Saturday,
July 28
| by Johnny Rathman, Staff Writer |
The
New Athlete
Another case of "Be careful what you ask for;" if
you want to see your name in print, hope you don't get it by
way of Staff Writer Johnny Rathman's latest series.
For those of us who have been uninformed
witnesses to succeeding sports seasons, the new athletes are a
serious departure from the individuals with whom we have
become accustomed.
Most often, people of past generations
(not long past, short past), were treated to the
“All-American-Boy.” You
know. Blond,
blue-eyed, tall, great teeth, etc.
Joe Montana, Steve Young.
That type.
No more.
Now we are treated to would-be punkers, spiked hair,
underwear out of the pants.
That kind of thing.
Are they as good as athletes of the past?
Frankly, I don’t know.
Can’t get past the hair.
But obviously we can’t judge by
appearances. At
least we shouldn’t, but that’s a whole other thing.
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Appearances are indeed different, and
other things are different as well.
College coaches and we who are selecting our fantasy
college team must examine size, speed, quickness, athletic
ability and such intangibles as heart and attitude.
In addition, all of us must be concerned
with past injuries. Our
new athletes, along with the usual concerns about knees,
ankles, arms, have to be especially mindful of injuries to the
wrists and rotator cuffs caused when suspects are being
handcuffed behind the back.
A short aside, if I may.
While watching TV news coverage of the apprehension of
a bank robber some time ago, the camera followed the suspect
as he was being helped into the rear seat of the patrol car.
As the door was closed and he settled down into the
seat, he leaned forward, toward the window and mouthed the
words “Hi, Mom!”
Perfect practice for the budding athlete.
Another concern is the effect of body
piercing. Many of
our younger players, following recent trends of the day, are
having various body parts pierced.
Putting holes through ears, noses, eyebrows, navels,
nipples, etc. is not an illegal practice. But it is a problem on a couple of levels.
First, physically, these punctures may be sites for
infection thus making the hole a greater health risk,
affecting his overall performance.
Second, what the hell are they doing?
But that’s my conservatism.
I am of the mind that believes that if
we’re going to invest time, coaching skill, money in the
career of a young man, that young man should probably show
some emotional stability.
Or, at the very least, shouldn’t willingly let anyone
put holes in his body.
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