Rant on pro athletes

[Satan'sIsland81]

I know to outsiders this will seem like sour grapes because of what happened with Tavares, but in all honesty, I have been feeling this way for several years, more and more with each year that passes. And yes, the Tavares situation and seeing what is going on in the NHL and other sports this summer is probably "last straw."

With that said, I am at the point where it is very hard for me to like, support or be loyal to any individual pro athletes in just about any sport anymore. Sports fans have always said you are loyal to the team/logo, rather than individuals, but when I was a teenager 20+ years ago, you really felt like athletes were part of your community. And I am not talking about the standard one time per year fundraiser or the team-mandated community events or the athletes putting on their smiles and going shopping for sick kids at holiday time. The Islanders in the 80s for example (and anybody I talk to seems to indicate that they feel the same way) actually felt like "neighbors," like they were part of the community every day, all year long.

Again this is not to say that there are not some who still are genuinely nice people who care about the fans (maybe the best current example would be Eli Manning, which is probably why so many fans came to his defense last season) but the majority of modern day athletes care only about what THEY want, where THEY want to play, the best situation for THEM, the easiest way for THEM to get a championship, where THEY want to live, how much money THEY make. And me personally, it has really led to a big sports fan like myself feeling distanced from professional sports. I could see someday in the not too distant future, me and others who feel like me, eliminating sports to a large extent from my life, that is the direction I honestly see this headed in.

Today's athletes as opposed to their predecessors do not seem to understand that us fans pay their salaries. That is the honest to goodness truth. For all intents and purposes, we are and should be their "bosses." If sports fans ever got to the point where they just moved on from pro sports altogether and stadiums/arenas were empty and TV ratings continued to dwindle way beyond even the decreases we are already seeing, do you think these athletes will be making 10, 20, 25 million per year? But they just do not seem to get this. To me, it is already disgraceful that the lowest level professional athletes in this country get paid twice as much as the top surgeons and scientists and inventors do in their fields, people who are actually helping and saving people for a living.

It just sickens me every day to wake up to the next athlete talking about wanting to hand pick where he wants to play, or refusing to play for this team, or holding out for 17 million instead 15 million. These people have becoming genuinely unlikable. It is probably one of the main reasons why I have never been overly star struck by athletes.

As I have indicated in recent posts, there is that part of me that wants to rally around the rest of Isles team for example, after the BS Tavares pulled, but the only way I can really get myself onboard with that plan is just to tell myself you root for the ISLANDERS. Because quite frankly, it is hard for me to trust at this point, that in one year Anders Lee is not going to hand pick Minnesota and a few years down the road Barzal and Beauvillier will hand pick Vancouver and Montreal just when we are starting to contend.

My point is, that with a few rare exceptions like maybe Ovechkin who you could see how important it was for him to finally win with the Caps, these athletes do not care about us, they do not care about a single team, or who drafts them. They want what THEY want, that is it...and quite frankly it is turning me off to the teams I have always loved and professional sports in general.

Full disclaimer: I am probably partially swayed by being a sports journalist myself, whose primary coverage has been on high school and college sports, and mostly being around these kids who know they will never earn a single penny for playing these sports, but do it just for the love of the game and come to practice and work hard and support their teammates without anything having to do with money or what is best for THEM as individuals...and then comparing that to professional athletes.

Sorry for the long rant, but interested to hear what others have to say on the subject.

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[Brunomics]

I hear you. As a Steelers fan seeing Le'veon Bell turn down monster contracts and go all (me, me, me) has been disgusting also.

 

[And You Feel Shame]

Personally, I think it is less about the contract demands than simply about the volume of movement. When I was young, free agency was something that only a handful of players would take advantage of. Most players wanted to stay with their team. Maybe later in their careers they would entertain moving to another team for a last shot at glory or whatever, but for the most part you could rely on the core members of a team staying from year to year.

It doesn't mean as much to athletes anymore, nor does it to the management of teams - so we see massive turnover from year to year. There's no loyalty. There's no consistency for the fans. Hockey hasbeen at the tail end of this trend, but we are clearly experiencing it now for this franchise, and it's only likely to continue to go that way.

 

[majormet]

I know to outsiders this will seem like sour grapes because of what happened with Tavares, but in all honesty, I have been feeling this way for several years, more and more with each year that passes. And yes, the Tavares situation and seeing what is going on in the NHL and other sports this summer is probably "last straw."

