Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Super Bowl Winning Quarterback + Motorcycle + No Helmet =

"Houston, we've had a problem." - Jim Lovell, Apollo 13

Official Website of the 2005 WORLD CHAMPIONS!

After 25 years of
  • losing
  • rebuilding
  • winning but not winning enough
  • getting ever so close only to come up short in the end

...what you want to do is SAVOR YOUR VICTORY and STAND STRONG TO DEFEND YOUR TITLE.

You never want is to see your starting quarterback turn up as "...Breaking News Out Of Pittsburgh" on all of the 'round the clock news stations...

Having never been in such a position, I can't understand how a person who basically has the world at their feet, who is at the very top of their profession, who has been blessed with the type of life most people can only dream of would purposefully choose to not only put their career in danger, but more importantly put their life on the line with absolutely nothing to gain.

And yet, with just a bit more than a month to go before the beginning of training camp, we have this to contend with...

Roethlisberger Breaks Jaw, Nose In Motorcycle Crash

I can't help but think back to Terry Bradshaw reporting from training camp last year questioning how smart the guy really is. Then you look at this laundry list that came from Mercy Hospital and don't know what the hell to think:

-- fractures to his upper and lower jaws-- mild concussion
-- fractured nose
-- fractured facial bones
-- multiple head lacerations
-- multiple abrasions and contusions
-- lost 2 teeth
-- chipped several teeth
-- no evidence of any major structural damage to knees
-- CT scan of brain showed no injury

I've made enough mistakes, taken enough senseless risks, know damn well I'm lucky be be alive let alone having never been in jail for foolish stunts and bad behavior.

Maybe it's the same personality traits that allow for greatness on the football field which fuel bad behavior off. I don't know. There are so many negative stereotypes about athletes and this is unfortunately a prime example of what brings those images to life.

With that thought in mind, this story from last season jumped out...

The Sporting News has been hot on the story...

This Should Have Been Enough Of An EXAMPLE For Anyone...

Ultimately we can only hope that Big Ben regains his health. At the end of the day, that's what is most important...he's a person not a quarterback. Hopefully he'll walk away from this a smarter person off the field. And if he is able to hold the Lombardi Trophy high once again, won't that be sweet for all of us.

It was, admittedly, good to see this story...


<><><> Update: 16 June <><><>

2 comments:

The SUCCESS Coach said...

3 months later it looks like this cloud is still hanging over your Steelers. The Bradshaw angle is interesting.

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