I was fortunate enough to attend the Purdue Football banquet last week and it reminded me of something I had forgotten. It is something I catch myself forgetting every year and I believe I am not the only one who suffers from this annual amnesia. What is this something? It is the fact that these college athletes whom we often criticize and rip apart are just kids. These men and women are barely twenty years old and yet they have to bear the intense pressure that is college sports. These players have real lives off the field and real families to go home to. How would your mother feel if she had listen to her baby getting vocally torn apart for throwing an interception? I’ll be the first to admit that I am often the one pointing the finger at athletes, but I realized something when I was at the banquet eating with some players’ parents. I realized these athletes face the same college stresses that I face, but they have their athletics on top of that. The athlete that I see on the field is so much more than just an athlete on the field. They are real people with real lives. I guess it just gave me a new perspective on college athletes that I was foolishly overlooking. I’m not saying that I will completely stop criticizing because hey, I’m not perfect, but the next time I evaluate a player’s poor performance I’ll try and do it with a little more respect.
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2 comments:
I totally agree, I tend to hold players to a higher standard than everyone else. I do this simply because they are gifted and can do things I could never dream of doing. I must say that athletes are just like regular college students, only with twice the work load and if they screw up, everyone hears about it. That is pressure that I couldn't deal with. I don't know how they do it, but I give them props.
I think that you have made an excellent point. The players are people that we should admire and respect because they have the obligations of a human being, a student and also an athlete. I always wanted to be in a team because it looked so cool and everything and when I got into one I faced a whole different deal than I imagined. Its not just looking good in the field with your teammates, its also knowing how to divide your time efficiently between friends, family, study and obviously your obligations to the team. So I do agree that sometimes we overlook the fact that they are just 20. But when you think about it these players who are in college rankings have known for a long time what it is to be on a team and the sacrifices that come with it, so I think they should be kind of used to it by now not letting it affect their game play so much.
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