Ever feel bad for an athlete?

• vball10set

  **** John Elway :mad:
• Tiernan

  The entire 2012 OSU Buckeyes who got shafted by 5 POS teammates, a liar and the worst NCAA witch hunt in history.
• hasbeen

  

  Tiernan;1351919 wrote:The entire 2012 OSU Buckeyes who got shafted by 5 POS teammates, a liar and the worst NCAA witch hunt in history.

  
  Don't feel bad for them at all.
• Ironman92

  

  O-Trap;1351906 wrote:Elway in the 1990 SuperBowl (I wasn't following football yet, but I've caught it on replay) - The whole game. 10-for-26 with 2 picks and a measly 106 yards on the losing end of a 55-0 drubbing on the biggest stage in football. That's just gotta suck. Felt better watching him win a pair later on.

  
  Of little note....but the score was 55-10.
• O-Trap

  

  Ironman92;1351931 wrote:Of little note....but the score was 55-10.

  Thanks for the correction. I knew that. Just missed the '1' key on the keyboard.
• Pick6

  

  Greg Oden
• tk421

  

  Nope
• raiderbuck

  The kid who kicked for Boise State a few years ago. I believe they lost to a Colin Kaepernick led Nevada team that night. The kid missed two crucial field goals. One in the fourth quarter (potential game winner), and one in OT. Boise was a top ten (maybe even 5?) team that year, and for sure would have went to a BCS game. But they ended up in the Maaco Las Vegas bowl. You had to feel for that guy. He missed two bunnies.
  
  edit..Boise was ranked #3 going in to that game.
• Hb31187

  

  For a split second I do, then I remember what his bank account looks like and I dont feel bad anymore
• Ironman92

  

  Gary Anderson.
  
  Did not miss a FG all year and missed a 37? yarder that would've sent the Vikings of Randall Cunningham and Randy Moss to the SB against the Broncos.
• gerb131

  

  That golfer who lost the British Open I think Van De Velde, his meltdown was hurtful as much as it was funny.
• Ironman92

  

  gerb131;1352020 wrote:That golfer who lost the British Open I think Van De Velde, his meltdown was hurtful as much as it was funny.

  
  Yep....a 6 to win....it was a Disney Disaster. Curtis Strange on the call gave me one of my favorite sayings on unbelievable stuff. "Is this real?"
• A PAC

  

  I generally have a rule where I don't feel bad for millionaires (except in tragic cases like loss of family members etc). If an athlete ever declared bankruptcy nobody should feel bad for him/her. Be more careful with your money and it won't happen.
  
  I will say that I feel bad for the competitive aspect of athletes though. I feel bad for Larry Fitzgerald. He's a classy guy who believed in Arizona's brass. They have let him down tremendously by not putting talent around him. I usually look down upon a guy who demands a trade (Dwight Howard) but Fitz should do it if he ever wants to win.
• gut

  It's hard to feel sorry for pro athletes because, at the end of the day, many we could list made millions playing a game. I feel bad for the high school and college kids that lose a game. And some Olympians, because they train so hard and only get a shot every 4 years, and maybe only 1 shot.
• berry

  Suzy Favor Hamilton. Never finished first in the Olympics, then chose another field where she could never finish first.
• fan_from_texas

  berry;1352089 wrote:Suzy Favor Hamilton. Never finished first in the Olympics, then chose another field where she could never finish first.

  
  Slow clap.
• Tiernan

  hasbeen;1351920 wrote:Don't feel bad for them at all.

  Why becuz you're a doosh?
• O-Trap

  

  I don't buy the whole idea that because they make a lot of money doing their job, then we shouldn't feel bad for them. Why is the money so important? Is it really so important that it takes precedence over being one of the best at your job?
  
  Color me odd, but I don't think money buys the kind of happiness associated with making them feel better about having a bad day at work, marital troubles, the temptation to indulge without the hindrance of inability, not seeing family for stretches at a time, etc.
  
