The Virginian-Pilot
                             THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Wednesday, July 19, 1995               TAG: 9507190002
SECTION: FRONT                    PAGE: A10  EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Letter 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   27 lines

ALL FANS STUPID?

Many editorial cartoons and writers, the latest being columnist Tony Snow, depict fans who are attending baseball games again as gluttons for punishment because neither the players nor the owners seem to care about them.

I would like these questions answered by those who hold this view: One, is baseball any different from other sports whose players and owners put their pocketbooks before the fan? Two, isn't the attraction the game rather than those in the uniform? Three, why must this particular form of entertainment place such an emphasis on how much money the performers make?

A baseball player gets criticized for making $2 million a year, but no one complains about the salaries of the likes of Michael Jackson, Sylvester Stalone or Oprah Winfrey.

LANCE SMITH

Virginia Beach, July 14, 1995 by CNB