Twentysomething...

Poor Tom Brady

by David Lion Rattiner

In a weird way, I feel bad for Tom Brady, quarterback of the New England Patriots. I don’t know how I can justify feeling sorry for somebody that has everything any human being on the planet could ever dream of, but I do. I really thought he was going to beat out Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts to be in the Super Bowl.

Usually I feel kind of good when I see somebody with so much going for them fail at something, purely out of jealousy. But not in Tom Brady’s case. He is just the man.

On the other hand, if there is one guy I hate right now, it is David Beckham. How the heck did this guy convince an American soccer program to give him $250 million to play soccer here? You have got to be kidding me. He struts around in this rock star outfit with giant sunglasses and then gets $250 million for playing a sport in America that is far from mainstream. I’ve got nothing against soccer and if I had to make a prediction, I’d say that in ten years, it is going to be a big deal in America because of the increased Latino population, but I still think David Beckham is annoyingly rich.

I also want to say that I am really disappointed that the Saints couldn’t pull it off. I thought for sure that this Super Bowl was going to be played and won by the New Orleans Saints and New Orleans would get something to be happy about. Somebody should have ensured this. It’s such a perfect story. You would think that some conspiracy would have happened where the Bears were paid off to ensure a New Orleans win. But that would never happen, at least not with the Bears. Their fans are like Red Sox fans.

DAAAA BEARS!

I enjoy watching sports, but one of the more or less depressing things about watching sports for me lately, is that a lot of the players are about my age. I’m 24, but I can remember vividly being 21 and watching a baseball game and thinking to myself, “If I just get lucky, I could be a professional baseball player, some way, some how, it could happen. It is still possible. I still have time.”

But now, I’m starting to think that it is no longer possible. Well, maybe it’s not impossible for me to become a professional athlete, but I’m starting to think that it’s most likely not going to happen. Maybe I have a chance at the Ultimate Fighting Championships. Those guys don’t really get involved in that until they are in their late twenties.

This is going to sound really weird, but having my Major League baseball contract dream die is not an easy thing to accept, and I really think that this is what America is all about in general. No matter what, in America, you have a chance at “making it” with your life, no matter what age you are. It is this dream, no matter how distant or ridiculous, that doesn’t have us all freaking out. Communism for example, gets you angry because dreaming is kind of pointless in that system.

And so, I feel that the other day, Rob Ninkovich, the 23-year-old rookie defensive end for the Saints, was not only making amazing tackles, but was also teaching me what it must feel like to live in a Communist government. He essentially killed my dream of becoming a football superstar. There is just no way at this point. I’m too old for it. Even if a scout saw me throwing a ball perfectly in the park, he wouldn’t sign me up because I’m simply over the hill. But whatever, I’m over it.

Letting a dream die in America is a weird thing. We are lucky to be able to have dreams like that and that’s what I love about this place.

So yes, maybe I’m not going to be a professional athlete and yes, maybe I’m not going to have a $250 million endorsement from a soccer team, but you know what? I’ve got other dreams to think about.