  Money is nice, but it doesn't cure all of life's ills. Incidents like this recent Ryan Freel one should make that abundantly clear.
  
  Money doesn't make life's problems go away. It just changes what problems you have.
• gut

  O-Trap;1352166 wrote: Is it really so important that it takes precedence over being one of the best at your job?

  Would you cry over the forklift driver that isn't as fast or as precise?... Bill Buckner made millions. The guy I fired for running over someone's foot...not so much.
• gut

  O-Trap;1352166 wrote: Money doesn't make life's problems go away. It just changes what problems you have.

  And I would take Bill Buckner's money, and boot...every Sunday and then some. My tears would feed the stream running thru my estate.
• O-Trap

  

  gut;1352176 wrote:Would you cry over the forklift driver that isn't as fast or as precise?... Bill Buckner made millions. The guy I fired for running over someone's foot...not so much.

  
  If your forklifter was nationally ridiculed, yes, I would "cry" over it. What makes it sad isn't that they play sports. It's the fact that their failure is not only witnessed by millions, but scrutinized and vilified and ridiculed by millions.
  
  Millions don't seem like as much when you have them. You might say you'd take all his troubles, but do you actually know what it feels like to experience them? If not, then you can't truly say whether or not you're better off where you are.
  

  gut;1352177 wrote:And I would take Bill Buckner's money, and boot...every Sunday and then some. My tears would feed the stream running thru my estate.

  How do you know you'd take them? Don't get me wrong; it's obvious that you value wage very highly, but how do you know you'd rather make more than you do now (still less than many) and take on the problems he's had?
  
  The problem with this notion is that wealth is relative. Someone living a simple, low-obligation life in northern Japan might see Joe America making $50K and think he'd be stupid not to take the $50K a year life over his own. However, he doesn't see the financial stretch that comes from additional expenses like a mortgage, car payments, medical care, taxes, etc. It's VERY possible that his life is more carefree, and thus, he would end up preferring his own life. Point is, he doesn't know, and the wealth is relative.
  
  Are you so certain that you are that much happier or more content than him because you are wealthy in comparison? Or do your finances not alleviate your stress and enable you to live a carefree life even compared to him?
• sportchampps

  I usually find a couple Olympic athletes I feel bad for. Usually it's someone in a lesser known event who puts in 4 years worth of effort and then pulls a muscle or has someone else interfere with them and ruin their dream and hard work from the previous 4 years.
• Sonofanump

  berry;1352089 wrote:Suzy Favor Hamilton. Never finished first in the Olympics, then chose another field where she could never finish first.

  Nice.
• gut

  O-Trap;1352178 wrote: Are you so certain that you are that much happier or more content than him because you are wealthy in comparison? Or do your finances not alleviate your stress and enable you to live a carefree life even compared to him?

  I'm quite certain I could cope. In spite of some, and you apparently, trying to make it more than a game it STILL is just a game.
  
  So would you rather be Buckner or Steve Bartman? It's an easy, easy choice.
• O-Trap

  

  gut;1352466 wrote:I'm quite certain I could cope. In spite of some, and you apparently, trying to make it more than a game it STILL is just a game.
  
  So would you rather be Buckner or Steve Bartman? It's an easy, easy choice.

  I don't think so. As long as I am able to live without financial difficulty, I'd rather be anonymous than go through life as the embodiment of a punchline.
  
  It's partially a game, sure. However, when it's your livelihood, and your future depends on politics, bureaucrats, agents, commissioners, bosses, trainings, long stays away from home, etc. it's not "just a game." That's over-simplistically ignoring the majority of being a player, which takes place off the field/court.
  
  If you think being wealthy would make it okay that everyone in the country sees you as a goat or joke, you're welcome to speculate, but that's all it is. I don't really care if you think money makes everything better, but it's silly to apply that to everyone.
  
  Would you, then, also trade places with one of the Kardashians? One of the characters from Jersey Shore? They're wealthy by your standards, I hear.