Friday, August 31, 2012

Athletes as role models???? Sadly not anymore!!!!!!!!

Today 89 years ago the TRUE Rocky died!! Rocky Marciano!!! Which got me thinking, what was back then an honor to be a "professional" in a sport and actually meant training countless hours with blood, sweat, heart, and determination now seems in this day and age is not needed anymore!! As long as there is an easier "pointier" way which will inject heart into you, athletes take it!!  Now there were no PHD tests back in the days of Rocky or any of these "legendary" athletes, so I don't know if they were injecting or not, BUT what I do know is athletes back then actually had a work ethic for the love of the game!!  Not worried about publicity, commercials, PR chances, etc. they worked hard because they knew that was the only way to be the best!!! There was no "easy" way out back then, only determination and heart!!!  And after their professional life was over with, they kept on working hard, not worrying about the next spot on the new upcoming reality show or some crap that is on tv or sports anchor!!  As a teacher I hear this all the time from my students: I want to be real big, I want it now, what is the easiest/quickest way to do this!!! REALLY?!?!  Is this what the generation is becoming!!  Has hard work, heart, and determination to NOT give up through adversity completely gone extinct with the new athletes??!?!  I remember my 3rd year of college UMD got a "new and improved" weight room, which yes was bigger, had more windows and wasn't in the basement of UMD anymore, but honestly I LOVED the old fitness room!!! It had the personality of what hard work should be, dirty and smelly!!!

Now the mindset has gone from hard work and determination to what supplements/powder can I take to become bigger or what weight loss product can I eat to make me skinny!?!?  The scary thing is, all of these supplements and pills are SOOOOOOOOO new to the market, that who knows what the side effects will be in the next 30 years of their life!!!  For me personally, nothing is more satisfying then working my butt off for a goal (usually a marathon or personal best) and accomplishing it knowing my hard work and healthy eating was the driving force!! ALL ME!!!!!!!! NOTHING ELSE!!!!!!!!!  No shortcuts, no extra protein whey supplements or whatever!!!!!  All sweat, heart, and the love of working hard!!!!!:):):)  What are these professional athletes who get caught using PHD's showing our youth!??!  Especially the ones that are past their prime and using just to keep the game going for them just a little bit longer?!?  Oh, it's okay to use as long as you don't get caught!! It's okay to forget what is good and valuable about a hard work ethic as long as you are a "professional" a little bit longer or at all!!!!

Call me old school, traditional, whatever, but what is life if all you're doing is finding the easy way to get through!!  What is life all about if you never are challenged and never have to fight through an adverse situation??  Where is your personal gain and feeling of accomplishment??!  Not there!!  And honestly this is not even a feeling that has to be associated with physical, it can be anything or any type of situation where you put yourself into an unknown outcome, work hard, and try to be successful!!! And if you're not, you damn well try and try again until you are!!!!!!! It's as simple as that!!!! There is no shortcut to life, you live by pain!!  The pain of failure, makes you want to try again!! The pain of losing someone, makes you want to live life to its fullest because you realize how short life can be!!!  The pain of heart break, makes you sad but teaches you there is still an entirely open and wonderful world out there!!!  Pain is essential to a happy and fulfilling life!!!  Which is why you don't get pain when you try and cheat your way through, because you really never put your full heart into it!!!  Yeah you feel bad when you get caught, but I guarantee you don't feel as bad if you were to really try, put effort into it, and fail!!!

So who can we "look" up to anymore, if everyone that we think is honest and good in life fails with allegations and cheating!?!?  Well I would suggest the people that are closest around you!!!  The people in your life that are with you every single day!!! The people in your life that go through the same pain  you do, the same hardship you do!!! Not some figure on a tv or internet who you don't even know on a personal level!!!  Yeah you get those "emotional" stories every once in a while, but honestly how long does that last?? A week, month, year at most?!?  You want someone to inspire you, try someone who you actually have made an emotional bond with!!!  That will be way more inspiring then any celebrity or athlete on tv could ever be!!!!!  And the great thing is, that person who inspires you will be in your life forever!!!  Even when they pass on!!!:):):)

HAPPY SMILING AND INSPIRING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:):):):):):):):)