

Mother lode of greetings now untapped


Sunday is a special day, and on behalf of the sports world, I'd like to say something to all you mothers out there.

We're sorry.

You used to be on the tips of our tongues. Now we're so caught up in ourselves, we hardly can remember the little phrase that said so much.

Hi, Mom!

Think about it. When players or fans used to look up to find a TV camera in their face, there was only one thing to say. If you turn on tonight's Pistons-Bulls game, you're much more likely to see Rasheed Wallace beating his chest than sending a shout-out to Mom.

"It's not just basketball," Grant Hill said.

From football benches to baseball dugouts to the cheapest seats in the building, you're seeing fewer "Hi, Moms" than ever. Nobody actually keeps track of such things, but it sure seems as though public displays of motherly affection have waned.

"Now that I think about it, you're probably right," Jed Drake said.

He's a senior vice president and executive producer at ESPN. Drake has spent 30 years watching players and fans react to the camera. But Mom was always the Go-To Gal even before the red light came on.

Mother Earth, Mother Nature, the Virgin Mary. There's probably a cave drawing where a hunter is standing over a fallen woolly mammoth and mouthing a prehistoric "Ugh. Hi, Mom!"

It was easy to write, easy to say and a lot easier to make out than "Hi, Regis!" When people were surprised to find themselves on TV, they always could fall into the comforting arms of you-know-who.

"It became almost cultural," Drake said.

It was the perfect sound bite for a quick-take world. Even angry feminists (or is that redundant?) couldn't complain.

"My father used to ask, 'Why don't they ever say, 'Hi, Dad?' " Hill said.

A father's love may be unconditional, but his patience can end when you strike out with the bases loaded. Your mother wouldn't care if you turned into a miniature Bill Buckner.

So why are we forgetting her name? If Sigmund Freud were still around, maybe he'd have the answer. The best I can come up with is the Mom Generation has become the Me Generation.

College students certainly seem stuck on themselves. A recent study by a San Diego State researcher found that narcissism and entitlement are at an all-time high. And Paris Hilton wasn't even among the 16,000 students surveyed.

Technology is partially to blame. People used to sit on the porch and converse. Now they sit at computers and promote themselves on YouTube or MySpace. The sports application is pretty simple.

"Everybody wants to be on the highlights," Hill said.

You can do it the old-fashioned way, by hitting a homer or catching a touchdown. But now you also can do it by celebrating yourself after the play.

ESPN becomes ME-SPN at 11 p.m. One player celebrated with a Sharpie; the next broke out a cell phone. They may love their moms, but they'd rather call themselves.

Psychologists say narcissism leads to the breakdown of close relationships. That explains why Terrell Owens has played for so many teams, none of which ever changed his diaper.

When it comes to close relationships, one came first. It always should have a place in sports, especially this Sunday.

If the red light hits them, here's hoping players and fans look into the camera and remember whose day it really is.

Without her, they wouldn't even have a chest to beat.

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