Contributors

Monday, May 7, 2012

The Good Life


"I'm going to miss the lights." These were the words uttered by the Don Billingsley character at the end of the movie "Friday Night Lights". Three friends who had known nothing but the glory of being star high school football players in Texas were now facing a harsh reality. Their season was over. And as the credits rolled, their coach removed their names from a magnetic depth chart board.

Great athletes today seem to have it all. Fame, fortune, adoring fans and "their posse" around them to reinforce just how great they are. But just because people tell them they are fantastic is not how they got that way. Top tier professional athletes today don't get there by luck. They work hard, prepare, sacrifice and especially when it comes to football, have a burning, near addiction for the game. In return they are put on a pedestal for the rest of us to see.

Unfortunately, what many of them don't have or won't accept is a support system when it all comes to an end. At a time when most of us are coming into our prime, these young people are now "washed up." The day they thought would never happen comes and the world moves on to the next superstar.