What's with North American's infatuation with crowning teenage phenoms in their respective sports as the next greatest to play before they've even laced up their skates/cleats/sneakers?
This popped in my head after the recent signing of Bryce Harper. Sure, his amateur numbers are pretty impressive, especially for a not-yet-physically-mature 17yr old against older competition. But handing a teenager millions in guaranteed money can really only go one of two ways.
For every LeBron James, there's a Darius Miles. For every Peyton Manning, there's a JaMarcus Russell. For every Sidney Crosby there's an Alexandre Daigle.
I realize it really comes down to the work ethic of each individual athlete more than the raw talent. There's two types of young phenom. The type that is naturally gifted without really putting much work or thought into it; and the hard working athlete that puts countless hours into perfecting his craft and doesn't rest on his talent and clout alone.
Another major factor is a debilitating injury that stalls the young phenom's career. Of course this is out of their control and no fault of their own. You can only hope that they can rebound from the injury to go on and have a long, productive, if not non-descript career.
The owners and management invest lots of money hoping these kids can resurrect a franchise and there's a lot of pressure on the kid from the time he signs to be that franchise's saviour. If he can't come back from injury or never reaches his expected potential, he'll have to live with being known as a "bust", which has to be the worst label an athlete could have.
Perhaps each major sport should have some kind of salary/bonus scale in place. Worst case scenario, the kid doesn't make it for any number of reasons and the franchise takes a smaller financial hit and can move on, rather than be set back years developmentally and financially; and the kid can move on with his life without being brought up in every "Top 10 draft busts" show. It might be the best thing for both parties ivolved.
...hold this!
Stafford
...Can't Live With 'em...
I've been consistently confused by something.
Why do girls say they want one thing but in actuality they would rather settle for another.
I have been fortunate enough to have a few close female friends and have gotten to observe their relationships and those of their friends. They talk about the kind of guy they're looking for, the kind of guy that will make them a priority, is close with his family, will treat her like a princess; yet they continue to bang their heads against a wall choosing the exact opposite.
Is it because they want to be with someone so bad that everytime someone shows interest they dive headfirst into it without being more cautious, maybe at least asking herself what his motives are? I try to give good advice but it's generally ignored and in the end I seem to be always right.
Then you have guys like myself and most of my friends that are genuine but from time to time are looked over in favour of the wolf in sheeps clothing. This will never make sense to me, especially at the age we're all at, where the majority of us is looking for a lifelong companion.
If girls truly believe they want all those storybook endings, shouldn't they try choosing their mates in a different way than they currently are? Should they continue to take the advice of friends that continue to lead them down the same path?
Lets make one thing clear. This is not in reference to all girls by any means. The ones that don't have this problem are in stable happy relationships as we speak.
If there's a good answer out there I'd love to hear. As one of the good guys and for all of us out there, we'd like to know what we're doing wrong.
...hold this!
Stafford.
Why do girls say they want one thing but in actuality they would rather settle for another.
I have been fortunate enough to have a few close female friends and have gotten to observe their relationships and those of their friends. They talk about the kind of guy they're looking for, the kind of guy that will make them a priority, is close with his family, will treat her like a princess; yet they continue to bang their heads against a wall choosing the exact opposite.
Is it because they want to be with someone so bad that everytime someone shows interest they dive headfirst into it without being more cautious, maybe at least asking herself what his motives are? I try to give good advice but it's generally ignored and in the end I seem to be always right.
Then you have guys like myself and most of my friends that are genuine but from time to time are looked over in favour of the wolf in sheeps clothing. This will never make sense to me, especially at the age we're all at, where the majority of us is looking for a lifelong companion.
If girls truly believe they want all those storybook endings, shouldn't they try choosing their mates in a different way than they currently are? Should they continue to take the advice of friends that continue to lead them down the same path?
Lets make one thing clear. This is not in reference to all girls by any means. The ones that don't have this problem are in stable happy relationships as we speak.
If there's a good answer out there I'd love to hear. As one of the good guys and for all of us out there, we'd like to know what we're doing wrong.
...hold this!
Stafford.
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