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2/26/2007 It has been an open secret forever that most athletes,
at least the young ones, think they are bulletproof and their
self-assuredness leads them to the illusion that they are invincible.
Come back in time with me to the late 70’s when I was a freshman in college… All of these people were teammates and good friends of mine. Pete was an outstanding left-handed pitcher that had been drafted by the Montreal Expos out of High school. But his love for funny rolled up cigarettes, the illegal kind, quashed his chances as his social life got in the way of his baseball career. Scottie was also a great left-handed pitcher with a rising fastball and a bulldog-like mentality. But his love for alcoholic beverages made it difficult to ‘show up to work’ and do his job. It got him a free ticket to nowhere, instead of a chance in the show. Michael was a fine power hitting first baseman. Built like Bo Jackson, his body was built to take punishment, and he didn’t miss a trick. Some days he would smoke his favorite substance, other days he would pound a few beers. Most days, he would do both. A promising opportunity in the San Francisco Giants organization went by the boards. My shorts are not clean on this one either. My roommates Pat, Jim, Mike and myself would combine our meal money, a whopping $7.50 per day each, and we’d buy cheap beer by the case. The moral of the story is not for me to get on my soapbox, but to simply point out that we know a lot more now than we did in the 70’s. Back then there was no M.A.D.D., there was less awareness, and oh yeah, we thought we were invincible. I am always concerned about the self-inflicted wounds that young people, especially young athletes, perpetrate upon themselves. It takes discipline to do the right thing, and a simple mistake made in the frenzy of fun can easily change the rest of your life. I have no right to judge anybody, nor would I. But I do know the discipline of pain and self-control weighs ounces, but the burden of regret weighs tons. Do you want to carry that around for the rest of your life, wondering what might have been? (c) 2007 Novi
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