I'm glad Robert Griffin III received the Heisman. It shows that not everyone who wins the award is on the best team. Besides, Andrew Luck will get into more Pro Bowls and possibly MVPs. I'm glad someone who did all he could for the team by running and throwing the ball. He was exciting to watch and put up strong numbers throughout the year. Even though his team's record was 9-3, I'm glad voters understood that RGIII doesn't control the defense or special teams in those losses. Overall, I'm just happy with the way RGIII presented himself at the ceremony and in an interview with Grantland reporter Michael Weinreb. Either Luck, RGIII, or anyone else (except for the Honey Badger -- failed drug test and flipping the ball before the goalline? Great nickname, poor decisions) was deserving for the award. RGIII was just that much better individually, since he really put Baylor football on the map. The play that I will remember most is the first game of the year, where he went over the middle on a 3rd and 10 late in the game against TCU to make the first-down catch to set up the game-winning field goal. I couldn't believe, through the first 3 games, he had more touchdowns than incompletions. Who does that? Only the one guy who is gutsy enough to qualify for the 400 meter hurdles in the Olympics. I have so much respect for this guy.
So in the end, out of the worthy candidates, RGIII would have been my choice, and I'm glad he got it.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Stress for Unsuccess
My cat is psycho. Ever since another cat, named George, has been around our house lately, we've been watching this showdown between the two. Before George, according to Kenzie, the household's reliable source for news on the most irrelevant stories, our own cat was fat and lazy, while George was skinny and frail. Now the roles have been reversed, with our cat losing weight as fast as an anorexic while George is living the high life of being petted and fed by us. We should be treating both the same, but we have to leave one cat out while the other cat stays in, or else both would fight to the death. Problem is, our own cat was psycho before George came along, and today she's on a totally different level of psycho that she should be put in the animal mental hospital. The hair on her back is always standing up as if I just rubbed a balloon on her and kept the balloon above her back. She has that one look in her eyes, where she thinks the world's out to get her. It's insane, and she's gonna die soon.
Who cares about my cat, though? Why talk about my cat's story, when I don't even care about my own cat when I should?
It's the perfect example of stress ruining someone's life.
In today's society, everyone has the exact same mentality as Ricky Bobby. "If you ain't first, you're last." So, what do you have to do in order to become number one? You have to do everything and anything you can in order to be at the top, which might mean taking on extra jobs and responsibilities in order to reach their goal. During this process, any reasonable person would become overwhelmed with the amount of work that one has to do in order to achieve perfection in our daily lives.
But what are some of the reasons why we strive for perfection, for the number one spot? Is it for the recognition? The extra spending money on shoes? Or for the simple satisfaction of putting in all that hard work to become number one and finally being rewarded for it?
For most, it's for the fame and money. It was for me for most of my life since that's what television does to you. Commercials always told me, "If you work hard, you can be on the cover of Wheaties, just like so-and-so mega-athlete." Just that inspiration, that dream of becoming the best athlete in the history of the universe had stuck with me all my life. If all I do is work hard (and eat my peas), I can become just like Michael Jordan? Well, in my little 7-year-old mind, that was easy. So for my entire life, I've been working hard in sports just to be recognized by the community and my peers. It was frustrating, obviously, since I was looking for satisfaction from other people when my own family was already proud of what I had accomplished. It was frustrating to be second, third, or even fifth at everything I did. Nothing was ever good enough, so I would put unnecessary stress upon myself and put myself down for the simplest accomplishments.
Then I went to work at a summer camp. My goodness did that change me. Who cares what place we're in? If we work hard, no matter if you were first or last, you tried your hardest and that's all you can ask for. My dad had told me that my entire life, but I never really listened to the message he was trying to convey to me until I went to camp. People were happy with themselves even though they knew they weren't perfect. It's alright to be decent, since we will all be better off in the future if we just stop worrying about everything and start focusing on one thing; our place in heaven. God will find us a place up there, whether we're in first or last since it just doesn't really matter. People believe that if they don't reach their goals, they're a failure. Everything they had just worked for in their life was a waste of time.
This is where we have to be careful not to cross that line between laziness and over-working ourselves. There have been a number of people who have wasted their talents by working hard on their beer belly, working hard on becoming the number one drug dealer in the history of forever, or working hard at flipping burgers. There have also been people who have given up when the times become rough, when they're not the best at something anymore. Where's the middle, where we work hard but not so hard that we become stressed out and overwhelmed?
For me, when I finally reach that point, that'll be when I have a family, a roof over me, food provided, and in fairly good health. Some people miss out on this and strive to have bigger and better accessories for their lives, but in the end it won't matter. So hopefully I don't become like everyone else and get caught in the mindset of wanting more than I need.
