BF2S Forums What is going on.....????????

actually that link you posted is also on the Fox sports page under "more headlines". I dont know if it is just the media coverage we have today or these kids just dont know how to handle being pampered their whole lives because of sports. Again, back when I was involved with college sports, I never read or heard nearly anything like this stuff. I think it is getting worse too. What's next?

CaptainSpaulding71 wrote:

Damn that gangsta rap music!

back in the early nineties and late eighties, rap music was pretty tame compared to what it is nowadays.  livin' the thug life is glorified in many movies and in popular culture so much.  plus our celebrity obsessed culture is really destroying normal life.  all of this crap is considered mainstream behavior now i think.  it's a shame that our role models aren't scientists or successful businessmen.  kids want to grow up to be snoop dog or lindsay lohan.  since these images and music are so overwhelmingly shoved down our throats, the kids today believe that's the way to act.  furthermore, this stuff contributes to the breakdown of the normal family unit (normal = mom & dad).  just turn on maury and you'll see tons of episodes of 'you're not the father'.  kids need role models and by role models i mean positive role models.  economic hardships driven by failed economic policies of both parties are also a contributing factor here.  Nobody wants to take responsibility for their actions anymore either.  it's society's fault - it's that he didn't get enough love, etc.  blah blah blah.  nanny state.  ah...there are tons of reasons these guys screw up. 

unfortunately they also are given gabillions of dollars to do essentially nothing - just like actors.  with this new found wealth - out come the dangers associated with stardom and many are too immature to deal with it.  what kinds of tools does an 18 year old have to deal with mortgages, booking agents, saving instead of blowing the 20 million advance, etc.  also, what are they really doing to better society?  are they inventing a new process technology allowing us to scale a microprocessor to smaller than .2 micron technology?  discovering the cure for cancer?  inventing alternatives to fossil fuels?  no, they are reading lines off of cue cards, partying non-stop and being famous for being famous, playing sports for money...gah!  useless.

</bitter_rant>

QFT. Every single word of it.

You're handed everything by people who refuse to tell you when you've done something wrong. You screw up and keep getting handed things. It reinforces self-centered, self-destructive behavior. Case study: Britney. Same same.

criminals using sports/athletics as their ticket out of the projects but that doesnt change the fact they are thugs who belong in jail or dead.  I would rather see people with alittle less talent but more heart than criminals getting a free ride from rags to riches.

CaptainSpaulding71 wrote:

@DBY - i hear you bro.  i never had the tapes from the early eighties (tapes?  what are those hahaha) but i grooved to the tunes anyway.  RunDMC rocks man.    However back then i recall the lyrics talking more about scoring with girls, partying, etc.  pretty much the same lyrics as heavy metal and even the mainstream stuff. 

about the sports topic : you took advantage of playing ball for the free education.  i would bet your ultimate goal was to go to college irregardless of whether you could play sports or not.  i wonder if many that are in the NBA looked at education the same way or it was just a formality of the times to play for college and then be eligible for the NBA draft.  i think this has been relaxed lately as there are some prodigies from HS that are being recruited directly.  i think this is a shame because these young adults are being thrown to the wolves without much guidance.  further, the people guiding them are fully only out for their own interests. 

switching gears - consider britney spears.  this girl is certifiably insane and out of control.  however, she surrounds herself with yes-men who are only in it for the money.  also, her 'manager's are deliberately manipulating her for their own interests.  when dr. phil goes and attempts to intervene and help out...he gets flak for it.  this girl didn't finish high school, doesn't have any real life-skills as she was fully managed by a team that told her how to act, what to dress, what to say, etc.  any time she gets an original thought in her head it is a disaster.  this is the travesty of the early fame thing.  lack of life skills.  yet due to so much media coverage, little girls want to emulate this.  Lindsay Lo-whore's sister says she wants to grow up and be just like linds.  how nice.

so, i commend you on keeping the eye on the prize and working for an education.  playing sports AND getting a degree is not easy due to time commitments.

Thanks Spaulding...yeah, my goal was to get my education. I can certainly see how people could take advantage of this type of situation. I have to admit that I was treated differently than everyone else in high school and in college. I was treated with preferential treatment and in college we got the best of everything.

Of course, later in life I think to myself how lucky the really big time players in top schools must be being treated. I cant stand it when a full ride scholarship is thrown out after one year because someone takes off to the NBA and a lot of times they dont make it. I feel that if you are going to jump ship out of college, then you need to pay the money back because there are tons of kids out there who deserve a full ride who dont play sports. It just pisses me off that some of these kids just dont understand how lucky they are and just keep your nose clean for a few years.

The problem I saw, even at the smaller college I played for was that quite a few guys were just going through the motion. A few of them didnt even bother going to class and had no grades whatsoever. They were still playing on the court and that is all they were doing. They were not going to class, they were not being monitored and they were not being disciplined for missing classes, tests...etc. It was a shame because I know these guys that were there just to play basketball were going to end up being nothing in life and have nothing for a job. These guys were not going to be NBA players....and what did they have to fall back on....nothing!!

That was 20 years ago...now you have these kids doing much worse than I could imagine back in my day. It just amazes me that these headlines are coming up more and more and more. I played against a lot of inner city kids when I played in high school and in college and honestly, I never saw any of them doing any of this stuff when it came to crime. Yes, in college I saw some BS as far as kids just playing basketball but nothing was criminal..I just think its insane how it is today and its getting worse.