Celebrity vs. Reality

[5Stars]

Something has been sticking in my mind for a few days now, after the tragedy at Valley Ranch.

After re-watching an episode of Hard Knocks from last years training camp, I can understand the cluster-muck of last season! All the stupid goofy tomfoolery, the supposedly "Star Power", the catching of 6 footballs by Pac Man and Crayton, the stupid smirk on Wade Phillips, the damn nonsense of it all, the TO worship, the ignorance of it all, just made me realize that last year was all fluff, and no glory. No hitting, no tackling, no damn playing and getting ready to play some stinking football! That just pissed me off watching that episode!

Garrett telling everybody to play with swagger! Romo has swagger! TO has swagger, Witten has swagger! Oh, really now? What did that swagger get the team?

Freaking cameras everywhere! Filming some player trying to find his room. Filming some some players getting in to the ice tubs, filming some damn nonsense that went on during a freaking Dallas Cowboys Training Camp! It almost made me puke watching that...I mean I was totally disgusted with the whole charade! All that crap that went on last year was nothing but celebrity! Absolute nonsense.


Fast forward....


My wife and son were telling me, "Why are you still obsessing over what happened to the Cowboys?" They freaking don't understand. And I don't either to tell you the truth. But what happened to the Cowboys this year is total reality...life or death. And the cameras were rolling...

Events like this are what leave a lasting mark on peoples lives. Acting in front of a camera is foolish, fun maybe, but foolish. This was not an act, well, maybe an act of God, but it was not an act. What we witnessed was human beings coming together, helping, confused, hurt, in shock, reality at it's worst.

No coaches were giggling about how many balls Pacman could catch...coaches were altered for life. Players were not clowning around dumping water on another player, players were struggling to help and assist other players and coaches out from under a water storm! A player probably did not call his bro to tell him that he hopes to work hard and make the team. These players were calling relatives to make sure to tell them that they were Ok...

There were no fans around yelling, "Go Cowboys...get us to the SuperBowl...there was no Garrett telling the players "if they blitz us, **** um", there was no nonsense in what took place here! This event was reality. This was not a game, this was the real Hard Knocks...a true life changing event, not some silly soap opera made to make Cowboy fans feel good.

I could go on and on about how this blew my mind...and the contrast between celebrity vs. reality

Something happened to me at a young age that altered my life in a similar way but I won't bore you with the details.

If this event does not bring this Dallas Cowboys team into the realization the meaning of "team"...then they do not deserve to be a team. And, I hope and pray that this trickles down to the vets that were not there to understand what went on in the heat of this battle...a life or death battle.

This was not a game. This was real. This was not TV. This was real. This was teamwork, and the injured gave themselves for the cause. And the cameras were showing all the World just what the hell can happen!

Naw...screw that! You want to be an actor or you want to play football as a team? You want to clown around or do you want to come together as a team of football players, ready to give up yourself to help those around you?

Adversity in any sport is what sports is about. Adversity in life...that is another thing...and these Cowboys did good.

I'm done now...I need to post this.

 

[5Countem5]

I really don't understand why so many feel the tragic events at Valley Ranch will have an impact on the field. Tragedy occurs to teams fairly often and those teams don't always go on to win it all and no Super Bowl winner has ever been spurred on by their practice dome collapsing- so far.

Reality strikes players all the time, family members get sick and die- things happen that we never hear about- I just don't see NFL players needing a wake-up call like this to be successful.

 

[DallasEast]

Good post. In the end, I believe that a major emphasis of the catastrophe's impact will be felt, held onto and provide inner motivation for the rookies who were there. Perhaps they will provide an even hotter spark for the mini-camps and training camp due to this one singular event because one lesson can be learned from all this:

Life's too short. Take your shot and do your damnest to make it stick because you never know if it'll be your last opportunity to do something about it.

