Wow, Rob. Get up on the wrong side of the bed? Take it easy man.
When any player infers that they're at a higher level... it's going to draw scrutiny. I didn't think that was earth shattering. It's true in any field...when you posture you draw attention. If I told everybody in my office I was looking into a big promotion or interviewing for a bigger job they're gonna look at me differently...or if a kid in high school (perhaps a better comparison) started talking about offers he was getting, or college coaches visited his games people are going to expect more of him.
I didn't say he deserved it, etc etc...TC seems to be a good kid and teammate. But good, bad or indifferent...that's just the way things work in the real world...even amateur athletics. You invite more scrutiny if you suggest you're playing at a "higher level".
Direct your anger at me if you wish...but it's a pretty universal concept. I didn't invent it.
No. I didn't wake up on the wrong side of the bed. And don't patronize me by telling me to take it easy. I feel passionate about what I'm discussing.
You said Cook brought it on himself. So, yeah, you did say he deserved it. He should of or could have acted differently so people wouldn't jump on him? By doing what?
He wasn't posturing. He was going through a process available to him for an evaluation about his future, similar to if someone takes an internship in their academic field of study for a gauge on their future. Moss did the same thing as did plenty of others.
You, and others who think like you, decided that he was posturing. That's the way you look at it, not the way it is.
Your expectations don't justify your actions. Saying that's the way it is in the "real-world" is stereotypical BS. These guys are under a public microscope that most people in the "real-world" will never experience or understand. The "real-world" analogies are nonsense.
Again, expecting more, like your comparison of a HS athlete getting attention, doesn't mean over-the-top criticism and scapegoating is justified. It's your choice to do it, but it doesn't make it right.
I will agree that I'm pissing in the wind here. Your mentality is not the exception anymore. With the Stephen A. Smiths and Skip Baylesses of the world, sports conversation has just become one big echo chamber of criticizing athletes.
While I don't like it, I can see some justification in professional sports. Athletes are paid a lot of money to perform. I've got no time for it being done to college athletes. I think it's weak.
And with that, I'm out. I'm not going to change the tone here.
On social media, I've just started blocking and muting people. I'm not getting into it with them anymore. I'm going to reduce these exchanges on here as well. My life is better without you.
I started monitoring the HN message boards in '03. I'm worn TF out by the growing negativity.
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