Hazing Rituals in the NFL? They Should End

When an NFL team pays an exorbitant amount of money to a draft pick, it should definitely protect that player. Should a rookie player be hazed and subjected to humiliation or possible injury just because of some foolish tradition? No. I am all for tradition. But please be reminded that their are good traditions and foolish traditions, in many places, not just football. Just as an example, (not football)during hazing traditions of certain fraternities, sometimes the pledge is forced to eat something that he might be allergic to. He might be thrown into a pond, without knowing how to swim. He might be forced to drink a bottle of vodka in a certain amount of seconds. Alcohol poisoning deaths have occurred because of this.

Coming back to pro football. Last year, Tim Tebow, a rookie quarterback was given a ridiculous friar style haircut. He was bald in the middle of his head with locks of hair surrounding the baldness. This is ridiculous. Tebow submitted to it because he has character. I consider it a form of persecution because he is a professed Christian. It appears that football is the king of hazing. I even consider it foolish for a coach to be drenched in Gatorade after winning an important game or a championship. I have seen coaches get hit with the container during the process, and I know it was painful. Is that the reward for doing a good or great job? Such foolishness! Believe it or not, careers can be ended due to such nonsensical conduct. Just ask Cam Cleeland and Jeff Danish. Both were New Orleans Saints rookies during the late nineties. Both were gang-rushed by teammates. Cleeland sustained an eye injury after being clubbed by a bag of coins. Danish was hospitalized after being shoved through a window. Danish sustained serious injuries. He sued the Saints, an assistant coach and a half-dozen players. He won an undisclosed amount of money after suing for more than $650,000 in damages. He was released from the team the next day. What a shame. What a waste of money and talent. All because of stupidity. There is much more to discuss regarding this matter. I will save it for another time.

The Triple G (Part III) GIRLS

For our purposes here, I refer to women as girls. The main reason being, so that I can stick to the letter "G" and thus adhere to to the title of "The Triple G."

Girls are special. They are unique. They are attractive. They are mysterious. They are desired by natural, normal and healthy men. This has existed for thousands of years. They have dominated the thoughts of adolescent boys, poets, composers, authors, and movie producers. Nicole Hollander once wrote: "Can you imagine a world without men? No crime and lots of happy, fat women." Ironically the quote connects to my theme of the last "G" which is Girls. Men will do many things for girls. Men will do many things to girls. Men will get locked up because of girls. I will not discuss fault. My emphasis is reality. Most normal or abnormal relationships between men and women require money. Motivation is a key word here. I spoke of "Gold" in my first G. The desire for money can often not be related to survival, but to girls. I have stated that some men will get locked up for girls. Why? Apparently they are willing to break laws for them. Girls give life meaning.

"If women didn't exist, all the money in this world would have no meaning."
(Aristotle Onassis)

The Triple G (Part II) GLORY

Most normal men want to be recognized, considered, appreciated, honored, and respected. I see nothing wrong with that. It is part of being human. Sometimes normal needs take on levels of aberration that require legal, medical and spiritual responses because they are so abnormal. Such is the case for a man who will kill another man because the victim gave him an unkind look. Duels and fights have taken place over misconceived perceptions that someone was dishonored. Perhaps someone was dishonored. How did he respond? How should have he responded? Where was he? What was he doing/saying? Who was he with? What was his state of mind? What were his motives in the scenario? Why was property damaged? Why did people get injured? Why did someone die?

Why did the man steal a loaf of bread instead of asking/begging for it? Because, as he saw his situation, he figured that there is more glory in stealing something than in begging for it. Begging equals loss of glory. Stealing represents skill, and a sense of self-worth.

The pursuit of glory got a man locked up because he injured another man for taking away his girlfriend. But we will talk about that in Part III.

