Just A Theory

[MyFairLady]

BTW i was not intending for this to be a Dak thread more of an overall philosophical discussion about the conflict that exists between players and teams and how that has impacted my sports consumption.

 

[HungryLion]

BTW i was not intending for this to be a Dak thread more of an overall philosophical discussion about the conflict that exists between players and teams and how that has impacted my sports consumption.

no worries. I will not derail it on ya.

 

[InTheZone]

So I have been thinking about what it is to be a professional athlete these days and I think I am starting to find a bit of clarity. Back in the day, say 30 years ago, a professional athlete was not outrageously different that you or I. On average they made a very good living for a brief window but they did not live in the world of the rich and famous. I believe that on average an athlete back then would have considered winning a title to be very important and it was most likely the primary goal.

I really do not believe that today's athlete feels the same way and who could blame them. Look at our very own Cowboys. Players like Zeke and Cooper and D Law are already rich and famous beyond belief. They have already achieved through sports everything that you could possibly imagine. I believe that their primary goal has been fulfilled. Winning titles are incidental.

Now there are always exceptions to the rule. Some guys would play for free and their legacy on the field is all that would matter to them. I think of players like Ronny Lott or Ray Lewis or Michael Irvin. These are the exception not the rule.

I have always been a die hard Cowboys fan and I have loved and cherished the great players who helped pave the way to super bowl victories. I think in order to remain a true fan I i am going to have to alter my views and expectations. Expecting the world to adapt to my beliefs is just foolish. If I am going to cheer for athletes I need to align my goals and expectation with theirs. I need to prioritize and celebrate the same things as they do.

When Clear Eye View meets it's gross net revenue targets that would be great.

When Dak finally gets his 50 million dollar signing bonus that will truly be something to celebrate.

When Zeke's twitter account reached 3 million followers that will be so cool.

And the list goes on. In all honesty these types of personal accomplishments are better than a super bowl win so why wouldn't players focus on them? And why wouldn't we as fans prioritize them as well?

11/10

 

[MyFairLady]

And I did not intend to portray the agendas of the modern players as wrong. If anything i am admitting that I am out of touch with what would be important to a modern athlete. I used to feel like striving for 3 million followers on twitter should not be a priority but i am admitting the fact that this type of thing is probably very important to a modern day athlete and it probably should be. It would have serious financial benefits over the entire life span of the athlete.

 

[MarcusRock]

Ben DiNucci will be starting for this team by the 2022 season. I’ll bet money on that.

And he might suck. Then what? Because odds are that he will. If he makes it past where Mike White did, I'd feel good about that at least.

 

[Point-of-the-Star]

Do anyone think there are motivational differences between players and owners. Money might be the biggest driver but I think both sides still desire/want to win. I think players for the most part would play for less if the pot was smaller and owners would still finance the teams. Competitive spirit still thrives. And there's a decent pot out there.

Let's face it, most of us would be happy to have a $5M-$10M pot at age 30 and many players have quite a bit more. More than a living wage.

 

[MarcusRock]

BTW i was not intending for this to be a Dak thread more of an overall philosophical discussion about the conflict that exists between players and teams and how that has impacted my sports consumption.

Gotcha. No more further derailing for me either.

 

[CowboyRoy]

I can appreciate what you are saying and totally agree. I pretty much root for the laundry now. I find it almost impossible to root for any of the actual players. On the current team I kind of root for Lee, Gallup and Lewis. Thats pretty much it.

Yep, the Cowboys have pretty much been a team that is tough to root for. Most of the players I cant stand. Winning would help but some of these guys are just tough to like. And the money has gotten so far out of hand its ridiculous.

 

[JD_KaPow]

This is an interesting point. i totally agree that athletes today work harder. They take things to new levels all the time. Why do you think this is? What is driving them to work harder than the ones before? What has changed?

And perhaps "caring more" was a poor choice of words. What I should have said is that they care the same but now there are competing agendas. It does not make you care less but it can detract from overall focus on a goal.

They work harder because of the money. There's more money in the sport, which has a few effects. First, there are more players chasing that money. If you want to make it to the NFL or stay in the NFL, you have to work much harder because the competition is much stiffer than ever before. Second, all that money makes it a full-time job, not just for the players but for the teams as well. Players can spend the off-season staying in shape, working at team facilities with team trainers, nutritionists, etc. (and/or their own personal ones). And they have to do so because of the competition thing. Third (really part of the first one), teams invest a ton more resources into finding players, starting in high school or earlier, scouting at small schools and internationally.

