If you haven't heard Michael Vick just signed a deal for a reported $100 million for six years of play with the Philadelphia Eagles. $40 million is guaranteed. He will be with the Eagles through the 2016 season. What does this mean? Well besides the fact he's already made more money than most of us even dream of in a lifetime, he stands to have more money than a small nation. But my question is, why now?
In this economy most of us, can't barely get arrested, let alone get a job, but job security? That's gone the way of the landline phone. It barely exists. People are making ends meet doing anything the can and now people hear that Michael Vick probably will never have to work again after 2016.
The Eagles are going to use Michael Vick as a franchise player. The franchise player means essentially that Michael Vick will serve as the face and the prototype for what all other Eagles' players should be. This is remarkable considering that not so long ago Michael Vick was one of the most vilified sports figures in recent memory for his association with dog-fighting. But now he's rebounded in a big way.
The only problem with this story is that it doesn't happen like this in everyday life. Once you have a criminal record, it sours the rest of your life. It patterns how people see and associate with you before they can get to know you and no matter how hard you try, this stigma will follow everything you do, especially getting honest work.
I give Michael Vick a ton of credit for owning up to his past and confronting the various parties who doubted his character. But I still feel uneasy talking about this kind of money for anyone who works for an average a year when there are teachers, coaches, mentors, and other figures who influence our everyday lives and don't get merely as much as they deserve.
I just hope that in a few years we won't be talking about the $100 million man who blew his second chance.
Michael Vick $100 Million
Showing posts with label Athletes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Athletes. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Thursday, August 25, 2011
The Big Switch
Today it was announced that Danica Patrick is going to NASCAR full time over from IndyCar. This means she will share the stage alongside Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. This is huge for women's sports. But is it huge for women's sports fans?
I honestly cannot say what will happen. Danica Patrick is a huge figure in sports, because she is one of the few women who actually compete in a sport that is still male dominated. The culture of the sport also seems to appeal to men. If you've ever noticed the sponsors, they usually are car companies such as Toyota and beer companies like Budweiser.
With Danica Patrick making this huge change, will NASCAR make a valiant effort to actually court women viewers? I would hope so. Marketing studies have shown that NASCAR's audience as a whole has changed from white male dominated to include men and some women of other ethnicities.
Hopefully ad sponsors and networks will use this opportunity to include women in their ad-space. But to me this applies to all sports, not just NASCAR.
For instance, when I watched the NBA playoffs this past spring, most of the ads were for the average, beer drinking single guy with the occasional Applebee's commercial thrown in. Doesn't anyone think that it's more than just men watching sports? What about those of us who don't have to shave their face yet? I'm just saying it would be nice sometimes for the ad world and the sports world in general would acknowledge that women don't just watch women's sports.
And hopefully with the addition of Danica Patrick to the big time that will mean more attention will be paid to the female fan. And by fan I don't mean the women who watch because they were promised a nice dinner afterwards. There are actually some of us who know what's going on. It would be nice if that was acknowledged from time to time, you know?
I honestly cannot say what will happen. Danica Patrick is a huge figure in sports, because she is one of the few women who actually compete in a sport that is still male dominated. The culture of the sport also seems to appeal to men. If you've ever noticed the sponsors, they usually are car companies such as Toyota and beer companies like Budweiser.
With Danica Patrick making this huge change, will NASCAR make a valiant effort to actually court women viewers? I would hope so. Marketing studies have shown that NASCAR's audience as a whole has changed from white male dominated to include men and some women of other ethnicities.
Hopefully ad sponsors and networks will use this opportunity to include women in their ad-space. But to me this applies to all sports, not just NASCAR.
For instance, when I watched the NBA playoffs this past spring, most of the ads were for the average, beer drinking single guy with the occasional Applebee's commercial thrown in. Doesn't anyone think that it's more than just men watching sports? What about those of us who don't have to shave their face yet? I'm just saying it would be nice sometimes for the ad world and the sports world in general would acknowledge that women don't just watch women's sports.
