I think we can safely say that NFL players are a rare breed. They play the most violent, physically demanding game (only rivaled by Rugby in my opinion) in the world. They line up each play and run into each other with the velocity of a head on car crash. Although there are some players that I consider “soft” by NFL standards, such as my favorite whipping boy Shaun Alexander and Dallas Cowboys linebacker Bobby Carpenter (he is known as Barbie Carpenter by his teammates because of his aversion to contact), no NFL player should be considered soft in comparison to average people. The physical demands they put on their bodies is one that we can’t even begin to imagine.
National Football League players are often considered to be warriors who bravely go into battle each week. They put their bodies on the line for the love of the game, fame, fortune and fan adulation. Like most football fans, I love to see physical play. We live to see the big hit and hold those who play the game with reckless abandon in the highest regard. Physical players such as Ray Lewis, Brian Dawkins, Roy Williams (he may not be able to cover his bed with a blanket, but he will take your head off), Jared Allen, Terrell Owens, Hines Ward, Bob Sanders, and Marion Barber are all loved because of the sheer force with which they tackle, block, or run the football. They have worked hard to be known as physical players and enjoy having a reputation that strikes fear into the hearts and minds of their opponents. Taking nothing away from the aforementioned players, the MOST FEARED AND HARDEST HITTING PLAYER IN THE NFL IS SHAWNE “LIGHTS OUT” MERRIMAN OF THE SAN DIEGO CHARGERS (he earned the nickname because it has been said that when you get hit by him, it is lights out for you). This guy lives for one reason and one reason only, to take off the heads of opposing offensive players on a weekly basis.
I would never question Merriman’s love of the game or his devotion to making his team the best they can be. I know that he has more heart than most players, but his recent decisions have made me wonder if he needs to go to see the wizard to get a brain. Early in training camp Merriman suffered a knee injury. He then had arthroscopic knee surgery to find out the source of the pain and correct it. Apparently the arthroscopic procedure didn’t correct the problem because Merriman has still been experiencing soreness in the knee. Merriman then had the knee checked out again and it was discovered that he has TWO TORN LIGAMENTS in his knee. This injury will require season-ending reconstructive knee surgery in order for it to heal. This is not what Merriman wanted to hear, so he decided to get a second opinion hoping that a second doctor would tell him what he wanted to hear. The next doctor gave the same prognosis as the first. Do you think Merriman decided to go ahead and sacrifice one season for the betterment of his career? Nope, he went to see another doctor. I bet you can’t guess what the third opinion was. DING! DING! DING! you are correct; he was advised by a third doctor to have the surgery. Just to be sure that his hearing is up to par Merriman decided to visit a fourth doctor, to make sure that he heard the other three correctly. Let’s recap; Shawne Merriman injured his knee and visited four different doctors who all told him to have the much needed season ending surgery. It has also been reported that without the surgery, Merriman is one hit to the knee away from suffering a career ending injury. With all that in mind, I bet you think that Merriman is scheduled for knee surgery in the near future. WRONG!!!! he is planning to skip the surgery and play this season with two torn knee ligaments. This is an injury that would keep most of us with office jobs out of work for a while, and he is going to play football through it. I just don’t get it.
No one will ever doubt the fact that Merriman is indeed a warrior, but he must learn that THERE IS A THIN LINE BETWEEN BEING A WARRIOR AND BEING AN IDIOT!!!! The San Diego Chargers are an excellent football team. To be completely honest they will win their division and are legitimate Super Bowl contenders with or without Merriman (although they are clearly better with him). I am sure that Shawne knows this too, which is why I am sure that the fact that he plays on a potential Super Bowl team is strongly affecting his terrible judgment. Even with that in mind he must see the big picture. He is only 24 years old and there is no reason for him to jeopardize the rest of his career to play one season, which he potentially might not be able to finish. What could possibly be his motivation?
For those who are not familiar with Shawne Merriman, I will quickly put into perspective just how good he is. He has played three seasons and is a three-time Pro Bowler. He also has 39.5 sacks during these three seasons (Do you realize how ridiculous this is?) He is arguably THE BEST DEFENSIVE PLAYER IN THE NFL. What is really stupid about the situation is the fact that he will be free agent after the 2009 season. You would think that he would want to be 100% healthy going into the ’09 season, when he will in all likelihood sign a contract that would make him the HIGHEST PAID DEFENSIVE PLAYER IN NFL HISTORY (if healthy). His stupidity could possibly cost him a lot of STRAIGHT CASH HOMEY!!!!
What is really disturbing about this whole situation is the fact that the San Diego Chargers have done nothing to talk him out of this stupid decision. They are actually standing behind his decision. That really tells you the type of organization they are. They obviously don’t care about their player’s well being. How could he possibly want to jeopardize his career for a franchise that seems to be more than willing to let him jeopardize his career for them? Note to Shawne: If they are not trying to convince you to do what is best for you long-term, they are not worth you risking you body and your future earning potential for. They are not the only team in the NFL and if they are not willing to pay you what you deserve when you become a free-agent, thirty-one other teams will be more than willing to.