I don't think there's any evidence for your hypothesis about competing agendas getting in the way of focus on a goal. Meaning that I don't think today's players on average are less focused on team success than they were in the past.

 

[buybuydandavis]

I feel like the goals of the modern athletes are directly conflicting with the goals of the modern sports franchise. An in our case winning a super bowl isn't the top priority for wither group. I find it makes it hard to be a fan of the players on your own team. It is something I am struggling with and I am trying to over come that. I would like to get back to a place where I can enjoy sports as much as I used to. Just trying to figure out how.

The more money is in the game, the more players will weigh money over wins.

Inevitable.

Owners are even moreso. They're businessmen in the sports entertainment business. Sure, they'd rather win too, but the financial statement is Job One.

 

[khiladi]

All I can tell you is that the NBA and the NFL have all been harder and harder to enjoy watching. The salaries, the player opinions, ESPN's opinions and everything else is out of control. Its no longer a place to get away and enjoy the day. Its basically a place where all the BS is right in your face and being pushed.

As each day goes by I care less and less about the seasons even starting again. I would like nothing more than for the owners in both leagues to put the players back in their place with the labor agreements. If that means no sports for another year, so be it.

The players? What are the owners doing? Didn’t you just read the news about the Dan Schneider? What about owners fitting the bill on tax-payers for billion dollar stadiums and not sharing any of that revenue to the cities and states, while charging ridiculous sums of money to experience the game live?

 

[khiladi]

Ben DiNucci will be starting for this team by the 2022 season. I’ll bet money on that.

The franchise was in disarray, not because of QB play, but because free agency killed us and we couldn’t draft a team. The whole team sucked.

People that think Dak has leverage forget he walked into an all-pro line and established running game, with the best RB to come along in awhile and he floundered around when Zeke was suspended for six games, he didn’t have a number 1 WR, even though he said a team didn’t need one, and than Stephen had to go get Cooper and so on..

Post-Aikman pre-Romo was NOTHING like what Dak walked into. In fact, Linehan doesn’t get enough credit for baby-sitting the offense.

 

[Rockport]

So I have been thinking about what it is to be a professional athlete these days and I think I am starting to find a bit of clarity. Back in the day, say 30 years ago, a professional athlete was not outrageously different that you or I. On average they made a very good living for a brief window but they did not live in the world of the rich and famous. I believe that on average an athlete back then would have considered winning a title to be very important and it was most likely the primary goal.

I really do not believe that today's athlete feels the same way and who could blame them. Look at our very own Cowboys. Players like Zeke and Cooper and D Law are already rich and famous beyond belief. They have already achieved through sports everything that you could possibly imagine. I believe that their primary goal has been fulfilled. Winning titles are incidental.

Now there are always exceptions to the rule. Some guys would play for free and their legacy on the field is all that would matter to them. I think of players like Ronny Lott or Ray Lewis or Michael Irvin. These are the exception not the rule.

I have always been a die hard Cowboys fan and I have loved and cherished the great players who helped pave the way to super bowl victories. I think in order to remain a true fan I i am going to have to alter my views and expectations. Expecting the world to adapt to my beliefs is just foolish. If I am going to cheer for athletes I need to align my goals and expectation with theirs. I need to prioritize and celebrate the same things as they do.

When Clear Eye View meets it's gross net revenue targets that would be great.

When Dak finally gets his 50 million dollar signing bonus that will truly be something to celebrate.

When Zeke's twitter account reached 3 million followers that will be so cool.

And the list goes on. In all honesty these types of personal accomplishments are better than a super bowl win so why wouldn't players focus on them? And why wouldn't we as fans prioritize them as well?

I think that the ratio today of those whose primary goal is to win a championship is the same as it’s always been. JMO

 

[Rockport]

The Cowboys are sold on Dalton short term and Nooch long term. Dak has no leverage, and I think he’s personally decided to wait until 2022 for a long term deal with another team.

Please tell me how in the hell could a team be sold long term on an underrated rookie QB who hasn’t even thrown a pass in practice? Unbelievable the ignorance of some fans. Sadly you aren’t the only on who thinks this way. And if you think Dalton is better than Dak please put me on ignore as I will you.

 

[Blackspider214]

All I can tell you is that the NBA and the NFL have all been harder and harder to enjoy watching. The salaries, the player opinions, ESPN's opinions and everything else is out of control. Its no longer a place to get away and enjoy the day. Its basically a place where all the BS is right in your face and being pushed.

As each day goes by I care less and less about the seasons even starting again. I would like nothing more than for the owners in both leagues to put the players back in their place with the labor agreements. If that means no sports for another year, so be it.

