Post by ram29jackson on Nov 3, 2014 18:28:02 GMT -5
I decided not to hold a press conference because I didn't want to have to say things that were cliché
Today, game-day cameras follow the most popular players on teams; guys who dance after touchdowns are extolled on Dancing With the Starters; games are analyzed and brought to fans without any use of coaches tape; practice non-participants are reported throughout the week for predicted fantasy value; and success and failure for skill players is measured solely in stats and fantasy points. This is a very different model of football than the one I grew up with. My older brother coaches football at the high-school and youth level. One day he called me and said, "These kids don't want to work hard. All they wanna do is look cool, celebrate after plays, and get more followers on Instagram!" I told him that they might actually have it figured out.
I've always been a professional. But I am not an entertainer. I never have been. Playing that role was never easy for me. The box deemed for professional athletes is a very small box. My wings spread a lot further than the acceptable athletic stereotypes and conformity was never a strong point of mine. My focus has always been on becoming a better me, not a second-rate somebody else.
he is dropping hints and you don't even realize it.
peer gent said this years ago too
The following was sent to me by a fan. It was taken from "Long Island's Own Newspaper" Newsday dated December 8, 1978, and was attributed to Peter Gent, member of the Dallas Cowboys from 1964-68, and author of the great book North Dallas Forty:
"For there should be a fundamental difference between professional and amateur sports that goes beyond the technical distinction of whether athletes make money from their sport. I learned the difference at the end of training camp my rookie year with the Dallas Cowboys. Management called a meeting to explain the responsibilities of being a professional football player. The man to give the best advice was the team's public relations director. He told us: "Boys, this is show business." With these words in mind, nothing about professional sports, even Howard Cosell, is mystifying. Professional athletes are first and foremost show business, dealing in illusion and entertainment. The first responsibility of the players is to the audience, not themselves. If the audience wants winners, that is what is given. If it wants losers, that also it will get. The principle is the same for midget wrestling and the National Football League
"For there should be a fundamental difference between professional and amateur sports that goes beyond the technical distinction of whether athletes make money from their sport. I learned the difference at the end of training camp my rookie year with the Dallas Cowboys. Management called a meeting to explain the responsibilities of being a professional football player. The man to give the best advice was the team's public relations director. He told us: "Boys, this is show business." With these words in mind, nothing about professional sports, even Howard Cosell, is mystifying. Professional athletes are first and foremost show business, dealing in illusion and entertainment. The first responsibility of the players is to the audience, not themselves. If the audience wants winners, that is what is given. If it wants losers, that also it will get. The principle is the same for midget wrestling and the National Football League