I took some time off from my labors today and watched some football. I thought I'd share a few thoughts. First of all, I hate to see Brett Farve's life going down the tubes like this. That's probably putting it strongly. His life, compared to most people's, is probably going pretty good. I wish he had retired before this year started. Even though I don't like the Packers, I've always liked Brett. The deal with the alleged texts to the lady reporter is distressing to him and his family, I'm sure. To get embarassed by Green Bay today had to be a bitter pill to swallow. I hope he goes ahead and retires tommorow. It looks as though he may be suspended anyway. In my opinion he is one of the top ten quarterbacks in NFL history.
Tough day for Vince Young. By all accounts a bad thumb injury on his throwing hand, a tiff with his coach, threw his shoulder pads into the stands etc. What most of us don't understand is that fame is like a magnifying glass. It exposes our faults. More importantly, the pressures brought on by fame and even wealth can manipulate insecurities that are buried so deep that they'd never cause a problem in a regular guy.
I'm not trying to make excuses for people, I'm just saying normal folks can't understand a life totally alien to them. Hopefully, Vince can rebound from his troubles. The bottom line is, people are more important than sports.
It seems painfully clear to me now, as an old guy, that America and the world are way too serious about sports. What used to be an opportunity for exercise and recreation has morphed into something a bit intense. Good sportsmanship is considered a wimpish, idealistic throwback to another era. This doubtless sounds funny coming from a guy who threw a glass of milk against the wall one day. The occasion was during a playoff game when the Falcons gave up three touchdowns in the final few minutes of the game to the Dallas Cowboys. I really think we could have won the Super Bowl that year. Steve Bartkowski was our quarterback back then. He could throw the deep ball as well as anyone. In those days they called it 'throwing the bomb'. At any rate, the Falcons lost the game and I was in the doghouse with my wife. Deservedly so.
From the author's green retreat, I'm CE Wills.
PS: I don't even have a doghouse around here now.
Tough day for Vince Young. By all accounts a bad thumb injury on his throwing hand, a tiff with his coach, threw his shoulder pads into the stands etc. What most of us don't understand is that fame is like a magnifying glass. It exposes our faults. More importantly, the pressures brought on by fame and even wealth can manipulate insecurities that are buried so deep that they'd never cause a problem in a regular guy.
I'm not trying to make excuses for people, I'm just saying normal folks can't understand a life totally alien to them. Hopefully, Vince can rebound from his troubles. The bottom line is, people are more important than sports.
It seems painfully clear to me now, as an old guy, that America and the world are way too serious about sports. What used to be an opportunity for exercise and recreation has morphed into something a bit intense. Good sportsmanship is considered a wimpish, idealistic throwback to another era. This doubtless sounds funny coming from a guy who threw a glass of milk against the wall one day. The occasion was during a playoff game when the Falcons gave up three touchdowns in the final few minutes of the game to the Dallas Cowboys. I really think we could have won the Super Bowl that year. Steve Bartkowski was our quarterback back then. He could throw the deep ball as well as anyone. In those days they called it 'throwing the bomb'. At any rate, the Falcons lost the game and I was in the doghouse with my wife. Deservedly so.
From the author's green retreat, I'm CE Wills.
PS: I don't even have a doghouse around here now.
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