Mike, I agree with you about the players. If I got a job and failed 70% of the time when it counted, I'd be fired in a heartbeat.
This is why I only call softball and not baseball, though you have some of the same mentality in a lot of the weekend warrior softball players who think that they're actually playing for something more than a t-shirt or a trophy in their sponsor's lobby. It's through that idol worship that we've done ourselves in - the players know that if they were to leave a particular team, the fans would revolt. Thus, the owners of the team are stuck between a rock and a hard place when the players don't perform as promised, yet the fans still seem to love them.
There are very few pro athletes whom I respect: Ron Dayne (I know he's football, but they're in the same pickle), Reggie White (again, footbal), Larry Bird, Robin Yount, etc. These guys play(ed) for love of the game, not the paycheck, and they are producers. They realized from the beginning that they're only one small part of a team, and that they get nowhere as individuals. Yet if they play together as a team, they stand a much better chance at success.
We no longer value character in an athlete, but rather the character athletes. Look at Dennis Rodman, Shaq, Michael Vick, etc. These are the characters that our children idolize, yet they bring nothing to the table in terms of values. It's all money, look at me, money.
So where/when did we go wrong? Free agency? Mass televised marketing?
"Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?"