If I do, and future Andrew if you're reading this, change your dumb ways, you filthy idiot!
Who cares about my cat, though? Why talk about my cat's story, when I don't even care about my own cat when I should?
It's the perfect example of stress ruining someone's life.
In today's society, everyone has the exact same mentality as Ricky Bobby. "If you ain't first, you're last." So, what do you have to do in order to become number one? You have to do everything and anything you can in order to be at the top, which might mean taking on extra jobs and responsibilities in order to reach their goal. During this process, any reasonable person would become overwhelmed with the amount of work that one has to do in order to achieve perfection in our daily lives.
But what are some of the reasons why we strive for perfection, for the number one spot? Is it for the recognition? The extra spending money on shoes? Or for the simple satisfaction of putting in all that hard work to become number one and finally being rewarded for it?
For most, it's for the fame and money. It was for me for most of my life since that's what television does to you. Commercials always told me, "If you work hard, you can be on the cover of Wheaties, just like so-and-so mega-athlete." Just that inspiration, that dream of becoming the best athlete in the history of the universe had stuck with me all my life. If all I do is work hard (and eat my peas), I can become just like Michael Jordan? Well, in my little 7-year-old mind, that was easy. So for my entire life, I've been working hard in sports just to be recognized by the community and my peers. It was frustrating, obviously, since I was looking for satisfaction from other people when my own family was already proud of what I had accomplished. It was frustrating to be second, third, or even fifth at everything I did. Nothing was ever good enough, so I would put unnecessary stress upon myself and put myself down for the simplest accomplishments.
Then I went to work at a summer camp. My goodness did that change me. Who cares what place we're in? If we work hard, no matter if you were first or last, you tried your hardest and that's all you can ask for. My dad had told me that my entire life, but I never really listened to the message he was trying to convey to me until I went to camp. People were happy with themselves even though they knew they weren't perfect. It's alright to be decent, since we will all be better off in the future if we just stop worrying about everything and start focusing on one thing; our place in heaven. God will find us a place up there, whether we're in first or last since it just doesn't really matter. People believe that if they don't reach their goals, they're a failure. Everything they had just worked for in their life was a waste of time.
This is where we have to be careful not to cross that line between laziness and over-working ourselves. There have been a number of people who have wasted their talents by working hard on their beer belly, working hard on becoming the number one drug dealer in the history of forever, or working hard at flipping burgers. There have also been people who have given up when the times become rough, when they're not the best at something anymore. Where's the middle, where we work hard but not so hard that we become stressed out and overwhelmed?
For me, when I finally reach that point, that'll be when I have a family, a roof over me, food provided, and in fairly good health. Some people miss out on this and strive to have bigger and better accessories for their lives, but in the end it won't matter. So hopefully I don't become like everyone else and get caught in the mindset of wanting more than I need.
If I do, and future Andrew if you're reading this, change your dumb ways, you filthy idiot!
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Pujoling
Two sides to every argument. You're either on one side or the other. There's no turning back. Unless you're like me and you're on the fence. Sitting on the fence sucks, especially if it's electric and it shocks you, but hey, at least I'm trying to take in both sides of the Pujols going to Anaheim dilemma.
The Angels got a great player. Best of our generation, period. Congrats to them for taking the initiative. From a business perspective, they gave the greatest player the most amount of money any first basemen has ever been given. It makes perfect sense to pay players according to their play. The Cardinals didn't offer that, Albert felt like it was a punch to the groin, and the Angels welcomed him in with open arms and gobs of money. The Cardinals, from a business perspective, will move on and stay focused on the team they have right now. In a few years anyway, Pujols will be in decline and it will feel like he's in a nursing home, overstaying his welcome, and having the Cardinals force-feed him money. Overall, the Cardinals should have signed Pujols before they signed Matt Holliday. The only reason the Cards signed Holliday was to protect Pujols, and now Holliday has to protect himself. In the end, we'll all move on. Look on the bright side; at least we didn't become like Cleveland and burned Pujols' jerseys in the streets.
Now look at it from a human perspective....
What are you thinking?!?!?!?!? Does it matter if your ego is hurt because the Cardinals didn't pay you the money that you think you deserved? Of course you deserve that money, Albert, but the Cards also offered you benefits after you retired that would have made you a legend in St. Louis. A great baseball town with a storied tradition, and you would have your statue right next to Stan the Man. Even if you take out your legacy as a Cardinal forever, you would have enjoyed multiple years of the exact same treatment your fans, teammates, owners, managers, and people associated with the organization, and that treatment was nothing but love and affection for our one guy. That's what happens when an entire Cardinal nation becomes engrained on one player.
