I wonder how many kids get messed up for life just trying for that 3% who make athletic millions. I think it's a shame but it's all been said before. SorryJewbacca
No need to apologize YH, and no worries. I'm absolutely at peace with the choices I made and the results thereof. I ultimately went back to college, and things turned out pretty well, all things considered. If I could do it again, I'd have turned down the contract and played collegiately, and in doing so, maybe I would have learned how to play the game at that high a level, thus possibly avoiding injury. At the very least, I would have been 4 years older and much stronger, and thus more prepared. That said, anyone who's a hockey fan can put my "Class of '85" age and the OIlers together and figure out that those were the epic Edmonton years, and I was just an 18 year old kid who was a huge fan of those legends like everyone else. The glare was just too bright, and I followed it, ignoring the risks and probability of success.
In spite of all of that, regrets aren't productive, and I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have even had a sniff at it. Just to have been chosen to be in the same locker room as those guys was the ultimate compliment, and in my mind, validated all the years of hard work. Would the money and fame have been great? Hell yes, but it just wasn't in the cards for me. As my dad used to say, in the final analysis, our mistakes are really all we have that we can truly call our own.
I hear you though. I've known my share of kids who suffered similar outcomes, and who could never move past it, either physically, mentally or both. I'm certainly no saint, and have my share of demons, but I'm a productive, functioning single father raising two teenagers that are pretty damn good human beings, which is a lot more than some of those guys can say today. The modern sports culture certainly doesn't do right by young kids, particularly in presenting a sound risk - reward scenario to them and their families. Unfortunately, a lot of times it comes down to what kind of support they have around them, although in my case, I had all the facts from my family and still made the wrong choice. Whether it's sports, music, Hollywood, or big business, the allure of fame and fortune is extremely seductive. In many ways, not unlike that next hydro, benzo, etc. that we may legitimately need, yet know we'd be better off without, but that we reach for just the same.
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ontovzik:
When I had long term shingles, lasting two months. All he could give me was a 10 day supply of dilaudid. He looked at the ground while we were talking about it. I could tell he was ashamed but it was the legislature and the governor that tied his hands. He was very upset that non-medical political people, the media, and the scared public were controlling how he treated his patients. Someday those people will need meds and a hospital bed and they will be gone.
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WTF7218:
@xenxra 😆😂. Yes, but only a few brave souls will ever find the number. You must first order a Dirty Shirley from the bartender. Then you must discreetly take the cocktail napkin from under your drink and unfold it. There you will find the map to the location of the phone number, and clues to decipher the code that it is written in.
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xenxra:
he left his phone number scribbled in a stall at the pub three blocks down
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aBBazaBBa123:
@rockychoc How do I contact you?
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Alkazar:
@NYStateofMind I dont really have a history of abusing things, my docotr is just really stingy. I am thinking of switching.