world go round.

Together, we can make the world a more positive one! 

SPEAKING FROM THE HEART and FROM LOVE

I don’t know much about Dale Hansen and have not even heard of him until someone shared this video on Facebook.  Now, I am glad that I know of Dale Hansen and wish that all people felt the same way as he does…..this video should be an inspiration to all of us to speak of others with respect, love and without judgment.

Together, we can make the world a more positive one!