Just A Theory

MyFairLady · Jul 16, 2020

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?

CowboyRoy · Jul 16, 2020

MyFairLady said:
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?

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.

MyFairLady · Jul 16, 2020

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.

HungryLion · Jul 16, 2020

I honestly don’t care how much players do or don’t make. I just like watching football and hoping the team wins.

I also know that the NFL being the business it is, and as cutthroat as it is financially, is not just because of the players but also because of the owners as well.

Let’s be real, most of us all root for the laundry at this point anyway.

it just is what it is. Doesn’t really bother me one way or another.

HungryLion · Jul 16, 2020

MyFairLady said:
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.

I don’t think this highlighted part is true. Most sports franchises, making as much money as possible is one of their main goals also.

Winning is no more or less important to individual players, than it is to owners either. They’re two different wings on the same bird.

We can’t pretend that NFL franchises sole goal is to win championships.

that is the sole goal for us fans. Not the franchises and not the players.

It’s fair if that bothers you or you don’t like that. It’s your right to feel that way.

personally, it doesn’t bother me that much. I’ve accepted it. I still enjoy the hell out of watching football.

MyFairLady · Jul 16, 2020

DakPresgoat said:
I honestly don’t care how much players do or don’t make. I just like watching football and hoping the team wins.

I also know that the NFL being the business it is, and as cutthroat as it is financially, is not just because of the players but also because of the owners as well.

Let’s be real, most of us all root for the laundry at this point anyway.

it just is what it is. Doesn’t really bother me one way or another.

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.

MyFairLady · Jul 16, 2020

DakPresgoat said:
I don’t think this highlighted part is true. Most sports franchises, making as much money as possible is one of their main goals also.
.

This is true for sure. I guess for me the salary cap creates the conflict. Also the visibility aspect is a conflict. The teams want the media focus on them. The players want they media focus on them. They are in conflict.

Shake_Tiller · Jul 16, 2020

MyFairLady said:
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?

It is a game controlled and played by billionaires and multi-millionaires. That won't change until and unless the popularity of the sport collapses. The good news -- most of these are competitive people who wouldn't be where they are if they weren't invested in pursuing success, which includes winning games, winning championships.

There are exceptions, of course -- maybe owners who inherited a team and aren't really invested (or who are not mega-rich outside the value of their franchises); or players who have immense natural talent and reached a certain performance level without working as hard as some others. But most owners and players put a high priority on winning.

The issue, at its core, is the NFL is a business. Like most of us, the owners and the players want to make as much money as possible. And they are competitive people. They want to be paid more than the next guy.

I ask myself -- would I rather have major kudos at work, maybe have the entire company sing my praises? Or would I rather have my salary doubled? I'd love both, but if forced to choose...

We have one thing in common with all the owners and players. We are all people.

HungryLion · Jul 16, 2020

MyFairLady said:
This is true for sure. I guess for me the salary cap creates the conflict. Also the visibility aspect is a conflict. The teams want the media focus on them. The players want they media focus on them. They are in conflict.

Agreed. Yes the salary cap is an artificial creation. It was created to maintain parity amongst teams across the league. It’s succeeded in that. But the side effect is that it has made financial choices off the field, almost as important and impactful as a players performance on the field. And has created a system in where now fans have to worry more about how much a player earns because it impacts the rest of the team directly.

it Sucks. But I’ve grown used to it.

HungryLion · Jul 16, 2020

Shake_Tiller said:
It is a game controlled and played by billionaires and multi-millionaires. That won't change until and unless the popularity of the sport collapses. The good news -- most of these are competitive people who wouldn't be where they are if they weren't invested in pursuing success, which includes winning games, winning championships.

There are exceptions, of course -- maybe owners who inherited a team and aren't really invested (or who are not mega-rich outside the value of their franchises); or players who have immense natural talent and reached a certain performance level without working as hard as some others. But most owners and players put a high priority on winning.

The issue, at its core, is the NFL is a business. Like most of us, the owners and the players want to make as much money as possible. And they are competitive people. They want to be paid more than the next guy.

I ask myself -- would I rather have major kudos at work, maybe have the entire company sing my praises? Or would I rather have my salary doubled? I'd love both, but if forced to choose...

We have one thing in common with all the owners and players. We are all people.