"Put the players back in their place". Good lord. I won't even go into what this sounds like but it's pretty obvious what you mean deep down. You want these players to shut up and dribble and be robots for your own entertainment. You expect them to shut up and dance for you.

I love how you bring up salaries but mention NOTHING about the owners making hundreds of millions every single season for doing nothing. There is literally zero risk to being an NFL owner. The teams and sport sell itself. Goodell does zero, either and makes a ton. But of course, you bring up player salaries. Not the massive tv deals going on and networks able to pay announcers like Romo $10mill a year because this sport prints money.

You have the opinions of my grandpa. He still lives in the old times and rolls his nose at today's times and athletes. So many of your posts you seem very bitter to athletes and their voices. So out of touch. Just stop watching and quit complaining constantly.

 

[Oz-of-Cowboy-Country]

We as humans can't work forever. So we have to make as much as we can before our bodies breakdown. Some go to college to help them make more money during life. Some take up trade skills to help them make more money during their lives. So how is the modern athlete different from most nine to fivers?

How is Zeke different from Jerry Jones? Jerry is a billionaire who keeps expanding his riches. How come wanting more money during a lifetime is frowned upon by athletes by not nine to fivers or billionaires?

Because fans want what's best for their favorite franchises. And if that league has a salary cap, then signing a "show me the money" athlete is not always what's best for the franchise from a fans point of view. But that's only a problem in leagues that have salary caps.

When Emmitt, Aikman, and Irving were re-signed no one even cared what they were making. But add in the salary cap and social media and it becomes a feeding frenzy of dislike for the "greedy" player.

So the mentality of players haven't changed, its just that the salary caps has changed our perspectives of those players.

 

[pavalley]

All I can tell you is that the NBA and the NFL have all been harder and harder to enjoy watching. The salaries, the player opinions, ESPN's opinions and everything else is out of control. Its no longer a place to get away and enjoy the day. Its basically a place where all the BS is right in your face and being pushed.

As each day goes by I care less and less about the seasons even starting again. I would like nothing more than for the owners in both leagues to put the players back in their place with the labor agreements. If that means no sports for another year, so be it.

well said !

 

[pavalley]

We as humans can't work forever. So we have to make as much as we can before our bodies breakdown. Some go to college to help them make more money during life. Some take up trade skills to help them make more money during their lives. So how is the modern athlete different from most nine to fivers?

How is Zeke different from Jerry Jones? Jerry is a billionaire who keeps expanding his riches. How come wanting more money during a lifetime is frowned upon by athletes by not nine to fivers or billionaires?

Because fans want what's best for their favorite franchises. And if that league has a salary cap, then signing a "show me the money" athlete is not always what's best for the franchise from a fans point of view. But that's only a problem in leagues that have salary caps.

When Emmitt, Aikman, and Irving were re-signed no one even cared what they were making. But add in the salary cap and social media and it becomes a feeding frenzy of dislike for the "greedy" player.

So the mentality of players haven't changed, its just that the salary caps has changed our perspectives of those players.

well stated as well. The only thing I would add is business owners put assets at risk and hope for a return, employees do not, they are employed and if the business goes down their level of risk and fallout is much different

 

[McKDaddy]

The glorification of athletes of prior eras is unfounded. What in the world makes you think the players back then cared more about winning championships than players now?

What I do know is that 90% of today's players work harder and are more dedicated to their craft than 90% of yesteryear's players.

Well, players played with broken legs, willingly amputated appendages, etc. to continue playing. So, there was a pretty high level of caring and dedication to team that you haven't seen in decades.
Also, those guys weren't making enough that they were rich. They still worked other jobs in the offseason. So, they didn't have the time or the facilities of today's athletes to train during the offseason.
The reason people are bigger, faster, stronger and better at the game is because they start earlier, are given more & better opportunities and everything is available to help them achieve the goals. (nutrition, specialized training & coaches, technology, etc.,)
No doubt a lot of these guys put in the time to look the part but its also easy for today's player to project an image that he is working really hard whether he is or not. Most of them care more about how they look than how they perform. So, just cause you hitting the gym doesn't mean you are becoming a better player.

 

[StuckMojo]

All I can tell you is that the NBA and the NFL have all been harder and harder to enjoy watching. The salaries, the player opinions, ESPN's opinions and everything else is out of control. Its no longer a place to get away and enjoy the day. Its basically a place where all the BS is right in your face and being pushed.

As each day goes by I care less and less about the seasons even starting again. I would like nothing more than for the owners in both leagues to put the players back in their place with the labor agreements. If that means no sports for another year, so be it.

ESPN/NBA is absolutely horrible in my opinion these days