Could this whole thing be on greed as well? Some might say yes, others no. He was looking out for himself, since he knew the American League has a DH for older guys who can still rake when they're 40. It's in Southern California, where everyone dreams about their future home being there. But if it came down to money, who cares if you're not making millions of dollars more? The difference, in my mind, between $200 million dollars and $250 million is the same difference as infinity and infinity plus one, which, according to my calculations, is still infinity. Yes, it hurts your ego if you're being paid less than you should, but it's also humbling. That, in my mind, is when you've become a man. Taking less than you deserve can hurt you, or it can build you up and make you stronger.
Now what if we took an average American worker and gave him the same situation, but in terms of just thousands of dollars? The counter argument for this would be that, given the opportunity to leave a company he's been with for 10 years and was a game-changer in the company, would someone do it? What if that opportunity was in the form of a 40% raise in his salary, warmer climate, and benefits galore for a different competing company? People would snatch that up in a heartbeat, wouldn't they? That's everyone's dream; make more money, live in a warm climate, and be happy for the rest of our lives. How can we berate Pujols for doing the same thing we would do if we were in his shoes?
But, as over-consuming Americans, do we really NEED it? Some of the happiest people in the world are those who are less fortunate that us. My basketball coach said it best when he not only tried to inspire us for the upcoming season, but for Americans' mentality as well; "No matter how good you are, it's never good enough. You always have to keep striving for excellence." It's a great mentality to have, but at what point do we ever become satisfied with our lives? If we're always striving for excellence, when will we ever know if we've ever been excellent in anything? What if that journey towards excellence results in stress, anxiety, depression, and just being out of control with our own lives? It takes away the fun, the excitement, and the reason why we're on this planet: to live. Life is not measured in the amount of Benjamins stacked high in a vault in the back of a bank, or trophies displayed for all the world to see. Life is measured by the memories, the relationships, and the happiness one achieves while living.
All I'm saying is, Albert, as an American, has the right to choose where he plays and how much money will be forcefully stuffed into his deep pockets. But not only did his decision affect his life, but it had an effect on how we as Americans look at ourselves. Aren't we all greedy in the sense that we're all trying to be better than we were yesterday? Can't we all believe in the saying that "Money can't buy happiness?"
Since money did somehow buy Albert's happiness, at least I won't have to listen to Cubs fans telling me that I like it in my Pujols anymore...
The Angels got a great player. Best of our generation, period. Congrats to them for taking the initiative. From a business perspective, they gave the greatest player the most amount of money any first basemen has ever been given. It makes perfect sense to pay players according to their play. The Cardinals didn't offer that, Albert felt like it was a punch to the groin, and the Angels welcomed him in with open arms and gobs of money. The Cardinals, from a business perspective, will move on and stay focused on the team they have right now. In a few years anyway, Pujols will be in decline and it will feel like he's in a nursing home, overstaying his welcome, and having the Cardinals force-feed him money. Overall, the Cardinals should have signed Pujols before they signed Matt Holliday. The only reason the Cards signed Holliday was to protect Pujols, and now Holliday has to protect himself. In the end, we'll all move on. Look on the bright side; at least we didn't become like Cleveland and burned Pujols' jerseys in the streets.
Now look at it from a human perspective....
What are you thinking?!?!?!?!? Does it matter if your ego is hurt because the Cardinals didn't pay you the money that you think you deserved? Of course you deserve that money, Albert, but the Cards also offered you benefits after you retired that would have made you a legend in St. Louis. A great baseball town with a storied tradition, and you would have your statue right next to Stan the Man. Even if you take out your legacy as a Cardinal forever, you would have enjoyed multiple years of the exact same treatment your fans, teammates, owners, managers, and people associated with the organization, and that treatment was nothing but love and affection for our one guy. That's what happens when an entire Cardinal nation becomes engrained on one player.
Could this whole thing be on greed as well? Some might say yes, others no. He was looking out for himself, since he knew the American League has a DH for older guys who can still rake when they're 40. It's in Southern California, where everyone dreams about their future home being there. But if it came down to money, who cares if you're not making millions of dollars more? The difference, in my mind, between $200 million dollars and $250 million is the same difference as infinity and infinity plus one, which, according to my calculations, is still infinity. Yes, it hurts your ego if you're being paid less than you should, but it's also humbling. That, in my mind, is when you've become a man. Taking less than you deserve can hurt you, or it can build you up and make you stronger.