With that said, I am at the point where it is very hard for me to like, support or be loyal to any individual pro athletes in just about any sport anymore. Sports fans have always said you are loyal to the team/logo, rather than individuals, but when I was a teenager 20+ years ago, you really felt like athletes were part of your community. And I am not talking about the standard one time per year fundraiser or the team-mandated community events or the athletes putting on their smiles and going shopping for sick kids at holiday time. The Islanders in the 80s for example (and anybody I talk to seems to indicate that they feel the same way) actually felt like "neighbors," like they were part of the community every day, all year long.

Again this is not to say that there are not some who still are genuinely nice people who care about the fans (maybe the best current example would be Eli Manning, which is probably why so many fans came to his defense last season) but the majority of modern day athletes care only about what THEY want, where THEY want to play, the best situation for THEM, the easiest way for THEM to get a championship, where THEY want to live, how much money THEY make. And me personally, it has really led to a big sports fan like myself feeling distanced from professional sports. I could see someday in the not too distant future, me and others who feel like me, eliminating sports to a large extent from my life, that is the direction I honestly see this headed in.

Today's athletes as opposed to their predecessors do not seem to understand that us fans pay their salaries. That is the honest to goodness truth. For all intents and purposes, we are and should be their "bosses." If sports fans ever got to the point where they just moved on from pro sports altogether and stadiums/arenas were empty and TV ratings continued to dwindle way beyond even the decreases we are already seeing, do you think these athletes will be making 10, 20, 25 million per year? But they just do not seem to get this. To me, it is already disgraceful that the lowest level professional athletes in this country get paid twice as much as the top surgeons and scientists and inventors do in their fields, people who are actually helping and saving people for a living.

It just sickens me every day to wake up to the next athlete talking about wanting to hand pick where he wants to play, or refusing to play for this team, or holding out for 17 million instead 15 million. These people have becoming genuinely unlikable. It is probably one of the main reasons why I have never been overly star struck by athletes.

As I have indicated in recent posts, there is that part of me that wants to rally around the rest of Isles team for example, after the BS Tavares pulled, but the only way I can really get myself onboard with that plan is just to tell myself you root for the ISLANDERS. Because quite frankly, it is hard for me to trust at this point, that in one year Anders Lee is not going to hand pick Minnesota and a few years down the road Barzal and Beauvillier will hand pick Vancouver and Montreal just when we are starting to contend.

My point is, that with a few rare exceptions like maybe Ovechkin who you could see how important it was for him to finally win with the Caps, these athletes do not care about us, they do not care about a single team, or who drafts them. They want what THEY want, that is it...and quite frankly it is turning me off to the teams I have always loved and professional sports in general.

Full disclaimer: I am probably partially swayed by being a sports journalist myself, whose primary coverage has been on high school and college sports, and mostly being around these kids who know they will never earn a single penny for playing these sports, but do it just for the love of the game and come to practice and work hard and support their teammates without anything having to do with money or what is best for THEM as individuals...and then comparing that to professional athletes.

Sorry for the long rant, but interested to hear what others have to say on the subject.

I get what you are saying and I have always felt this way about pro athletes for the most part, in every generation there are guys that are bigger than their teams and circumstances. Darryl Strawberry handpicked the Dodgers... Ken Griffey Jr handpicked the Reds... it will always happen... but then there are players like Brandon Nimmo who give me great hope in the human race, this is the epitome of the type of player you root for all day long.... same with Wilmer Flores...

As for hockey, Matt Martin is happy to be back here, most of the alumni live here on Long Island and of the current batch of Islanders,... it is hard to say where they are going, obviously guys like Hickey, Cizikas etc... are loyal to be here but they aren't stars.

I think the Isles organization just needs to be fixed and it will and we will maintain our players. Knowing Craig Biggio, he played his whole career in Houston and never thought about going back home. Frank Viola would have played his whole career in Minnesota if he wasn't traded.

Right now I look at Judas and I look at degrom. Judas knew from day #1 that he was leaving... deGrom is a frustrated guy.

But the idea players handpick their team can be traced back to Reggie Jackson and baseball free agency in the 1970's

 

[ScaredStreit]

I agree to an extent, I'm sure those guys still exist but it's a much bigger business today than it used to be.

