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4/28/04- NFL
Draft- A Disappointing Display of Selfishness
Since 9/11 most
people in sporting world have stopped using battlefield field
lexicon to describe what occurs on the playing field. Coaches
no longer talk about teams 'getting ready for battle." Most players
have stopped referring to themselves as 'soldiers' on a 'mission'.
The death of
former player Pat Tillman last week in the Middle East underscored
the reality that what happens on the playing field pales in comparison to
what happens when people are in real danger.
Which is why the
selfishness displayed by Eli Manning during Saturday's NFL draft is
so disturbing.
The event started on a serious note with NFL Commissioner Paul
Tagliabue paying tribute to former Arizona Cardinal Pat Tillman who
was killed last week. Tillman walked away from a $3.6M
contract in the aftermath of 9/11 to join the Army Rangers.
So far so good.
And then the main event began. The first player taken was Quarterback
Eli Manning. This week Eli let it be known that he wanted to
choose which potential
employer would be signing his multimillion dollar signing bonus.
When San Diego Chargers had the audacity to make
him the #1 pick
in the draft, his displeasure was obvious to anyone watching on
television. Eli squirmed like a spoiled brat whose parents had
the nerve to buy him the wrong colored sports car for his 16th
birthday.
Courage?
You have to wonder
what Eli was thinking. You would hope that someone would slap
some sense into him. Somebody like his Father, Archie Manning a
former NFL player himself.
What did Archie
have to say about Eli?
"Eli held tough.
That’s a courageous thing for Eli, I think.”
Wow, what world do
these guys live in? Normally you might be able to excuse their
insular views but on a day when the NFL gave tribute to a guy who
showed TRUE courage by laying his life down for this country?
To Archie Manning:
Dear Sir- if you'd like to know what TRUE courage is maybe you need
to spend an afternoon on patrol in the suburbs of Baghdad or
maybe try guarding the border in Afghanistan. But if
that's too far to travel maybe you could go with some
local firefighters the next time they enter a burning building or
help out some local police officers the next time they bust in to
arrest someone. You have no clue what true courage is.
The Role of Sports
I'm a huge sports
fan. I advocate the positive the role that sports can play in
personal development. But professional
sports is just entertainment- nothing more, nothing less. That
anyone could think to describe a spoiled athlete who threw a tantrum
about which team would make him a millionaire as courageous is just
a moron
Where's the Media?
The reaction of
the media to Eli's whining just underscores the parasitic
relationship that sports journalists have with their subjects.
No one called Eli to task for acting like a jerk moments after the
NFL paid tribute to Pat Tillman. Read what Steve Wilstein of
the AP wrote about Eli-
"...And when
someone like Manning takes a stand against that system, he makes
most everyone nervous — from the commissioner to the general
managers, coaches and die-hard fans..."
MSNBC
Eli doesn't make
me nervous- he makes me sick. Sick about subculture that we've
created.
The good news for
the NFL is that I'll be watching this season. And I'll cheer
every time someone drives 'courageous' Eli into the turf.
Go Blue!
Phil
Callihan
UMGoBlue.COM,
Editor-in-Chief
phil@umgoblue.com
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Phil Callihan is the Editor-in-
Chief of UMGoBlue.COM. Phil graduated from the University
of Michigan in 1993 and has been a football season ticket holder
since 1994.
Full Bio
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