The Triple G (Part I) GOLD

Gold, for our purposes, here, represents money. It represents wealth and riches. It represents possessions of significant value. It represents a desire to own. It represents a "because I have it, I receive power, pleasure, and praise" mentality. To many, it represents freedom. It also represents fulfilled aspirations and goals reached. For some, it represents the main purpose of life. Who will argue that money is not a good thing to have? Solomon, known as one of the wealthiest men in the history of the world, stated: "Money answers all things." Some men will lie, steal,cheat, beg, abuse, give up their integrity/friendships/family and freedom for money. They will kill or die........for money. Of course, we work and make sacrifices for money because we must. But their is something to remember: "The love of money is the root of all evil." (I Tim. 6:10) In my view, this is probably the most misquoted verse there is. Money is not the root of all evil. The love of it is. If one truly loves money, he is willing to do most anything to obtain it. Because of this many men are locked up for the first G.

The Triple G...3 Reasons Men Go To Prison, Intro.

What I am about to say, may sound like an oversimplification to a complex societal and criminal problem. It is indeed a moral problem. I would like to classify all the reasons men commit crimes into 3 general categories. Sometimes they overlap. Sometimes they are remotely connected. Sometimes they are very connected. All three are well known. All three are concepts all of us can relate to. All three are pursuits of normal/natural men. Some men dedicate their entire lives to the pursuit of one, two or three of them. I must say all of them are important. I venture to say that many men would declare: "I'll vote for those." All three are goals. All three are things men have fought and killed for. What are they?

They are the Triple G. My next three blogs will explain each G.

The Customer Is Always Right

"There is only one boss. The customer. And they can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending their money somewhere else."
(Sam Walton)

I think most of us realize that the customer is not "always right." But that is not the message attempted to be conveyed. These days jobs are not plentiful. Potential employees, particularly those who work in retail and service industries need to understand that the customer insures them that they can continue to have a job if the customer is pleased with the service and/or product. Yes, it can almost guarantee job security if an employee treats a customer well. I know that working with the public is not always easy, but it can be enjoyable, successful and rewarding. Rule #1....learn how to treat people right.

Little Gangster (Part 14) No Party Invitation

Mosca was a gang member. He loved his gang. He loved to get high. He loved to party. He was a good dancer. He was 5' 4." He carried a switch blade knife with him and a 38 special revolver most of the time. He was sensitive about his stature. He was 18 years of age. One Saturday night an attractive girl in the neighborhood had a party. She was 16. She knew Mosca but not well. She did not invite him to the party. Mosca became upset. Maybe he would not have become so upset had he not mixed his marijuana use with several beers. It made him react differently and with bitter emotions. It was Saturday night. He wanted to be at that party. The party represented something. It represented fun, friends, adventure and a chance to express his identity. The party was a chance to meet girls. The party was a chance to show everyone he had "game." The party represented pleasure and a chance to show his authority in the neighborhood. He felt life was passing him by. He had no recourse. He had no alternatives. From being upset, he became furious. He then became deranged. What he did was extremely foolish. He went to where the party was. He hid behind some bushes and started shooting his gun at the people attending the party. He killed two and wounded two. He was caught, arrested, tried and convicted of two counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder. He was sentenced to life in prison. If he ever gets out of prison he will be an old man who probably won't be interested in going to any parties.

Practice As You Play

Football season is starting soon. Every high school, college and NFL football coach probably wants to win a championship. It is his job to get every one of his players to practice with skill and passion. This is nothing but common sense to me. I believe you practice as you play. Practice with all of your heart. Give it every thing you have on every drill and every play. This can at times be a major task. Why? Because you do not want to injure your own team mates. No worries. Practice like you are supposed to practice. If you have any sense, you would not purposely try to injure a team mate. Particularly if he is the quarterback or another starting player. Think about Friday night, Saturday afternoon, or Sunday afternoon.
You need to win that next game. One game at a time. Win it. One game at a time. Practice hard. Play that game with everything you have. Another thing: If you practice hard.....you increase your chances of getting into that game. Give it everything you have. Leave it on the field. Win a championship.....one game at a time.