When I lived in the GTA a former NHL player lived down the street (he played in the 80's and 90's). He played for the Leafs and a few other teams, was a career 2nd/3rd line forward, so while he was never a star he wasn't a nobody either. Anyways, he built an ice rink in his backyard and told us neighborhood kids that we had permission to hop his fence and play on his backyard rink anytime we wanted during the winter, or during the summer when he made it into a street basketball court. We didn't even have to ring his doorbell (we did to be polite, but if he wasn't home we'd play). Every now and then he'd come on the ice with us and give us some tips and play with us. I have no idea what he was like when he played in the NHL but I really don't see many of the current athletes being like this in this day and age.

In terms of Tavares business is business and personal is personal. Many of the players are obviously over it. Comparing him to Muller or especially Hunter is ridiculous. I left the first school I started teaching at for the school I'm at now for many reasons. I make 5% less than I would otherwise, but it's a shorter commute, it's the high school I went to, and it's just a better fit for me and my family. The other school gave me my first chance at, and I made many great friends there, I did a solid job (they tried to keep me), but it was time to move on. Nobody called me traitor or called me names...yes some were disappointed-including some of the student. It wasn't an easy decision because I genuinely love both schools but after the school year was over I made the switch. In no way am I saying that that my situation is in the same league as Tavares's...but my point is that many of us would do the same thing in our jobs...so why would his be any different? Because he's famous or an athelte or because we feel they owe us loyalty? I think many posters are having problems separating business from personal because for us being a fan is 100% personal and 0% business, but that's not the reality of the players, coaches, owners, management, etc.

PS: The player on my old street told us the Islanders were the toughest team he ever played against, including the Oilers. lol.

 

[JKP]

Both the owners and pro players are all whores now, imo. It’s all money, money, money. And has been for decades.

You want for love of the game, watch semi-pro and minors... or kids playing.

 

[majormet]

I agree to an extent, I'm sure those guys still exist but it's a much bigger business today than it used to be.

When I lived in the GTA a former NHL player lived down the street (he played in the 80's and 90's). He played for the Leafs and a few other teams, was a career 2nd/3rd line forward, so while he was never a star he wasn't a nobody either. Anyways, he built an ice rink in his backyard and told us neighborhood kids that we had permission to hop his fence and play on his backyard rink anytime we wanted during the winter, or during the summer when he made it into a street basketball court. We didn't even have to ring his doorbell (we did to be polite, but if he wasn't home we'd play). Every now and then he'd come on the ice with us and give us some tips and play with us. I have no idea what he was like when he played in the NHL but I really don't see many of the current athletes being like this in this day and age.

In terms of Tavares business is business and personal is personal. Many of the players are obviously over it. Comparing him to Muller or especially Hunter is ridiculous. I left the first school I started teaching at for the school I'm at now for many reasons. I make 5% less than I would otherwise, but it's a shorter commute, it's the high school I went to, and it's just a better fit for me and my family. The other school gave me my first chance at, and I made many great friends there, I did a solid job (they tried to keep me), but it was time to move on. Nobody called me traitor or called me names...yes some were disappointed-including some of the student. It wasn't an easy decision because I genuinely love both schools but after the school year was over I made the switch. In no way am I saying that that my situation is in the same league as Tavares's...but my point is that many of us would do the same thing in our jobs...so why would his be any different? Because he's famous or an athelte or because we feel they owe us loyalty? I think many posters are having problems separating business from personal because for us being a fan is 100% personal and 0% business, but that's not the reality of the players, coaches, owners, management, etc.

PS: The player on my old street told us the Islanders were the toughest team he ever played against, including the Oilers. lol.

I think in the end it is the human condition.... Two of the worst athletes ever were from another era. Wilt Chamberlain was horrible, he coaches the San Diego Sails in the ABA back in the 1970's and they played the Nets at the Coliseum and everyone was giving autographs from Julius Erving to Moses Malone.. but Wilt would tell people to F*** off.

Carl Yastremski was also very bad, I remember going to Fenway and it was easy access to get autographs from players and he was on a team with a lot of great players, Tiant, Rice, Lynn, Evans etc... and he would spit at fans

Your decision to change schools seems like an obvious choice, and it would only compare to Tavares in that you were the best teacher in your school and you kept telling everyone you are going to teach there until your retirement. It is probably the way it was handled by Tavares. As for comparison to Hunter or Muller, no basis at all, those are the demons of Isles folklore. If the Isles were a more stable organization during his time here, he would have been extended, but his handling is what is the issue.