Could someone please tell this idiot that the NFL does not really stand for National Football League and that in reality it stands for NOT FOR LONG. This is a league that does not give guaranteed contracts to its players, and routinely terminates the contracts of players that they no longer feel is worth the money. This should tell you that if you choose to play and are not at your best it is a very good chance that you will be out of the league. If you don’t believe me, ask Terrell Davis. With that in mind, why on earth would you risk your long term health for a chance to be re-injured and discarded with the trash?
We have established that Merriman is clearly not thinking, but where are his advisors and the people that should have his best interest in mind. Why won’t family members tell him that they do not want to see him suffer an injury that could make him a subject of a Real Sports story on devastating football injuries? Does he not have an agent? Not only is his agent paid to look out for his best interest, but he also has a direct financial stake in Merriman’s future. If he plays through the pain and suffers a career-ending injury, his agent can definitely kiss his percentage from the next contract good-bye. Also, where are his teammates? Players often look out for the financial best interests of their teammates and other players in the league. Why hasn’t one of them sat him down and explained to him how incredibly stupid it is for him to play one season injured and sacrifice 12 more down the line.
We must remember that Shawne Merriman is a 24 year old football player. This is all that he knows, and maybe it is the fear of not knowing what to do without football that is driving this idiotic decision. Whatever the case may be, it is time for someone to step in and protect him from himself. The Chargers, or better yet the NFL should step in and force him to do the right thing. The Chargers can end all of this foolishness by simply putting him on IR (he would be out for the season and there would be nothing that he could do about it). However, that does not seem likely. It is now time for the dictator that is Roger Goodell to step up and do what he says he intends to do, which is to do what is best for the game. He wants the NFL to have a positive image in the minds of America. If that is the case step up and protect this kid from himself. If he doesn’t, America might just think that the NFL is a league that doesn’t even consider its players to be people. It would appear that the league sees the players as interchangeable parts running around on the field to entertain and make billionaire owners even more money (which is the truth, but I’m sure Goodell doesn’t want the public thinking that). Is that really the best image for the league? It is very obvious that Goodell has no problems suspending or banning players, I think that it is time for him to step up and protect a player. Even if it means protecting him from himself.
****NOTE****
We are now only 4 days away from kickoff. As T.O likes to say, "Get your popcorn ready." I CAN'T WAIT!!!!
****NON-SPORTS RELATED THOUGHT****
For the past couple of weeks I have been counting down the days to the kickoff of the NFL season. There is also another countdown that I will begin starting this week. With the situation that America is currently in, we are now approaching the most important Presidential Election of my lifetime and possibly the lifetime of many of my readers. I would like for everyone reading this blog (that has not done so already) to REGISTER TO VOTE!!!! After that, I would like for everyone to take it one step further and actually go out and VOTE ON NOVEMBER 4th!!!!
It is totally up to you to decide who to vote for. The important thing is to let your voice be heard and participate in the process to determine who will lead us for the next four years.
We are now 65 days away from choosing the next President of the United States, and I CAN'T WAIT!!!!
3 comments:
Shawty, do you remember Maurice Jones-Drew? Evidently, he twisted the batteries from the flashlight called "lights out" last year. That devastating block gave a little man like me hope that I could have played one to two more years of POP WARNER! Back to the subject at hand, "Lights dimmed" is an idiot. He is trying to create this crazy hype to regain a season ridiculed by a positive steroid test. What is the first thing the general public claims when a person takes steroids: The body will falter shortly thereafter. Now I'm not saying that "Lights bright" is becoming brittle before our eyes (in case if he reads this), but his body is breaking down quicker than Pookie under pressure of a needle. (For those of you who don't know the reference, get with the program).
He has not one but two torn ligaments in his knee and he still wants to play football. I'm impressed that he still wants to play, what love and passion he bestows, BUT the risk doesn't match the reward. He's truly a product of the NOW generation. What about tomorrow, Shawne? What happens when you cut the wrong way to make a tackle and 'SNAP' your leg disconnects from the knee? I can here it now "Tsk tsk tsk he was a great player, but what was he thinking". No one seems to find it odd that this guy is making the dumbest decision of his life. San Diego is trying to get every dime out that they put into him, so they don't care. He's not breaking the law, so Goodell doesn't care, and he's acting like he's fine, so his teammates don't care. This just adds to the fact that these athletes are nothing but cattle, big pieces of meat, with brawn and no brains. He'll be treated just like a racehorse and then it's "LIGHTS OUT".
I wasn't going to comment on this one, but I think it is necessary to add that this is what happens when we raise our young and physically gifted boys to believe that all they have in the world is their atheletic ability. I'm sure that a guy making a decision like this isn't exactly the brightest star in the sky and it sounds as if he is yet another athelete that doesn't know how to function if they are not playing the game. A person with more going on than football would not risk their future health in such a way. They would realize that they have too many other things to look forward to in life to risk it all for one season of football.
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