What is an amateur?

In recent years the gap between professional and amateur sports and their athletes has diminished considerably. In the age of the Internet and minute-by-minute sports updates on ESPN, we are constantly fed information about the up-and-coming stars in the world of sports.\nTo fully investigate the topic of amateur sports, I decided it would be best to first define the term amateur. In the dictionary, amateur is defined as "one who engages in a pursuit, study, science, or sport as a pastime rather than a profession." \nThis definition indicates an amateur would be a young athlete (from small children to a collegiate) who plays the game for pleasure and not necessarily as a means of promoting themselves.\nOne could argue that even at the youngest of ages we all aspire to be a professional at some point so we are participating in sports at more than an amateur status. But the key is the realization of when one no longer has the opportunity to keep playing sports. But in today's society, with the media frenzies all over young athletes, the games have surpassed amateur status as athletes are being exposed at their own expense.\nMedia outlets such as ESPN (and all of their TV and print\nsubsidiaries, they have too many to list in this entire article),\nSports Illustrated and all of the sport specific mediums have\nincreased publicity of so-called amateur athletes in recent years.\nThis increase in publicity has only provided more water cooler talk for the workplace and often sends rumors running rampant on the Web.\nGone are the days when water-cooler talk consisted of who your\nfavorite team was going to take in the upcoming draft. Present are the days of constantly critiquing and analyzing the recruiting process of a local high school (even junior high and elementary age kids in some instances) athlete and where they may end up playing college or professional ball.\nLebron James, the high school basketball phenom from Akron, Ohio, who will likely be the No. 1 pick in this year's NBA Draft, had his amateur status temporarily taken from him by the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA). James was suspended for the rest of the season before it was appealed and turned into a two-game suspension for accepting two "throwback" jerseys in exchange for pictures of James taken by a storeowner to put on his store wall.\nJames has been plastered on magazine covers, had multiple games televised on ESPN and has been a feature story on ESPN's "SportsCenter" and the OHSAA first investigated James for a Hummer H2 given to him by his mother for his 18th birthday. The fact that I can just mention the name Lebron and instigate a 20-minute conversation with a friend displays the over-publicizing of James' situation. Sure James is a great player (perhaps one of the best high school players ever), but he is just 18-years old and should still be\nan amateur in the pure sense of the term. But with all the media\nattention given to James, he gave up his amateur status long ago.\nAnother not so publicized, but equally intriguing story of an amateur athlete is that of 13-year-old golfer Michelle Wie. Wie, who already stands 5-feet-10-inches, can drive the ball a whopping 300 yards, farther than several men on the PGA Tour. Maybe that is why Wie has already tried to qualify for a PGA Tour event. In a qualifier last November for the 2003 Sony Open while shooting from the men's tees, Wie shot a one-over-par 73 and was just seven shots from qualifying.\nWie would be in junior high school if she was just your average\nteenager, but Wie is far from it. She not only anticipates playing on the PGA Tour, but expects to dominate the men on tour in the near future.\nWith amateurism all but gone from college, high school and even youth club sports, where can we look for good 'ole amateur sports where you shake hands after the game, drive home with family and friends and reminisce while dining at the local cafe?\nIf you are really in search of true amateurs in sports, look no\nfarther than your local pick-up game at the School of Health Physical Education and Recreation. Heck, even I'm available to play for a few throwback jerseys.