 

[LeapOnOver]

I agree to an extent, I'm sure those guys still exist but it's a much bigger business today than it used to be.

When I lived in the GTA a former NHL player lived down the street (he played in the 80's and 90's). He played for the Leafs and a few other teams, was a career 2nd/3rd line forward, so while he was never a star he wasn't a nobody either. Anyways, he built an ice rink in his backyard and told us neighborhood kids that we had permission to hop his fence and play on his backyard rink anytime we wanted during the winter, or during the summer when he made it into a street basketball court. We didn't even have to ring his doorbell (we did to be polite, but if he wasn't home we'd play). Every now and then he'd come on the ice with us and give us some tips and play with us. I have no idea what he was like when he played in the NHL but I really don't see many of the current athletes being like this in this day and age.

In terms of Tavares business is business and personal is personal. Many of the players are obviously over it. Comparing him to Muller or especially Hunter is ridiculous. I left the first school I started teaching at for the school I'm at now for many reasons. I make 5% less than I would otherwise, but it's a shorter commute, it's the high school I went to, and it's just a better fit for me and my family. The other school gave me my first chance at, and I made many great friends there, I did a solid job (they tried to keep me), but it was time to move on. Nobody called me traitor or called me names...yes some were disappointed-including some of the student. It wasn't an easy decision because I genuinely love both schools but after the school year was over I made the switch. In no way am I saying that that my situation is in the same league as Tavares's...but my point is that many of us would do the same thing in our jobs...so why would his be any different? Because he's famous or an athelte or because we feel they owe us loyalty? I think many posters are having problems separating business from personal because for us being a fan is 100% personal and 0% business, but that's not the reality of the players, coaches, owners, management, etc.

PS: The player on my old street told us the Islanders were the toughest team he ever played against, including the Oilers. lol.

I don't know why people keep making this analogy this way. You are leaving out a major part of the analogy. IF this is the way it had gone down I think Isles fans would still be upset but not as much at Tr91tor just at the situation.

You are leaving out the big part of the analogy where your school says to you, "we need to know your plans because we have a chance to hire a passionate young teacher to replace you. Are you staying or going.?" Then you answer, "Well I haven't really decided yet but just let me stay here and think about it.". This piece doesn't necessarily jive with you analogy, but that's the big part you left out. I don't know why fans keep leaving that part out try to convince other fans that what Tr91tor did was no big deal.

It was the least professional way to handle it for sure. At the very least he could have said, "Yeah, trade me because the 8th year isn't important and I can just sign with you guys on July 1st if I want to come back".

 

[ScaredStreit]

I don't know why people keep making this analogy this way. You are leaving out a major part of the analogy. IF this is the way it had gone down I think Isles fans would still be upset but not as much at Tr91tor just at the situation.

You are leaving out the big part of the analogy where your school says to you, "we need to know your plans because we have a chance to hire a passionate young teacher to replace you. Are you staying or going.?" Then you answer, "Well I haven't really decided yet but just let me stay here and think about it.". This piece doesn't necessarily jive with you analogy, but that's the big part you left out. I don't know why fans keep leaving that part out try to convince other fans that what Tr91tor did was no big deal.

It was the least professional way to handle it for sure. At the very least he could have said, "Yeah, trade me because the 8th year isn't important and I can just sign with you guys on July 1st if I want to come back".

Because it's management's responsibility to have a contingency plan in place, not Tavares's. Tavares was not the boss even if he was the franchise player. I'm a big believer of "the buck stops here". Tavares was rather immature in the situation (his letter and statements practically admit it), but that doesn't mean that management didn't mess up either. Where's the list of franchise players leaving their teams during free agency after not getting traded at the deadline? I honestly don't know, but I'm willing to bet it's short. I might give Snow/management the benefit of the doubt if they didn't show horrible asset management time and time and time again throughout the years (Okposo, Nielsen, Moulson/Vanek, Blake, etc).

Again I'm not suggesting Tavares is without blame (he is), but the notion that what he did was as bad as Muller or Hunter is ridiculous and makes me think posters who say that either weren't fans back then or don't remember it well enough.