This is a good point. For a lot of players, winning increases their ability to demand money.

let’s be real. If Dak’s performance (stats) were exactly the same. But the cowboys won a Super Bowl last year. Jerry would have paid him whatever he wanted this off season.

So, to a degree. The financial drivers do drive a desire to win.

MyFairLady · Jul 16, 2020

Shake_Tiller said:
I ask myself -- would I rather have major kudos at work, maybe have the entire company sing my praises? Or would I rather have my salary doubled? I'd love both, but if forced to choose..

Good point. This makes sense. it is crazy for me to get worked up over someone doing something so clearly rational. But how do I come to terms with it when it conflicts with winning.

ChronicCowboy · Jul 16, 2020

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.

MarcusRock · Jul 16, 2020

MyFairLady said:
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.

Disagree. Their primary goal was to make a living (money, to the layperson). They were good at sports, probably liked it, but who knows what else they could have done after leaving school? I remember hearing old timers talk about how the Pro Bowl was competitive because the winners got more money than the losers. Money. Oh yeah, and league superiority too while they're at it (yay). That hasn't changed to today, only the money the players get because they had to fight owners to play fair. Fans' view of players has though. That's probably because the days of "not outrageously different than you or I" are a thing of the past. The only thing that's changed during that time is the money. Men compete over the value of everything. Houses, women, cars, careers, money, strength, better at this or that, etc. For a lot, things are fine until your buddy eclipses you in area(s) that it was important you be superior in. So then you have to knock it to make things "even." That's what I think has happened to fans' attitude towards players where fans now make it "morally bad" to do what they do for themselves in their worlds. You can call an athlete dumb like in the olden days, but now you also have to call them superior in all those ways I mentioned. What's changed? We know the money has. And perhaps the ability to look down on "the dumb jocks who I'll amount to more than at life." Tough pill for some to swallow.

JD_KaPow · Jul 16, 2020

MyFairLady said:
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?

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.

MarcusRock · Jul 16, 2020

ChronicCowboy said:
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.

LOL.

Dak's leverage is all those years between Aikman and Romo. That and the Cleveland Browns.

MyFairLady · Jul 16, 2020

Perhaps you are right. Perhaps for the players nothing has changed and the only real change is my perception of the situation because of the magnitude of the contracts.

HungryLion · Jul 16, 2020

MarcusRock said:
LOL.

Dak's leverage is all those years between Aikman and Romo. That and the Cleveland Browns.

Tell ya what. It’s one thing to think Dak isn’t good enough.

I will never understand why some fans have this belief that finding a great QB is easy. It’s like They don’t watch some teams around the league spend literal decades in the toilet due to primarily, poor QB play.

but let’s stop there. No need to make another thread into a Dak one. Lol

TwoDeep3 · Jul 16, 2020

When the negotiations got intense between Randy White and the franchise, Randy went fishing. To a place where no one knew where he was. He settled eventually when the team upped the ante.

He made throw throw in a bass boat.

This issue with Dak is not that big a deal.

Dak is not the villain.

Jerry and Stephen are not the villains.

Jerry was quoted recently that he is not uncomfortable with ambivalence. Meaning this status quo which is causing fans here to tear out their hair is just business to Jerry. Dak sees this as business as well.

Jerry is in a wait and see if Dak can lift this franchise with all thew weapons it has. Dak thinks he can and is playing on a one year and "hold my beer, Jerry, and watch this," contract.
This team is standing in the shadow of a new season, and all this board wants to do is moan and whine about a one year contract.

If Dak leads this team to the NFC Championship game, things will change in regard to this contract. If he does not, Jerry and Stephen will pull the trigger on next year's tag as they make plans on the future. As things stand with neither side knowing for a fact if a long term deal is the best course of action, this is EXACTLY the way this should play out.

If your Underoos are in a twist because you think Dak doesn't care for this team, get your woobie and take a nap.

For the first time in a very long time I think Jerry has made the right move. I believe in Dak, but am with Jerry in a show me posture. I believe Dak will show him, and all will be well.
If not, then the team is not saddled with a long term deal with a guy that has hit his ceiling.

Dry those tears, little pandas. It will either work out one way or another.

ChronicCowboy · Jul 16, 2020

MarcusRock said:
LOL.

Dak's leverage is all those years between Aikman and Romo. That and the Cleveland Browns.

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

MyFairLady · Jul 16, 2020

JD_KaPow said:
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.

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.

Just A Theory

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