Sniper I have one major issue with what you write here and it is the HUGE green envious chip you have sitting on your shoulder.
"for me, the thought of - with all due respect - really dumb people like Messi and Ronaldo making so much money that the next 10 or 15 generations of their offspring will never have to work a single minute is unbearable.
Guys like Sutton and Wiggins same story of course.
Not that I don't wish them good fortune, but we're talking about really dumb people here who otherwise would be happy to stack shelves in tesco, people also who do absolutely nothing useful with their immense wealth except driving expensive cars, buying small islands and 'growing' their fortune by evading tax and creating fake charities.
For me, pro-sport as it is contributes absolutely nothing useful to the world, except turning it into a place where cheating is the norm"
Firstly - and lets get this straight from the start. There has been cheating in every sport PRO and Amateur since time began. There was evidence of cheating at the very first olympiad.
Amateurs cheat as so do Pro's
People cheat in their professional careers even when it is not a sporting career. So making cheating the norm is not only for sports people.
Also just because someone plays sport doesn't make them dumb. YOu would be surprised at the number of people who are probably quite a bit smarter than you who play sport. And suprisingly the number of footballers with more than one degree would surprise you. For instance the Vladimir Klitschko (professional boxers - who dumb must boxers be spend their days getting their heads bashed) well Vladmimir has a number of degrees is a grand master at chess. The list of professional Rugby players who are pretty smart is also rather long. as I am sure it is in other sports as well.
Secondly the usefulness of sport is that is creates an atmosphere of belonging within the community and replaces the tribalism that was lost when we all became faceless cogs in the industrial wheel. It gives people the opportunity to enjoy success which they may not have in their own lives and allows them to feel free of their cares and worries for a brief respite during the game or in the afterglow of a win.
It also allows for these "dumb" people to be able to lift themselves out of the poverty and crime and lives cut short through violence and despair. These "dumb" people are human beings who have a skill, like it or not, some people have mental agility and acumen, others have physical prowess. For you to determine that a "dumb" young argentinian kid who could kick a ball harder than his peers at 11 years old has no right to go on and make money using that skill and to become one of the richest footballers in the world. Is both hateful and shows your own true inner envy of people who are successful. Maybe you should take some time and go talk to the youth coaches at any football club, boxing club, rugby club, or swimming club and see how many of these young kids living in dire situations dream of emulating the people who lifted themselves out of poverty and became a hero to millions.
Lastly and possibly the most ridiculous part of your post - Pro sport does nothing for this world.
As for your quoted Messi and Ronaldo, When was the last time you set up a charitable foundation and put 1/3 of your 110 million dollars per year into it.? When was the last time you gave $500,000 to a hospital in your home town? when was the last time you traveled the world at you r own expense for unicef to help children and raise awareness. Take a look at the charitable donations of tiger woods, Elli Manning, Dikembe Mutombo, Derek Jeter, Andre Agassi, Haile Gabrselassie in Ethiopia and all he does, David Beckham has not set up numerous academies in east london to help underprivileged children then I take it or thousands of other footballers across the uk and the world. The Top NFL players all have charitable foundations and all do good in their communities mainly because these "Dumb" poorly spoken guys came from the street gangs and watched many of their friends die from drugs and guns. So do many of the NBA and the NHL players. There are hundreds of millions of pounds put back into the world every year by professional sports people to help communities and help children and others to make their lives better.
So next time that green chimp on your shoulder starts whining about the "dumb" people who have fast cars and things you may not have I suggest to take a long hard look in the mirror before you start generalising and despising thousands of people because of your own misguided and uninformed prejudices.