 

[LeapOnOver]

Because it's management's responsibility to have a contingency plan in place, not Tavares's. Tavares was not the boss even if he was the franchise player. I'm a big believer of "the buck stops here". Tavares was rather immature in the situation (his letter and statements practically admit it), but that doesn't mean that management didn't mess up either. Where's the list of franchise players leaving their teams during free agency after not getting traded at the deadline? I honestly don't know, but I'm willing to bet it's short. I might give Snow/management the benefit of the doubt if they didn't show horrible asset management time and time and time again throughout the years (Okposo, Nielsen, Moulson/Vanek, Blake, etc).

Again I'm not suggesting Tavares is without blame (he is), but the notion that what he did was as bad as Muller or Hunter is ridiculous and makes me think posters who say that either weren't fans back then or don't remember it well enough.

Have to disagree here. There's gray areas some seasons. In my mind, it was a no-brainer to trade Tr91tor on an expiring contract year being nowhere near close to making the playoffs. I firmly believe they would have if Tr91tor hadn't said don't trade me. That would have eliminated any chance, and Tr91tor's request made it seem like there still was one.

Backtrack to Okposo and Nielsen. That situation is completely different for asset management as we were headed into the playoffs and actually won a round. They weren't going anywhere that year. I don't file that under bad asset management at all. Last season there was no chance at the playoffs so it completely eliminated one factor in asset management.

I blame Snow for Nielsen walking, but they seemed to have no interest in what Okposo would command on the open market and honestly letting Okposo walk for nothing probably would have been okay if he hadn't been replaced with Badd.

So eliminate the asset management and things that will muddy the debate and go back to what actually happened and Tr91tor was unprofessional and did not even try to put any interest of the Islanders in play through the entire process. There was no possible contingency plan for the parting of Tr91tor. I'm sure you gave your school as much notice as possible and didn't call them the day before your start date to say you accepted another job.

 

[ScaredStreit]

Have to disagree here. There's gray areas some seasons. In my mind, it was a no-brainer to trade Tr91tor on an expiring contract year being nowhere near close to making the playoffs. I firmly believe they would have if Tr91tor hadn't said don't trade me. That would have eliminated any chance, and Tr91tor's request made it seem like there still was one.

Backtrack to Okposo and Nielsen. That situation is completely different for asset management as we were headed into the playoffs and actually won a round. They weren't going anywhere that year. I don't file that under bad asset management at all. Last season there was no chance at the playoffs so it completely eliminated one factor in asset management.

I blame Snow for Nielsen walking, but they seemed to have no interest in what Okposo would command on the open market and honestly letting Okposo walk for nothing probably would have been okay if he hadn't been replaced with Badd.

So eliminate the asset management and things that will muddy the debate and go back to what actually happened and Tr91tor was unprofessional and did not even try to put any interest of the Islanders in play through the entire process. There was no possible contingency plan for the parting of Tr91tor. I'm sure you gave your school as much notice as possible and didn't call them the day before your start date to say you accepted another job.

Management didn't even talk to Okposo during that season, and it's not because Okposo didn't want to. That's awful asset management unless you plan on trading the guy. Okposo was a 1st line winger for us who was good for ~65 points. You don't let players of that caliber walk for nothing, and you especially don't do it without even trying.

Again I'm not suggesting Tavares is without blame, I'm saying that it was management's job to protect the assets of the team (of which Tavares was easily our biggest one), and they failed to do so regardless of Tavares did/didn't do. Also we don't know that Tavares requested not to be traded (he disputes this and nobody else has gone on the record as saying it did). We all knew Snow wasn't moving Tavares because if he did, he'd essentially be resigning as GM at that moment, it doesn't make sense from his perspective to do so. Yes in hindsight it would have helped us significantly more 3-4 years from now...but Snow didn't have 3-4 years on his leash and he knew it.

Again I understand going after Tavares for being selfish...but I don't understand giving Snow a pass or at least much less of the blame, when he didn't move him in an attempt to save his job despite it not being in the team's best interest to do so.

 

[Quickdraw2828]

The fans are partially responsible for paying ridiculous seat prices. Islanders tickets are probably among the cheapest in pro sports, especially with stubhub etc. Not unusual for people to drop 200 or more on tickets and beer at most arenas/stadiums.

I believe Tom Seaver sat out part of a season after a very successful year when he wanted $125,000 and the mets wouldn't budge from $100,000. Yes, I'm aware of inflation, but $125,000 in 1970 is worth about a million today. I'd say he was on par with Clayton Kershaw who makes over 30 times that today.

