"There was a time in America when contests of athletic prowess were a metaphor for the nobility of man. Historic moments forged by the love of the game celebrated the human potential to achieve excellence. But as time passed, something went awry. The ideal of sportsmanship took a back seat to excessive celebration. The athletes cared less about the game and more about planning the vulgar grandstanding that inevitably followed even the most pedestrian of accomplishments.

"Players sold their services to the highest bidder much like the hired guns of the old west. Soon it was commonplace for entire teams to change cities in search of greater profits. The spirit of athletic competition, however, indeed was not dead. Its seed merely laid dormant in the dreams of the young."

That's the opening narration to the movie BASEketball. Now, I realize that it's not what most would consider a halfway decent source - or even a halfway decent movie depending on who you ask- but as far as I'm concerned, as purposely absurd as the writers make it seem, it's a pretty accurate commentary on professional sports in America.

I thought back to the opening of BASEketball when I opened up one of my favorite Christmas gifts from this year, my 2009 ESPN Sports Almanac. As I sifted through the pages one night, I came across a section titled, "Business".

As a diehard Cleveland fan, I wanted to be sick when I saw the full-page picture that went with the heading. It was then Seattle Sonics owner Clay Bennett standing on a podium beaming as he announces his team's move to Oklahoma City last year. I was immediately reminded of the heartsick and the disgust I felt, and still feel today, when Art Modell (the antichrist) hijacked the Browns and took them to Baltimore in 1995.

My disgust grew as I turned the page to see a list of 10 "less-than-stable franchises whose owners just might be watching the developments in Seattle with special interest." Among them were the Nashville Predators, the New Orleans Hornets, the Minnesota Vikings, the Tampa Bay Rays, and one team that hits home for some UD students, the Buffalo Bills.

I immediately thought that no fan base should ever have to go through the pain that Cleveland, Seattle, and Baltimore fans, among others have had to suffer when its teams left town. As far as I'm concerned, relocating a team is one of the most despicable acts that an owner can commit. More often than not, the moves, much like Modell's was, are driven by money and new stadium deals and it should be a crime.

We hate it sometimes, but franchise relocation and free agency remind us that professional sports are businesses.

We understand but it makes us sick to see leagues become machines fueled by money. We want so badly the passion and the purity of the games to return to the pro ranks but we know that those days are long gone.

As a professor of mine said Friday, there's a distinction between a national pastime and a national passion. He said that college sports have now become the national passion because they've maintained the enthusiasm and the purity that pro sports lack until the playoffs roll around in each league.

So among the heartsick and disgust you feel when your team (God forbid) is stolen from you and relocates or your favorite player leaves town for the biggest paycheck - take solace in the purity and passion of college sports. Think back to the opening of BASEketball and know that the spirit of athletic competition remains strong in the dreams of the young.