And hopefully with the addition of Danica Patrick to the big time that will mean more attention will be paid to the female fan. And by fan I don't mean the women who watch because they were promised a nice dinner afterwards. There are actually some of us who know what's going on. It would be nice if that was acknowledged from time to time, you know?
Monday, July 25, 2011
Wanna Be A Baller...
So as you know, today was the day for the end of the NFL lockout. So now we have only one sport from the the big three pastimes that is in a stalemate. The good news we can prep for Monday Night Football in September, Superbowl menu for next Winter, and my personal favorite, the end of NFL athletes keeping their names in the press by making outlandish statements and/or trying to find a new career. I'm sure some were entertained, but for me, I was not. Not to say there aren't articulate and well-intentioned players such as Ryan Clark on ESPN's 1st and 10 but there seem to be many more suffering from hoof and mouth disease. That is they didn't know when to be quiet or how to.
My first example of this is Chad Ochocinco and his pursuit of athletic fulfillment via bull riding and soccer playing. Not that I think this is wrong but with Ochocinco everything's a spectacle. I mean never mind his wrong translation of his number (ochocinco means eight five, not eighty five) but his overall demeanor as an athlete has made him more of a joke than an actual athlete.
Then there is Ray Lewis who was now infamously said that crime would go up because of the lockout. So I guess we dodged the bullet of riots, pickpockets, and who knows what other perils because there's no football. I just though that there might actually be less football widows and more Tupperware parties. We'll never know but nonetheless, it was too much of blanket statement to be considered fact.
And finally there was James Harrison's insightful musings about his teammates along with the artistic photography of him brandishing guns. He called out his teammates Rashard Mendenhall and Ben Rothlisberger on what he perceives as a lack of skill on the field and followed that up by holding guns across his bare chest. The cherry on top being him insulting NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
Now don't get me wrong, I believe in free speech as much as anyone, but in terms of maintaining a public profile you have to think before you speak and then think before the ink hits the paper. Athletes I believe especially are vulnerable to criticism because of what they do and how much money they make compared to the average person. But I will admit these quotes and musings provide great entertainment on a slow news day or a day you don't want to watch the real news. I'm just waiting now to hear what we'll hear during the NBA lockout.
News links: http://espn.go.com/espn/page2/story/_/page/gallo-110714_harrison_influence/offseason-pigskinpalooza-lets-james-harrison-pass-wisdom
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=6550618
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/commentary/news/story?page=hill/110524
My first example of this is Chad Ochocinco and his pursuit of athletic fulfillment via bull riding and soccer playing. Not that I think this is wrong but with Ochocinco everything's a spectacle. I mean never mind his wrong translation of his number (ochocinco means eight five, not eighty five) but his overall demeanor as an athlete has made him more of a joke than an actual athlete.
Then there is Ray Lewis who was now infamously said that crime would go up because of the lockout. So I guess we dodged the bullet of riots, pickpockets, and who knows what other perils because there's no football. I just though that there might actually be less football widows and more Tupperware parties. We'll never know but nonetheless, it was too much of blanket statement to be considered fact.
And finally there was James Harrison's insightful musings about his teammates along with the artistic photography of him brandishing guns. He called out his teammates Rashard Mendenhall and Ben Rothlisberger on what he perceives as a lack of skill on the field and followed that up by holding guns across his bare chest. The cherry on top being him insulting NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
Now don't get me wrong, I believe in free speech as much as anyone, but in terms of maintaining a public profile you have to think before you speak and then think before the ink hits the paper. Athletes I believe especially are vulnerable to criticism because of what they do and how much money they make compared to the average person. But I will admit these quotes and musings provide great entertainment on a slow news day or a day you don't want to watch the real news. I'm just waiting now to hear what we'll hear during the NBA lockout.
News links: http://espn.go.com/espn/page2/story/_/page/gallo-110714_harrison_influence/offseason-pigskinpalooza-lets-james-harrison-pass-wisdom
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=6550618
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/commentary/news/story?page=hill/110524
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