Now what if we took an average American worker and gave him the same situation, but in terms of just thousands of dollars? The counter argument for this would be that, given the opportunity to leave a company he's been with for 10 years and was a game-changer in the company, would someone do it? What if that opportunity was in the form of a 40% raise in his salary, warmer climate, and benefits galore for a different competing company? People would snatch that up in a heartbeat, wouldn't they? That's everyone's dream; make more money, live in a warm climate, and be happy for the rest of our lives. How can we berate Pujols for doing the same thing we would do if we were in his shoes?
But, as over-consuming Americans, do we really NEED it? Some of the happiest people in the world are those who are less fortunate that us. My basketball coach said it best when he not only tried to inspire us for the upcoming season, but for Americans' mentality as well; "No matter how good you are, it's never good enough. You always have to keep striving for excellence." It's a great mentality to have, but at what point do we ever become satisfied with our lives? If we're always striving for excellence, when will we ever know if we've ever been excellent in anything? What if that journey towards excellence results in stress, anxiety, depression, and just being out of control with our own lives? It takes away the fun, the excitement, and the reason why we're on this planet: to live. Life is not measured in the amount of Benjamins stacked high in a vault in the back of a bank, or trophies displayed for all the world to see. Life is measured by the memories, the relationships, and the happiness one achieves while living.
All I'm saying is, Albert, as an American, has the right to choose where he plays and how much money will be forcefully stuffed into his deep pockets. But not only did his decision affect his life, but it had an effect on how we as Americans look at ourselves. Aren't we all greedy in the sense that we're all trying to be better than we were yesterday? Can't we all believe in the saying that "Money can't buy happiness?"
Since money did somehow buy Albert's happiness, at least I won't have to listen to Cubs fans telling me that I like it in my Pujols anymore...
The Tebow Thing
After reading Chuck Klosterman's article on Tim Tebow, it got me thinking about how faith plays a role in the most polarizing figure in all of sports.
Two thousand years before Timmy came onto the scene, another polarizing figure was roaming the Earth. He was either loved or hated. His critics complained that he never followed the laws and was telling everyone else that they shouldn't follow the laws to a tee. He was ridiculed. Through all of the dark times, he told his followers to have faith in him, that everything would be alright if they followed him. Eventually, after three years of going through the same routine of preaching and leading his people through the darkness, his critics killed him.
Fast-forward to the Tebow that led to the Internet phenomenon of "Tebowing." Again, either loved or hated. His critics complained that he never can become a great quarterback in the NFL because he doesn't possess the traditional attributes to what a great quarterback has: ability to read defenses, arm strength, slow release. There's no way a linebacker playing quarterback can win football games. The statistics don't back him up. Through these times, Tebow, through direct quotes and his actions, told his followers to have faith in him. No matter what it takes, he'll get the job done. Through the 7 games he's started, he's 6-1.
Is Tebow the same guy in the previous story, who was born just a couple weeks from now, on Christmas Day, roughly 2011 years ago? No, Tebow is not Jesus. Tebow's a great person, from all the reports we have of him, but by no means is he Jesus. The point I'm trying to make is how faith is being translated into modern times. Think about it: Jesus relied on the followers' faith that he would bring them out of the darkness and into a better life. Tebow has relied, so far, on his teammates, owners, coaches and everyone else's faith in him to lead them into the playoffs. Of course, these two people are totally different; one's the Son of God while the other is the son of a Tebow. But all throughout Tebow's life, he has taken his unique skills and made everyone believers. No matter how it looks, he gets the job done. Jesus saved lives, even though he broke the ancient laws while doing it. Jesus got the job done, no matter how it looked.
This modern day story, paralleled with Jesus', is an excellent example of what faith in today's world can do to us. I, for one, used to be a critic on him, but now he's winning and casting all of my doubts away. I don't care if, by the time I'm done with this blog, he finally releases the ball, as long as that ball is going into a receiver's hands and into the end zone, that's all he has to do. Besides, the defense and running game are helping him out quite a bit. But it's his unorthodoxy, his demeanor that has followed him throughout his time as a high school, college, and now professional quarterback, has changed our thinking on "non-prototypical" quarterbacks. Do we continue to doubt him, saying that this short-term solution won't solve the long-term problem? Critics will say that they can't keep doing the read-option all his life; at some point, professional defenses will start to figure Tebow out. But for right now, all we have is faith that Tebow will lead the Broncos to victory in the coming weeks.
We don't know the ending to Tebow's story, but we do know that Jesus' story, in the end, became a happy one, rising from the dead to save us from our sins. Will he be the long-term solution, or will he go back to being the most popular backup QB ever?
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