I Don't Get it

When I was a kid, all I wanted to be when I grew up was a professional baseball player. I could not get enough of the sport, and all of my hero's were ball players. Other than my Father, they were the only role models I looked up to. My favorite players changed as they retired, or I got older. They started with Johnny Bench and Reggie Jackson and went on to Roger Clemens and Eric Davis. Aside from recent allegations against Clemens, they were good, clean-cut role models. They stayed out of trouble and gave back to their community. They understood that without the fans, they would not have a job. My 7 year old son is the same way. He loves baseball. His hero's are Ken Griffey JR; Adam Dunn, and Ryan Freel.....all good people to look up too. Like my hero's, they set good examples and care about the game and the fan's.

The odds of becoming a pro athlete are about as good as me becoming a model. Even becoming a college superstar is extremely difficult. So here is what I don't get: Why is it that so many pro and college athletes today take their status for granted? If you are one of the lucky ones who is talented enough to get paid millions of dollars for playing a game, wouldn't you do everything in your power to keep from ruining that? Do they realize how many of us would give anything to have a shot in their shoes? I would play pro baseball for league minimum and never care if my pay went up. Hell, the minimum is like $250,000. Where am I going to get a 9-5 job that pays that? That is how much I love, and respect the game.

So why are their so many morons out there? The best example of this is Chris Henry, but he disgusts me too much to talk about. I understand that a number of factors go into why certain people behave the way they do, but come on. There is nothing that happened in his childhood that can excuse his behavior as a famous, rich, adult with a responsibility to his fans and his employer. Enough said about C.H.

let's talk about all the other stars who make bad decisions. Most recently Drew Lavender of Xavier University. He was just arrested on drunk and disorderly conduct, and pot possession. He was slated to attend a camp for college players looking to go pro. Now he does not know if he will even be allowed to attend. Was that joint and that beer worth the possibility of missing out on a childhood dream, not to mention millions of dollars. I sure hope that was one sweet doobie. The University of Cincinnati recently had 2 of it's football players arrested on drug charges, along with one of their incoming Freshman. Again...was it worth it? My guess is no. What angers me the most is that I would love to have played college and pro sports, but it was not in the cards for me. These guys get a chance to live my dream, and they spit on it. I understand that normal people with normal lives do the same thing. Whether it's a guy living on the streets or a millionaire CEO. The difference is our kids do not look up to them and they are not in the public spotlight on a daily basis.

Maybe I am missing something. Maybe there is more to what goes into their thought process than I understand. Take Chad Johnson for instance. The guy gets a $25,000 bonus just for attending workouts last month. What does he do? He skips it. $25,000 to get in shape? I'll go in his spot. I guess he figures he is so rich, what's a measly 25 grand. I would think that star athletes would want the public to see them as hero's. And if not a hero, how about someone who is just really fortunate to live a dream? I wish they would stop and think about the possible ramifications of their actions before they act on them. I wish my son was asking me to tell him how Barry Bonds is the greatest home run hitter of all time as opposed to why he used drugs. Honestly, I just don't get it!