 

[Quickdraw2828]

. Also we don't know that Tavares requested not to be traded (he disputes this and nobody else has gone on the record as saying it did)..

I actually believe Tavares. I suspect Snow flat out told him he wasn't trading him and Tavares said he was glad. If I know Snow, JT was probably about to ask him not to be traded and Snow just opened his mouth first.

 

[ScaredStreit]

I actually believe Tavares. I suspect Snow flat out told him he wasn't trading him and Tavares said he was glad. If I know Snow, JT was probably about to ask him not to be traded and Snow just opened his mouth first.

I also lean toward believing Tavares because it makes a lot more sense than the reverse. Snow trading Tavares seals his end as GM-there's no getting around that and because of that I too believe Tavares because it wouldn't be sense for Snow to trade him.

 

[Axel574]

It's this kinda crap that ruined my passion for the NY Jets and football in general. I still watch the games and pull for the teams success but that fire I once had is gone... and it's because of a$$hats like Revis holding the team hostage or Wilkerson and Holmes getting their paydays and mailing it in afterward. Now you have Anderson saying lewd things about a cops wife, Sheldon Richardson smoking pot and doing 100MPH with a toddler in the car and the list just goes on, it's endless... half the league belongs in jail.

I really hope this doesn't happen to me over the Islanders but recent events don't have me optimistic.

 

[Richie Daggers Crime]

I actually believe Tavares. I suspect Snow flat out told him he wasn't trading him and Tavares said he was glad.

I interpret it this way as well. The owners were emphatic from the start that they weren't trading him.

 

[LeapOnOver]

Management didn't even talk to Okposo during that season, and it's not because Okposo didn't want to. That's awful asset management unless you plan on trading the guy. Okposo was a 1st line winger for us who was good for ~65 points. You don't let players of that caliber walk for nothing, and you especially don't do it without even trying.

Again I'm not suggesting Tavares is without blame, I'm saying that it was management's job to protect the assets of the team (of which Tavares was easily our biggest one), and they failed to do so regardless of Tavares did/didn't do. Also we don't know that Tavares requested not to be traded (he disputes this and nobody else has gone on the record as saying it did). We all knew Snow wasn't moving Tavares because if he did, he'd essentially be resigning as GM at that moment, it doesn't make sense from his perspective to do so. Yes in hindsight it would have helped us significantly more 3-4 years from now...but Snow didn't have 3-4 years on his leash and he knew it.

Again I understand going after Tavares for being selfish...but I don't understand giving Snow a pass or at least much less of the blame, when he didn't move him in an attempt to save his job despite it not being in the team's best interest to do so.

Ugh, I don't feel like searching but I saw a tweet from Staple saying he asked not to be moved. Not sure how you can blame Snow, even before that was known people were adamant on here that you can't trade him if there is a chance to re-sign him. I feel some major Monday morning QB vibes from you right now.

They didn't talk to Okposo because they weren't going to re-sign him. I don't know what else you expected to happen? Trade one of your better forwards going into the playoffs? Trade him before the season for a lesser return? When you criticize something like that you need to actually have suggestions on what would have been a better move. GM's let flawed players who are going to get overpaid walk all the time. I didn't see many people here sweating Okposo's exit.

 

[ScaredStreit]

Ugh, I don't feel like searching but I saw a tweet from Staple saying he asked not to be moved. Not sure how you can blame Snow, even before that was known people were adamant on here that you can't trade him if there is a chance to re-sign him. I feel some major Monday morning QB vibes from you right now.

They didn't talk to Okposo because they weren't going to re-sign him. I don't know what else you expected to happen? Trade one of your better forwards going into the playoffs? Trade him before the season for a lesser return? When you criticize something like that you need to actually have suggestions on what would have been a better move. GM's let flawed players who are going to get overpaid walk all the time. I didn't see many people here sweating Okposo's exit.

I can provide links to posts that are over 1 1/2 years old saying that Tavares was walking and all of he "I want to stay" talk as PR nonsense. That's foresight, not hindsight. I sweated over Okposo's exited and am sure I can find links for that as well.

