The Morning According to Us

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We can almost relate. Almost.

We once fearlessly predicted that sports would thrive in the current recession. And while it remains far from terrible for teams and leagues and the rich men who own and run them, it is just as true today to say that PGA and NASCAR sponsors have pulled out, the Rooneys have to raise capital to sell the Steelers, and Tom Brady is taking his Manhattan high-rise off the market for the second time this year. And we admit it: We kind of enjoy this suffering.

It's admittedly Schadenfreude. We want what they have—the money, the fame, maybe even the women, but most of all the promise—underwritten by all that money—that the good times need never end. They do of course, and sometimes dramatically, but often it's a case of poor management. When it's an effect of the economy, like A-Rod having to rent out his condo, it makes athletes less omnipotent. Because it's otherwise infuriating that they tend not to care about national affairs and yet can buy huge spreads in that mortgage wasteland of California just because no one else has the money to.

But but here's the rub: As more and more athletes suffer (relatively speaking), it also makes more and more of their suffering human. In an age in which athletes do their best to control every message they deliver—therefore making each message distant—their economic woes are ones the rest of us can relate to. It's a strange phenomenon, an athlete's struggling finances is the last avenue in which he's like the rest of us. We can't help but relate to them, and like them even more. After all: Tom Brady is out of work this year, too, and his portfolio is getting clobbered.

You almost feel sorry for the guy.

Elsewhere…

A narcoleptic biker is allowed back on his ride. Is this inspirational?

This is what happens when you let surfers bust out the cameras during Halloween. Awesomeness. (And gnarliness.)

Subprime, not a calamitous idea in lending, but a horse that has won a race.

There's a ton of money in it if you can clean up in racing on the European circuit, where the sport is a much bigger deal.

The top ranked matador in the world tries his hand at the marathon.

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