on this, a sports blogging site, many authors tend to steer clear of stretching "athletics" into other realms and spheres of influence.  as is the case with many posts on this site (as well as my own), the vast majority deal with statistics, rings, controversies, contests, and other topics that dominate the sports media market on a daily basis.

occasionally, some attempt to look further into a sports story or event, and explain why said event is occurring on a deeper level.  whether this explanation leads the audience into sociology, psychology, criminology, or any other measure of study, these are worth exploring, and i believe a greater percentage of the sports media circuit ought to be dedicated to this pursuit (much like the series "outside the lines" on espn).

an event that triggered this type of reaction within me was witnessed at steelers' training camp during the past few years.  my father and i have made it an annual trip (a "pilgrimage to latrobe," if you will), and we enjoy seeing the new draft picks, free agents, and coaches, as well as our favorites, like hines, troy, and alan faneca.

we first went two years ago, and we didn't know what to expect.  we didn't know what we were doing, where to go, or what other people around us were thinking or doing themselves.  when the gates to the camp opened, everyone (who was able) started sprinting up a hill toward the facility.  not knowing what was going on, i joined in and was one of the first to reach a fence outside the the player's dining hall. 

i soon realized this stampede was all a battle for position closest to the fence and the building to line up for autographs.  the players all walked from their position meetings, breakfast, and weight room in the building out onto the practice field.  i was lucky enough to get some signatures and talk to some players, then joined my father on our chairs to watch practice.

at the beginning and end of every practice, this race to meet the players and get autographs commenced once again.  combined with the limited space, unyielding heat, and large crowds, the players' discretion as to who gets "face time" and signatures puts many fans over the edge.  after competing in the first few races to the fence, i realized that it was safer and more relaxing and enjoyable to simply find a nice spot with my father, watch practice, and talk steelers football.

however, i didn't stop observing this ritualistic chase to five seconds of glory.  i noticed where players went, with whom they spoke, and to whom they granted autographs and meetings among the fans.  not surprisingly, players gave more attention (in the form of pictures, signatures, and talk time) to children in attendance. 

i never thought twice about this fact, since it seems so rational and routine.  athletes (and adults in general) warm up when they see children and grant them more attention.  this is a common theme amongst society as a whole and is taken as fact.  after i left camp and thought more about it, i came up with other reasons (other than the aforementioned) that children might be granted preferential treatment in this environment.

1) Good Public Relations - whether this derives from an athlete's own sense of morality, or it is pressured through by an agent, team official, or teammate, it makes sense for an athlete to show good nature towards children.  just as a political candidate will often take the time to pick up and hug a child before shaking an adult's hand, and just as a group seeking funding will use a child as their example of the severity of a problem (i.e. the term "posterchild"), athletes instantly gain credibility as a "family man," as well as being "down to earth," "personable," and "approachable."  in a sport as violent as football, and with a lifestyle that often mirrors on-the-field exploits, this is crucial to how the public perceives a player.

2) Ability to Identify - most players in the nfl have been football stars their entire lives.  from excelling in high school to attending a college with a free ride to entering the draft, these individuals have been focused on football and all that surrounds the sport for their entire lives...except from their early childhood.  if a player sees a middle-aged man with a nine-to-five job and a family standing next to an 8 year-old boy totally enthralled with their presence, the player can only identify with what the 8 year-old is thinking.  the player himself has been an 8-year-old with a favorite team and player, and can empathize with what the boy is thinking and feeling.  he has never been (and will most likely never be) a middle-aged man with a nine-to-five, since his career and financial situation will never require this type of work.  thus, he grants the child the autograph because he knows how he would feel if he received one as a child himself.