This isn't me saying "look at me I'm right", it's merely a response to the suggestion that I am Monday morning QBing.

edit: Just searched Staple's Twitter account for posts featuring the words "Tavares" and "trade". After July of last year to today there are only 3 results...none of them mention anything regarding any statement Tavares made. The post you mention either doesn't exist, was deleted, or doesn't contain the words Tavares and trade in it.

tavares trade from:stapeathletic - Twitter Search

 

[Richie Daggers Crime]

Ugh, I don't feel like searching but I saw a tweet from Staple saying he asked not to be moved.

I read that too, but I'm kind of thinking that it was misinterpreted in a Owners: "We're not trading Tavares" > Tavares: "Good. I don't want to be traded" > Reporter: "Tavares asked not to be traded" way.

 

[KidThatWonTheCalder]

I know to outsiders this will seem like sour grapes because of what happened with Tavares, but in all honesty, I have been feeling this way for several years, more and more with each year that passes. And yes, the Tavares situation and seeing what is going on in the NHL and other sports this summer is probably "last straw."

With that said, I am at the point where it is very hard for me to like, support or be loyal to any individual pro athletes in just about any sport anymore. Sports fans have always said you are loyal to the team/logo, rather than individuals, but when I was a teenager 20+ years ago, you really felt like athletes were part of your community. And I am not talking about the standard one time per year fundraiser or the team-mandated community events or the athletes putting on their smiles and going shopping for sick kids at holiday time. The Islanders in the 80s for example (and anybody I talk to seems to indicate that they feel the same way) actually felt like "neighbors," like they were part of the community every day, all year long.

Again this is not to say that there are not some who still are genuinely nice people who care about the fans (maybe the best current example would be Eli Manning, which is probably why so many fans came to his defense last season) but the majority of modern day athletes care only about what THEY want, where THEY want to play, the best situation for THEM, the easiest way for THEM to get a championship, where THEY want to live, how much money THEY make. And me personally, it has really led to a big sports fan like myself feeling distanced from professional sports. I could see someday in the not too distant future, me and others who feel like me, eliminating sports to a large extent from my life, that is the direction I honestly see this headed in.

Today's athletes as opposed to their predecessors do not seem to understand that us fans pay their salaries. That is the honest to goodness truth. For all intents and purposes, we are and should be their "bosses." If sports fans ever got to the point where they just moved on from pro sports altogether and stadiums/arenas were empty and TV ratings continued to dwindle way beyond even the decreases we are already seeing, do you think these athletes will be making 10, 20, 25 million per year? But they just do not seem to get this. To me, it is already disgraceful that the lowest level professional athletes in this country get paid twice as much as the top surgeons and scientists and inventors do in their fields, people who are actually helping and saving people for a living.

It just sickens me every day to wake up to the next athlete talking about wanting to hand pick where he wants to play, or refusing to play for this team, or holding out for 17 million instead 15 million. These people have becoming genuinely unlikable. It is probably one of the main reasons why I have never been overly star struck by athletes.

As I have indicated in recent posts, there is that part of me that wants to rally around the rest of Isles team for example, after the BS Tavares pulled, but the only way I can really get myself onboard with that plan is just to tell myself you root for the ISLANDERS. Because quite frankly, it is hard for me to trust at this point, that in one year Anders Lee is not going to hand pick Minnesota and a few years down the road Barzal and Beauvillier will hand pick Vancouver and Montreal just when we are starting to contend.

My point is, that with a few rare exceptions like maybe Ovechkin who you could see how important it was for him to finally win with the Caps, these athletes do not care about us, they do not care about a single team, or who drafts them. They want what THEY want, that is it...and quite frankly it is turning me off to the teams I have always loved and professional sports in general.

Full disclaimer: I am probably partially swayed by being a sports journalist myself, whose primary coverage has been on high school and college sports, and mostly being around these kids who know they will never earn a single penny for playing these sports, but do it just for the love of the game and come to practice and work hard and support their teammates without anything having to do with money or what is best for THEM as individuals...and then comparing that to professional athletes.

Sorry for the long rant, but interested to hear what others have to say on the subject.

I'm sorry, but how is this different from normal folks like ourselves (other than the money, obviously)? You're a sportswriter... If your contract was coming up at your paper/publication, you wouldn't take all of these things into consideration? What YOU want, where YOU want to work, the best situation for YOU, how much YOU want to get paid? This is sports; A game... At the same time this is also a career (a very limited one, by the way) for them. These athletes are people, not indentured servants.

