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Does Marcus Vick get it?


tj4eck

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This is a good article to read. Especiailly for those of you who like to throw rocks.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/sto...gene&id=2287414

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Going to college gets you closer to the real world, kind of like climbing a tree gets you closer to the moon.

"...a nice illustration of what you get when skill, talent, and precedent are deducted from 'creativity.' " - James Howard Kunstler

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This is a good article to read. Especiailly for those of you who like to throw rocks.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/sto...gene&id=2287414

Good article, thanks for sharing it, I wouldn't have seen it otherwise.

I learned long ago not to judge people, particularly those that came from different situations as myself, who didn't have parents who were capable of providing me with just about anything I could want or need. I've never had the pressure to succeed that these guys have... neither has anybody else on this forum. Clarrett and Vick made mistakes just like anybody else -- let them live them down or they'll keep making them.

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This is a good article to read. Especiailly for those of you who like to throw rocks.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/sto...gene&id=2287414

Very good article. Some of these guys have it tough... real tough.

However, that does not excuse what they did. They alone are responsible for the way they respond to a tough life, and when you respond incorrectly, you get punished.

Do they deserve ridicule? Problably not. Did they deserve the rough upbringing? No, nobody does. Is life unfair? Unequivocally yes.

...but, and I know it's easier to say this as a passive bystander, you've got to rise above it. Lots of people (athletes included) have, and you've got to know that life's too precious to waste it blaming a lack of opportunity.

Hopefully both Clarett and Vick get their lives on track and learn something from these experiences. Both are obviously talented individuals, and there is a honest living to be made playing football if they're willing to man up and do what it takes to get there.

That's just my 2 cents. Feel free to disagree.

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I don't like to throw rocks, and I fully appreciate that Vick's and Clarett's upbringings took place in shameful conditions. Were that the only issue here, I'd agree with the article and those offering a thoughtful counterpoint.

However, don't overlook the contributions of the individuals involved in making a mess of their own lives. Both men managed to achieve enough athletically that they were given free rides at universities that they might not have attended without their athletic prowess. Essentially, golden tickets were handed to these guys - education, a safer environment with intelligent people their own age, ample media exposure to use as a springboard to the NFL, coaching staffs to make them better, and the perqs that come with being recognized as a "somebody". Sure, there's pressure - but for the money they sought to earn in a matter of years, there's going to be pressure. And the pressure will be there for their entire playing careers, so if they can't prepare for that pressure adequately in the crucible of big-time college football, they'll never prepare for it.

But what got them both into trouble was themselves. Their sense of entitlement, that rules didn't apply to them, that they could do as they pleased. Part of it is having hangers-on and sycophants in their ear at every turn, telling them how great they are, and never having to hear "no" - not from agents, not from women, not from fans, not from friends who viewed them as a meal ticket. And it doesn't have to be that way It's the difference between watching supreme talents like Lebron James, Michael Jordan or Magic Johnson hustle and watching OJ Mayo not giving maximum effort in his high school games this year, or watching Randy Moss flagrantly take plays off when he knows he's not getting the pass.

Look at Vick's reaction - he has serious mounting legal troubles, and shrugs them off because he believes he's just going to walk into the NFL like it's his birthright. Never mind his license is revoked, and he just pulled a gun on some kids in a parking lot.

Look at Clarett's behavior - he lost his bid to circumvent the rules of a private employer, and rather than spend the time away from school trying to get himself into the best shape possible to impress and get a job in the NFL, he showed up out of shape and slow, and balked at having to do what other people were asked to do. He just assumed people would kowtow to him because he was Mo Clarett. He could've gone to Europe to get back into meaningful competitions, and he declined.

I know people from disadvantaged backgrounds similar to these two. And while they could have used this built-in excuse as a reason not to try, they didn't - they worked hard and made something of themselves. These two were given the keys to bright futures and pissed them away because they just assumed they'd keep getting their way.

"Start spreading the news... They're leavin' today... Won't get to be a part of it... In old New York..."

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In order for the Mets' run of 12 losses in 17 games to mean something, the Phillies still had to win 13 of 17.

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