I will admit it, I am a Green Bay Packer fan. I am not one of these fairweather green and gold fans that considers the old days back when Brett Favre was a rookie. My childhood was defined by quarterbacks like Anthony Dilweg and aging Jim Zorn throwing wobbly passes to the likes of Phillips Epps and Walter Stanley. I remember when the two biggest games of the year were when the Packers would square off with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who somehow were even worse than we were year after year. I have enjoyed the good times and withstood the bad times as a Packer fan.
The last two years have not been great for Packer fans, as the Packers finished their second losing season in a row. Regardless of how they are doing, I watched both Packer games during my holiday break, and I enjoyed the games because I love football. I have to admit, however, that I was quite annoyed by the media applauding Aaron Rodgers for his effort and willingness to play in a “meaningless” game against the New York Jets. I don’t understand how a game can be “meaningless” to a professional athlete. Aaron Rodgers earns over $2 million a game playing football. I know he has been banged up a bit this year, but I don’t see asking him to play his heart out (which he did) to help his team win a game when he is earning that kind of money becomes “meaningless.”
I found myself further annoyed watching my beloved Wisconsin Badger football game compete in the Pinstripe Bowl against Miami. The media covering the game even referred to the game as “meaningless” for BOTH TEAMS. I have no background in broadcast journalism but that doesn’t seem to be a good strategy for getting TV ratings and selling advertisements. I realize that they are not playing for a national title and it isn’t the Rose Bowl. However, the players at Wisconsin, that are under scholarship, got to play an extra game, in historic Yankee Stadium, in one of the most incredible cities on Earth. That sounds to me like a memory to last a lifetime, and certainly not “meaningless.”
OK, enough about sports. The Thursday preceding our holiday break, I was talking to one of the parents in one of my children’s classes (they are middle school students) and they were not planning on sending their child because they were going to be having a “meaningless” day of activities at school. Apparently, we have become so focused in our educational goals for our children that a fun day of building social skills and strengthening relationships with peers and staff members is “meaningless.” My mother would have made me go to school on Saturdays if she could, and I don’t think she cared what I did there. That doesn’t suggest that she didn’t want me to learn; I just never once heard of a school day being referred to as “meaningless.”
It seems to me that society is beginning to feel that anything that is not spectacular, beautiful or historic, is “meaningless.” I certainly hope that staff at Monroe Clinic don’t see a day without something spectacular happening as “meaningless.” I hope my auto mechanic doesn’t feel changing my brake pads as “meaningless” and I certainly don’t want my cheeseburger cooked by someone that finds following health codes “meaningless.”
At times, I think social media and our society’s collective looking-glass self as contributing to this perspective on what is meaningful. Most days do not require that a television news crew be present. As productive members of society, we settle into routines. I believe that we should work hard, treat people as we would want to be treated, respect each other’s differences, and give to others that are less fortunate. While some might characterize this as “meaningless,” I take great pride in what is normal, and I believe that our lives are defined by what we do when other people are not watching.
On a brighter note, as adults we get to model what we expect for the next generation. I want my children to see that every day is meaningful, that love is miraculous and that they are never “meaningless.” I also want every child in our school district to feel that every day they go to school has meaning. They may not be swept away by calculus, they might be bored by grammar, they may not like running in physical education class; but they should never go through a day feeling it was “meaningless.”
Have a happy and meaningful new year and GO CHEESEMAKERS!
— Rick Waski is the district administrator for the School District of Monroe. He can be reached at 608-328-7109 or rickwaski@monroe.k12.wi.us.
