Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Does "NFL" stand for Narcissist Football League?


Did any of you watch the NFL Championship games on TV this past Sunday?  I watched them both....they were great!  But the image that lingers with me today isn't Peyton Manning shredding the Patriot defense with his laser-like passing or San Francisco QB Colin Kapperticknick running wild through the Seattle secondary like he was Barry Sanders in his heyday.  

No, what I remember is this asshole ^ , Richard Sherman, shooting his mouth off to Erin Andrews in a post-game interview about how great he was.

He isn't the only "legend in his own mind" in the NFL.  Have you ever noticed how, when a defensive player makes a tackle or breaks up a pass, most will jump up and run about 10 yards away from the pile where everyone can get a good look at them, then do their chest pounding "I'm so cool" dance?

We can thank Kansas City receiver Elmo Wright for giving us the end zone dance.  He was the first I can remember doing it.  Yes....no?  Anyway, I've read that today many NFL players will stand in front of their full length "I love me" mirror at home and practice their goofy little arm-flapping, knee-knocking, chicken-dancing moves.   I'm sorry, but I just find that silly.  

Here's my theory:  Most of these more flamboyant NFL narcissists probably came from impoverished backgrounds.  As kids they didn't have much, had little hope for the future, and were told they would never amount to anything.  But then at some point they found they had athletic ability, and suddenly they were somebody.  

They were high school heroes, then they were fawned over by college recruiters.  In college all they had to do was take 12 hours a semester to stay "full time" and keep their eligibility.  Grades were often...."manipulated".  They didn't have time to learn....all they could think about was the post season awards they would get, the NFL draft, and their $$$$ signing bonuses.

By the time they got to the NFL any modesty they might have had at one time was long-gone and they truly believed they were somebody special, and all their antics are just their way of begging for more attention...."Look at me, look at me!"

The sad part is, they really aren't that special.  Most can only do one thing, and that only lasts until somebody bigger, better, faster, stronger, younger comes along, and somebody always does.

Statistically most NFL players will have squandered their considerable earnings within just a few years after retiring.  They might be able to live off their past glory for a few more years, but even that will soon fade.  

The smart players will employ financial guys to invest and manage their money, but most are too busy buying new Bentley's and shiny rocks for their ears to worry about practical things like planning for a future after football.  

As they say, "The bigger they come, the harder they fall."  I'm thinking Richard Sherman is just one of many NFL narcissists who will make a major splat one of these days that will register on the Richter Scale.
  
S



19 comments:

  1. I don't even remember Elmo so there you are. I thought Billy White Shoes Johnson was the first dancer but it is all very silly. Can you imagine Jim Brown dancing after a touchdown? Damn, that dude was cool...like it was just no big deal. Sad how most of these Pro's blow the money some by stupidity, some by people taking advantage of them. Pro sports seems to be morphing into the WWE. If this keeps up, next thing you know even Texans will give it up and start watching Rugby!

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    1. Yes, I AM ahead of my time. ;)

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    2. And you are right Joe. The TRULY great ones like Jim Brown or Reggie While let their actions speak for them. As I see it, anytime you have to TELL someone you're great, you're not.

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  2. As soon as he started his little Mr. T act I turned the channel. The thing is, Sherman got burned on a touchdown earlier that went right over him to Anquan Boldin, so he really shouldn't be acting like he's the best ever. Come on, it's not like he's Deion Sanders who played corner, receiver, and baseball.

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  3. Even though I live in the Northwest I was raised near San Francisco and supported the 49ers. At least Richard Sherman will make the Superbowl more interesting---I have someone to root against.

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  4. K, I hope you know that I love and respect you BUT... for me, it seems just as wrong minded to give adults a free pass because of the circumstances in which they may have been raised, especially in the case a young man that graduated from Stanford. That he is a football player should not exclude him from acting with professionalism and dignity. He certainly wasn't the only young man on that field making that win happen and the gracious, professional and dare I say "adult" response would have been to spread a little of that attention around.

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    1. Good points Bethany. I hope he can mature and put his apparently more-than-ample intelligence to good use in a positive career after football.

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  5. Please delete my comments

    K

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  6. I will leave you with this comment - even though you stated to me personally that this post isn't actually about Richard Sherman - but some football players who have rather large egos .... Richard graduated from Stanford with a degree in communications and returned for his final year of eligibility to begin his Master's degree.

    K

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  7. Thanks. That has already been pointed out by Bethany and Joe. Smart guy. Isn't Wikipedia grand? :)

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  8. I want to give Richard Sherman the benefit of the doubt and believe that Crabtree was talking smack (and refusing to shake his hand) so he was pissed about the diss, he was jacked up from winning the NFC title game, and here's Erin Andrews sticking a mic in his face before he has a chance to clear his head. But then he kept it up after the game, and even though he's apologized the damage has been done. Dude's gonna be public enemy #1 for SB 48, and that's not a smart way to make a name for yourself.

    I think that an impoverished background might be partly to blame for breeding this type of behavior, but it's also ESPN's 24-hour hype machine and the way Americans as a whole glorify football players as gods from a young age, no matter where they grow up. Football players can get away with murder (literally) because they're good at something that the whole town/state/country is obsessed with. I know Williams raped those underage girls, but we're playing our rivals tomorrow and we need him to play!!

    One last thought - Richard Sherman wasn't even the biggest jackass in sports this week. That would be John Tortorella, who embarrassed himself, his team, and his sport much worse than Sherman. But he coaches a hockey team, so no one in the USA noticed and no one in Canada cared enough to be outraged because a thousand Richard Shermans and John Tortorellas can't stop us from obsessing over our respective national sports.

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    1. Excellent points. I'm not familiar with the hockey coach you mentioned, but you're right...we give athletes much more leeway than we should. There's too much money at stake, too. Not a good combination.

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    2. Here's a quick look at Totorella's antics if you're interested.

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  9. Oh - there were games on this weekend?

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  10. That Pixel Peeper! Always takes the podium away from us! ☺

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  11. have you ever wondered if you were a racist ? cause you sound like one bad

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