-sha-

Posted 2 days ago

Dez Bryant, Mr. M., and me

Mr. M. and i got into a little kerfluffle earlier today on Twitter, regarding Dez Bryant's refusal to carry Roy Williams' shoulder pads after practice. Mr. M is of the camp that says "suck it up," i am of the mindset that says, "get over it, Roy." and i feel i need to defend my stance on it.

you see, the second i glanced at the story, the first thing that came to mind was "hazing," not some false notion of tradition or manning up. my stance on hazing is completely committed to the anti side of things, in any form. "but hey, you were an active member of a fraternity in college! surely you were hazed!" well... no, actually i wasn't. Lambda Chi Alpha has an incredibly strong stance against hazing; in fact, they were one of (if not the) first to implement a national-wide policy banning hazing. one of Lambda Chi's open mottos is Vir Quisque Vir, translated as "every man, a man." at its simplest, this means that every man, Lambda Chi or otherwise, is equal, is a man just like you. you can take it further and apply the Golden Rule to it: treat others as you'd like to be treated. its one of the many lessons as a Lambda Chi that really stuck with me. every man has paid his dues in some form or another, and deserves to be treated with respect as such. and at its base, silly public hazing invariably leads or points to more dangerous, private "important traditions" that have literally killed people in the process.

and so it is, to me at least, the same in Bryant's case. i don't know his full history, but i imagine he, like most other NFL players, has paid his dues, probably playing football from an incredibly early age, on through to high school, then college, and then recognized because of his talent & ability, as elite enough to play at the highest echelon of professional football. what more dues are there to pay? "i know you've busted your ass, studying film and training, and honing your talents to be on this level; now you have to carry my pads to prove yourself."

what?

thats such utter BS. Bryant has already proven himself on the field as an elite athlete, able to compete alongside others who have equal talent and skill. what lesson does carrying a veteran players pads do? Roy Williams has no say over his contract or plays or drills he should run. if Williams perhaps paid Bryant's contract money, sure, maybe he deserves some say in whether bryan Bryant participates in a rudimentary form of rookie humiliation. but he doesn't, and he never will.

maybe Bryant is being a troublemaker, but its only because he's refusing to be put into a position that frankly is less than he is. Williams needs to grow up and realize this isn't college or high school, that this is the NFL and although all may not be equal when training camp starts, all that can change in the blink of an eye and at the end of the day, Bryant is in the NFL for the same reason he is: not because he carried someone's shoulder pads or washed their clothes or went on a late night snipe hunt, but because he's made his way there as top-level athlete who can compete and is (potentially) deserving of a status reserved for those who have worked to that level.

Tagged dez bryant football NFL roy williams

Posted 8 months ago

scenes from homecoming

not my homecoming, mind you. i didn't go to Auburn. but i'm a fan.

Posted from Auburn, AL

Tagged auburn football furman homecoming

Posted 9 months ago

arrrrrgh

i'm having a really hard time pulling the metaphorical trigger on something, and i don't know why.

its really frustrating.

in other news...

i'm really hoping that Auburn's misadventures on the field are more a product of "lack of depth" than coaching. that seems to be it, considering how well they played in the first five games. penalties, also. everyone knows penalties will get you everytime, but that was just awful, especially that weird bizarro play on Auburn's last drive.

Where The Wild Things Are was absolutely magnificent. it was everything i could've hoped for, and then some. a true masterpiece. the bits that pulled on the heartstrings absolutely ripped my heart out, the scary bits genuinely conveyed a sense of danger. and the fun parts were fun. favorite part? not resorting to fart humor or gags to get laughs. its not often (if ever) these days that "kid movies" are humorous without resorting to those tricks. don't get me wrong; i love a good fart joke, but it would've felt wholly inappropriate in the context of what the film was. worst part? the hipsters in the theater. there were a couple of genuinely rude ones. thankfully, i was able to ignore most of it and enjoy myself.

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tomorrow (er, today, Sunday), we travel to Montevallo for a wedding. its been a very long time since we've both been on campus (yes, the wedding is on campus); the last couple of times i've visited, it was simply for College Night or Lambda Chi ritual (so, limited to a very small space under the cover of night). we're bringing the camera along to hopefully squeeze in some maternity shots (!!!!). it'll be fun to do those pictures back in the town where we first met, all those years ago, on Brooke Quad for a "Back To School" UM-sponsored party. fun fact: the great bluegrass band Rolling in the Hay was playing the night we met.

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g'night.

Tagged auburn football montevallo movie wedding where the wild things are