Laws of Reflection

Last year in physics class we studied a number of different units ranging from projectile motion to energy, but one of the most hands-on units, reflection, was a true favorite of mine. For every unit my teacher, Mr. Lenox, was able to squeeze in one or two labs that demonstrated the laws or rules of such a subject. Therefore, for one lab we studied the laws of reflection and how mirrors perfectly reflect any light or image from any angle. Reflection is a law so simple and logical that we never even stop and think about it. But the thing is, its a law, a principle that all must abide by. This law was duly noted in our lab as we moved around different objects in front of a mirror and recorded their position on a piece of graphing paper under the mirror and said object. After establishing a point of reference on the object, you place dots of where that object actually is, and where it is reflected on the mirror. Trial after trial, it was easily demonstrated that the laws of reflection will always hold true no matter the circumstances. Now, science aside, it is the fact that the law of reflection held true no matter what, that is so important to my point.

As I moved the objects back and forth in front of the mirror, the mirror perfectly reflected the objects in a perfectly equal, but opposite, angle. The greater I created the object's angle from the mirror, the greater the angle of its reflected image became. Such rules are taken to different levels in society, especially when it comes to the current economic crisis. (Please bear with me for this analogy.)

See, as stocks rise and fall on Wall Street, so too do the emotions of every person and business in the United States. When the DOW drops to it's lowest point in decades, brokers become on the eve of suicide, businesses seconds away from bankruptcy, and the average American wondering if the money in their savings account for their child's education will still exist when they wake up tomorrow. This is a prime example of society following its own Laws of Reflection.

Now on the other hand, you have the sports industry - praised and aggrandized for all of its superstar athletes and overpaid talent. We give into the gimmick every day. Whether its catching a game on TV or buying that new jersey that you just HAD to have. All of these simple things fuel the industry's fire, and provide it with a demographic that becomes the perfect battering ram for all other shows, people, or business in its way. And to think that all of this commotion and attraction doesn't get into the heads of the athletes who play the games we love, is insane. Most athletes aren't even people anymore; they have become robots, and the men who steal their remote controls most of the time are their good ol' agents. A lot of agents conduct their business in the best interest of their client (and rightfully so), however, they always seem to take contract negotiations just a bit too far.


We live in a world where athletes fight for the top spot on societies pedestal, and somehow, multi-million dollar contracts are seen as the easiest, and best way at that, to view ones "wealth." Ergo, the more money you make, the more important you are than other players, and the more you are wealth than any player that tries to come close to your salary estimate. Players aren't satisfied with $100 million, they need to jack it up to $101, not so they can put their kid through school or use that money towards a charitable cause (as much as we would like to think that's what its for), but so they can say "Hey, that guy is playing 5 years for 100 mil, but I'm playing 5 for 101! Why don't you put that in your pipe and smoke it?"


But my point is that, why, during a total economic crisis, when it seems as though everyone is running around with their heads cut off, that the sports industry does stop spending their superfluous contracts when all of us know the players don't really NEED all of that money. Just look at the Yankees. I mean, they used enough money for three players this season to by a string of islands off the coast of New Zealand. In a time when everything seems to be following the "Law of Reflection" with regard to our country's economic status, the sports industry, especially a team like the Yankees, it not making cut-backs, but is backing up more materials into New York for a new stadium, and over paying athletes way past their true value. The NFL has had some problems in its office and instead of reaching into the pockets of owners for the cash, they followed suit with the rest of America and made some cuts. The rest of sports needs to buck up and open their eyes to what is really going on. I mean, its only science...