3) Solidifying Name - just as an athlete can better identify with what a younger fan is thinking, he also knows what it feels like to have one favorite player himself.  an athlete is aware, from his own experience, that one game, play, or personal interaction can "lock in" his name with a young fan for a longer period of time than it could with an adult.  oftentimes, athletes have undying praise and adulation for a player of a previous era, and should their eras overlap, the athlete is awestruck at the chance to play (alongside or against) his childhood idol.  adult fans are more likely to judge a player based on his body of work on the field, as well as keep athletes on a shorter leash.  they are more critical and less forgiving than children.  thus, it is easier for an athlete to indelibly mark himself as a child's favorite, and also make sure he is considered the child's favorite for a longer period of time, irregardless of quality of play, on-field success, and off-field incidents

4) Knowledge of Signature Use - when an athlete gives someone his signature, it is an extension of himself.  with the market for signed memorabilia skyrocketing, the simple act of adding a scribbled mark to an item instantly and exponentially increases its value.  athletes are told what they can and can't sign, how many items they can sign, and what they can charge per signature.  the sports memorabilia market is flooded with fake and real signatures from any athlete imaginable, and the purveyors of these goods see to make a significant profit on their sale.  if an autograph dealer buys a signed item and resells it for a higher price, he makes a profit equal to the difference in the transactions.  however, if he obtains it at a public event, such as a training camp, he then sells it for a 100% profit.  athletes know this fact, since they oftentimes deal directly with these businesses.  approached by a man with a binder full of hundreds of photos waiting to be signed and a child with a cap or trading card, the athlete will choose to give his signature to the child.  he is more confident that the signed item will be cherished and proudly displayed for a long period of time versus taken to a store, framed, and resold to another fan unable to make the trip to meet the player at a 100% profit to a man with the means to do so. 

5) Memorabilia Sales - most teams judge the popularity of their players based on the sales of that player's memorabilia.  nfl teams receive a royalty from each piece of memorabilia sold by their organization, retail stories, nfl shops, online, or any other venue.  they know how many fans are buying what items, and if a given item (such as a jersey or bobblehead doll) is player-specific, they can gauge a player's measurable popularity versus his peers on the team and within the league as a whole.  being that a higher percentage of disposable income is spent on sports- and team-related gifts and items for children than for adults, athletes know that if an 8-year-old tells his parents that he likes that athlete,  more memorabilia bearing his name and likeness will move off the shelves versus the outcome if a middle-aged man tells his wife the same.  this increases sales of said athletes' products, and the team judges him as more popular amongst the fan base, increasing his stock and bargaining power during contract negotiations.

6) Legacy - just as a player's popularity can be strengthened during his career by means of interaction with children (through good p.r. and increased memorabilia sales), his legacy has a greater chance of success following his retirement as well.  the topic of an athlete's increased ability to "lock in" his namesake with younger fans has already been discussed, but this oftentimes extends well past his playing career.  when this young fan grows up to have influence over other fans, he will spread his knowledge and conviction about his favorite childhood player with others.  if he is a simple fan of sports, he can reminisce with friends or blog on a site such as this.  if he is a father and husband, he can share his affinity for this player with his family (like my father did with jack lambert and like i will do with hines ward), creating a brand new fan base in another generation for the given athlete.  if he acquires a position in sports media or administration, then he can have even greater influence over a broader audience of sports fans and the public alike.  let's say the young fan in question is the 8 year-old who attends training camp and his favorite athlete is a 3rd-year player who is 24 years old.  that means that when the fan is in his late 20s and early 30s, the athlete will be in his mid- and late-40s, the prime time for an athlete to become a coach, media personality, or voted into the hall of fame.  personality and popularity matter a great deal in all of these pursuits, and any candidate for any of these positions requires a solid and broad fan base to support their cause. 

i don't know if all of these assertions are accurate, as i do not claim to be a sociologist or psychologist.  i simply wanted to share my thoughts with this audience, with the hope that you all would provide feedback about this issue from personal experiences or thoughts of your own.  at the very least, this post shows how a simple act or interaction with a fan more than 20 years prior can do quite a bit to alter the athlete's career and post-career life in many ways.  perhaps next time you see mean joe greene throw a child his jersey in the famous coke commercial from over a quarter century ago, you will think about what is going through mean joe's mind, and how it has impacted his legacy to this day.