It’s that time of year to humor me once again and to tolerate my annual salute to football season, with a twist. If you are reading this on Thursday, Sept. 8 then tonight is the first NFL game of the season featuring last year’s two Super Bowl teams, the Denver Broncos vs. the Caroling Panthers. And if you are not a football fan and you are considering turning the page of your copy of the News, hold on a second. This article is not about the upcoming season or my obsession with the NFL. It deals with the small percentage of “goofballs” and misguided souls that make up the NFL.
In my humble opinion, highly paid professionally football players (as well as baseball and basketball professionals) should wake up every morning laughing out loud proclaiming, “Can you believe this sh**, they’re paying me fifteen million dollars a year for playing a game? What a great country!” Then they should drop to their knees and thank God for their unbelievable good fortune of possessing their athletic abilities.
Consequently, due to the unbridled arrogance and disregard for others of many of today’s superstar athletes I have little patience and less sympathy for those who fall from grace and screw up their charmed lives by engaging in senseless, thoughtless, idiotic, self-destructive acts of incredible insanity and stupidity. Although the list has grown long over the years, presently, the most glaring example of such buffoonery proves to be Johnny “Football” Manziel, who should be renamed Johnny “Numbskull” Manziel! He has unlimited talent and the common sense of a gnat. Although Mr. Numbskull is a current example, other players over the years have exhibited far worse anti-social behavior.
Travis Henry, who played for the Bills, Titans and Broncos, is one of my favorite examples of the wayward athlete. He played in the NFL from 2001 to 2007. A decent career where he made gobs of money for playing a football. Unfortunately for Mr. Henry he had an expensive, compulsive habit he just couldn’t seem to control. Drugs, gambling or booze you ask? No, having babies…actually impregnating women who later had his babies. By last count he had fathered nine kids with (I love this part) nine different women. Okay, I’m no rocket scientist, however, if it were me, after let’s say my fourth or fifth baby, I might consider using protection or maybe even having every mans dreaded procedure of “snip-snip.” Not good ole’ Travis. Apparently he wanted to field his own nine-child baseball team called The Henry’s, with a Henry at every position. Hey Travis, you need a coach…one more for the road I guess—any volunteers? I’m guessing the nine single mothers are not all receiving their child support payments on a regular basis. Of course, he went broke, got involved with a drug deal and was sentenced to three years in jail in 2009.
I could fill up hundreds of pages detailing the exploits of naughty athletes but what’s the point? We’ve all seen this immoral, antisocial behavior repeated over the years by misguided (okay, reckless) overpriced crybabies who couldn’t handle their fantastic good fortune with dignity class and humility. I realize it’s a small percentage but come on, give me a break.
And, before you start feeling sympathetic, remember these guys receive stern, unfiltered warnings of the pitfalls of stardom and the sudden shock of a multi-million-dollar bank account. Their college coaches, agents, professional coaches, families and peers continually educate them on the dangers of straying too far from doing the right thing, hanging out with the wrong crew, driving drunk and oh yes, murdering people (see Aaron Hernandez and Rae Carruth). In a nutshell, steer clear of impending doom that might sully your reputation and more importantly decrease your ample bank account. I do understand that being young, rich, and in top physical condition can bring on a belief of superiority and invincibility but, dudes, think before making a mistake that could ruin your gifted life. You’ve got the world by the ba**s, enjoy it!
I’ll leave you with a favorite quote of mine—“The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it.” — Norman Schwarzkoph.
