Bernie Fratto

Speaking
of
Sports 

by
Bernie 
Fratto

 
Our Pal Joey
Don’t complain about bad hops, anybody can field good ones
-Casey Stengel

8/25/07  

I’ve always defended Joey Harrington. Having interviewed him on a couple of occasions, I always liked him and in the back of my mind I always wondered how it could go so wrong for a guy that was 25-3 as a starter at Oregon.

This week I think I got my answer. Joey Harrington has recently indicated that he is now ‘in the right situation for me.’ After less than stellar performances in Detroit and Miami, he now feels he’s in an offense made for him.

Buried inside his comments is a little nugget that every athlete, especially high school athletes can benefit from. The truth is, if you want to be a successful athlete, you have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. That’s right, you heard me correctly.

Conditions are never going to be perfect, you’re never going to have things exactly that way you want them. If you dwell on issues you can’t control or the aches and pains, mentally and physically that come with the territory, you’re ability to compete will be diminished.

Among current active NFL quarterbacks with at least 3 years starting experience, Joey Harrington’s cumulative passer rating ranks as the lowest in the league. No wonder teammates, coaches and fans lost confidence in Harrington. No wonder his record as a Lion starter was 23-43. He needed things to be perfect, or at least favorable to him to maximize his production, at least that’s what he tells us based on his comments this week.

So after five mediocre seasons in which Harrington was unable to elevated sub-par teams to respectability, his comments lead me to question his potential as an NFL quarterback.

The moral of the story is this; Whether or not you are paid $5 million per year, or play high school football for the love of the game, you either define the moment or the moment defines you.

You can’t control what happens, but you can control how you react. That’s a reality all athletes must become comfortable with, even if they’re uncomfortable with it.

(c) 2007 Novi Information Network
www.novi.org

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Bernie Fratto is a freelance writer, radio personality, and motivational speaker.  His passion for sports comes in part from his experience as a former Cincinnati Red farm- hand.  "Behind every sports story lies the hearts and minds of real human beings" said Fratto.  "These athletic endeavors often serve as a metaphor for the game we call life."

Bernie is also on the broadcast team at Live 97.1FM talk-radio, and is a frequent co-host on the popular "Parker & The Man Show," a nightly sportstalk show which airs Monday-Friday from 7-11pm.