Man, I'm as big a fan of my teams as anyone on here, but I don't know these people outside of what I see during games and maybe online... They don't owe me anything. Also remember, you're a fan of and support the TEAM, not John Tavares or Matt Barzal or Anders Lee. Being a fan of a team is like any other relationship... There are ups and there are downs.

I am genuinely interested why sports seems to be the one area in society where people think they have the right to tell other grown adults how, where, and under what conditions they are supposed to play. We'll keep with the journalism theme... Would you stop reading newspapers in general and chastise Maggie Haberman if she left NYT?

EDIT: You've also had this rant several times at several lengths in several threads... We get it.

 

[Satan'sIsland81]

I'm sorry, but how is this different from normal folks like ourselves (other than the money, obviously)? You're a sportswriter... If your contract was coming up at your paper/publication, you wouldn't take all of these things into consideration? What YOU want, where YOU want to work, the best situation for YOU, how much YOU want to get paid? This is sports; A game... At the same time this is also a career (a very limited one, by the way) for them. These athletes are people, not indentured servants.

Man, I'm as big a fan of my teams as anyone on here, but I don't know these people outside of what I see during games and maybe online... They don't owe me anything. Also remember, you're a fan of and support the TEAM, not John Tavares or Matt Barzal or Anders Lee. Being a fan of a team is like any other relationship... There are ups and there are downs.

I am genuinely interested why sports seems to be the one area in society where people think they have the right to tell other grown adults how, where, and under what conditions they are supposed to play. We'll keep with the journalism theme... Would you stop reading newspapers in general and chastise Maggie Haberman if she left NYT?

EDIT: You've also had this rant several times at several lengths in several threads... We get it.

Several things. First of all I will write what I want, as many times as I want. If you dont like it, dont read it. And I have not written a full length detailed "rant" like this one before.
Second, while you are wrong about some things in your response, you also made my point further on some other things. Like for example a whole portion of my argument was about how I force myself to just root for the team and logo nowadays in sports and find it very hard to feel attached or care about any individual player. It is why I would rather chant Lets Go Islanders at a game rather than some "Barzy" chant or something like that. Based on what you are saying, and quite frankly the way I feel now, "Barzy" and the other players are there to provide me (or us fans) with wins. I dont care what players are out there, just that they are the best group possible to entertain me and win games.

That is the difference (and where you are wrong) between "regular jobs" and being an athlete. Most regular jobs do not include "entertaining people" or performing at a level that gets people to want to pay or take time to watch you. We are paying their salaries. They do not have careers or millions without our support. So, yes they DO owe loyalty to us to an extent and should care how we feel and what we think.

Me leaving a media publication or someone leaving an business or administrative job might temporarily hurt our bosses or the office, but there is nobody who is spends hundreds or thousands of dollars to support us and children who admire us that are being let down and betrayed.
Playing professional sports is a privilege, it does not entitle you to hand pick what city you want to live in and what team you want to play for.

 

[KidThatWonTheCalder]

Several things. First of all I will write what I want, as many times as I want. If you dont like it, dont read it. And I have not written a full length detailed "rant" like this one before.

That is the difference (and where you are wrong) between "regular jobs" and being an athlete. Most regular jobs do not include "entertaining people" or performing at a level that gets people to want to pay or take time to watch you. We are paying their salaries. They do not have careers or millions without our support. So, yes they DO owe loyalty to us to an extent and should care how we feel and what we think.

Playing professional sports is a privilege, it does not entitle you to hand pick what city you want to live in and what team you want to play for.

1) I try not to, but somehow you inject this narrative into a lot of threads that I contributed to, so it was kind of unavoidable... Granted I didn't need to come in here and read a post the size of War and Peace on it, but hey, I guess I'm a glutton for punishment.

2) I don't know what publication you write for, but the vast majority of print publications have paying customers, so one could argue that they are paying to "watch" you do your job. No they don't have a career without demand for the sport, but the same could be said for you and me... If no one cared about reading about high school sports, you probably wouldn't have a career. If no one cared about what I do for a living, I wouldn't have a career either. If you got a better offer from another publication, whether it be money, location, situation, etc., you would consider it as well.

3) So just because a person decides to go into a certain line of work, they should have to stay in the same place for their entire career? Even though they didn't have a say in where that career started (aka draft)? That's a scary thought, to be honest.