I had a conversation with an old friend last night…
Smart guy.
Great family. Known each other since grade school. Even played on a
couple Baseball and Soccer teams together…
So what was I doing looking at a Facebook post of his
cockeyed and engaging in a 20-minute debate regarding a Pittsburg Steelers
Running Back who may not even be on the team’s roster in three weeks?
The opinion that got me so worked up?
That Byron Batch, a 2011 seventh-round draft pick out of
Texas Tech was a pussy after exiting the fourth quarter of last night’s
preseason (yes, preseason) game against the Washington Redskins with a
“stinger” when compared to…
Greg Campbell, the Boston Bruins center who made headlines
this past June during the NHL’s Eastern Conference Finals when he broke his leg
defending a slapshot by Pittsburgh Penguins Center Evgeni Malkin.
Campbell stayed on the ice for the duration of the penalty
kill, skating on one leg for over fifty seconds.
First of all: let’s make it clear; my friend is a hardcore
hockey fan, and while hardcore hockey fans do know their shit, they carry an
inferiority complex towards any sport that’s not Hockey.
Hockey fans get MAD at the fact that people prefer to watch
Football, Basketball and Baseball...
(Actual quotes from Hockey people I know)
“I don’t see why people think dunking is so cool, they’re
6’9!”
“Only cons and thugs play Football.”
“Another Cuban off the banana boat to pitch.”
Hard to compare the two situations; second game of the NFL
preseason versus a crucial moment of an NHL conference championship game, but
yes, Campbell’s feat is pretty AWESOME.
You can watch it here. Respect all the way.
But I think this is where my friend and I get a little
criss-crossed…
You see, he felt I was trying to defend the toughness of
Football but truth is, I could care less if NHL players are truly less, more,
or just as “tough” as NFL players…
Because Pro Football is just better, there’s no argument.
16.6 million viewers a game can’t be wrong.
Besides, if Brian Campbell skating on one broken leg is the
definition of a badass…
Then I'm sorry, but Lawrence Taylor BREAKING a man’s leg on live TV is the
definition of a monster.
Hov said it best, “ya’ll respect the one that got shot/I
respect the shooter.”
Hockey is the ginger-faced stepchild in this country, sorry puck people.
For the record, that’s coming from a guy who has put forth an admirable effort to learn and intelligently watch.
Fact remains the game lies exactly where it belongs in the
hearts of Americans...just above Major League Soccer.
Now what ACTUALLY bothered me about my friend’s statement is
that it represents the idea that athletes should “tough it out” and finish
every game with a limb hanging off.
Yes, these are the same clowns who feel like hardasses
because their dipshit high school or college coach once pressured them to play
with an injury and want a pro to display the same disregard for their
bodies and “love for the game” that they once did.
Only problem is they’re not a vital part of a pitching
rotation…
Or on the third line…
Or a five-time pro-bowler…
They’re not a $90 million dollar face of a franchise…
Pro Sports is a business and risking your long-term career to
please some 35 year-old has-been jock in the stands isn’t a smart business
decision.
MLB has a 162 game regular season, 82 for Hockey and Basketball, 16 for the NFL. That’s a lot of games and even tough
guys get banged up.
Yet, they DO continue to play through sprains, fractures and
bruises.
That information is never revealed and for good reason.
Teams are playing for the playoffs, not the regular season,
and any player who sits out a game doesn’t necessarily suffer from a lack of
toughness.
But fans have become spoiled to the idea of athletes
performing theatrical feats when it comes to pain.
Michael Jordan’s flu game in 1997. Kirk Gibson limping around the bases in 1988. Duncan Keith stopping a puck with his
teeth in 2010. Willis Reed
hobbling on the court in 1970.
Byron Leftwich getting carried by his linemen to the huddle in
2002. Shit, Adrian Peterson’s 2012
season.
The result?
Jackasses who jizz their pants at the fantasy of their favorite player tearing an ACL, rubbing some dirt on it, taking a pull of whisky, and jogging back out to put the team on their backs.
Never mind four out the six events I mentioned occurred
during the Post-SEASON and in the heat of the moment.
That’s not realistic though. Athletes are not just paid to entertain, but entertain over
an extended period of time, what good is that if they’re on a shelf because
they choose “not to be a pussy?”
-WST
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