 

[cowboyjoe]

Good post. In the end, I believe that a major emphasis of the catastrophe's impact will be felt, held onto and provide inner motivation for the rookies who were there. Perhaps they will provide an even hotter spark for the mini-camps and training camp due to this one singular event because one lesson can be learned from all this:

Life's too short. Take your shot and do your damnest to make it stick because you never know if it'll be your last opportunity to do something about it.

exactly, i posted about the hardknocks show what i saw and i saw the same thing;

i think with what happened saturday is the leveling of the bubble, possibly feelings among the players, the uniting of the coaches, and the rookies that will forever be bonded in that moment;

i think this is like leveling now the stuff all last year, giving wade a real chance to have his family type atmosphere he wants, and making wade realize life is short, so you dont fool around anymore and act like you said above.

But to work these players when he has too, jason and wade coming together for the good of the team and the staff personnel that got hurt

they always say in trajedy teams come together, like the Commanders when sean taylor got killed, etc

either this will strongly bond the cowboys as a team and players like romo, witten, ware, bradie step up and keep this team focused throughout this season or the reverse effect

 

[Apollo Creed]

I have assumed that this team would have a chip on its shoulder each year.

After the Seattle bobble.

After the G-Men spray painted our locker room after 13-3 and laughed their way to a lombardi.

After the 44-6 whooping they took they better be fired up.

 

[xpistofer]

Something has been sticking in my mind for a few days now, after the tragedy at Valley Ranch.

After re-watching an episode of Hard Knocks from last years training camp, I can understand the cluster-muck of last season! All the stupid goofy tomfoolery, the supposedly "Star Power", the catching of 6 footballs by Pac Man and Crayton, the stupid smirk on Wade Phillips, the damn nonsense of it all, the TO worship, the ignorance of it all, just made me realize that last year was all fluff, and no glory. No hitting, no tackling, no damn playing and getting ready to play some stinking football! That just pissed me off watching that episode!

Garrett telling everybody to play with swagger! Romo has swagger! TO has swagger, Witten has swagger! Oh, really now? What did that swagger get the team?

Freaking cameras everywhere! Filming some player trying to find his room. Filming some some players getting in to the ice tubs, filming some damn nonsense that went on during a freaking Dallas Cowboys Training Camp! It almost made me puke watching that...I mean I was totally disgusted with the whole charade! All that crap that went on last year was nothing but celebrity! Absolute nonsense.


Fast forward....


My wife and son were telling me, "Why are you still obsessing over what happened to the Cowboys?" They freaking don't understand. And I don't either to tell you the truth. But what happened to the Cowboys this year is total reality...life or death. And the cameras were rolling...

Events like this are what leave a lasting mark on peoples lives. Acting in front of a camera is foolish, fun maybe, but foolish. This was not an act, well, maybe an act of God, but it was not an act. What we witnessed was human beings coming together, helping, confused, hurt, in shock, reality at it's worst.

No coaches were giggling about how many balls Pacman could catch...coaches were altered for life. Players were not clowning around dumping water on another player, players were struggling to help and assist other players and coaches out from under a water storm! A player probably did not call his bro to tell him that he hopes to work hard and make the team. These players were calling relatives to make sure to tell them that they were Ok...

There were no fans around yelling, "Go Cowboys...get us to the SuperBowl...there was no Garrett telling the players "if they blitz us, **** um", there was no nonsense in what took place here! This event was reality. This was not a game, this was the real Hard Knocks...a true life changing event, not some silly soap opera made to make Cowboy fans feel good.

I could go on and on about how this blew my mind...and the contrast between celebrity vs. reality

Something happened to me at a young age that altered my life in a similar way but I won't bore you with the details.

If this event does not bring this Dallas Cowboys team into the realization the meaning of "team"...then they do not deserve to be a team. And, I hope and pray that this trickles down to the vets that were not there to understand what went on in the heat of this battle...a life or death battle.

This was not a game. This was real. This was not TV. This was real. This was teamwork, and the injured gave themselves for the cause. And the cameras were showing all the World just what the hell can happen!

Naw...screw that! You want to be an actor or you want to play football as a team? You want to clown around or do you want to come together as a team of football players, ready to give up yourself to help those around you?

Adversity in any sport is what sports is about. Adversity in life...that is another thing...and these Cowboys did good.

I'm done now...I need to post this.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Great post!