Plaxico's Blues

Plaxico Burress

Let me say this... I do not in any way begrudge professional athletes their multi-million dollar salaries. I would be a hypocrite if I did because I would trade places with them on any day of the week, if I could, and so would most people, if they are honest. I'm a big sports fan... I love football and basketball. Here of late, collecting jerseys of my favorite players has become my thing (like Nike sneakers were back in the day).

I don't begrudge them. Actually, I kind of envy them. You see, the majority of people have jobs that they absolutely hate. Some people have to pray or have a drink before they go to work everyday, just to get through the day. These people don't make a quarter of what the average professional athlete gets for one game, let alone a superstar. These people go to their jobs everyday, some dress a certain way, and follow rules and regulations that they think are stupid yet, they follow them anyway because they need that short money they are getting at the end of a week or two weeks.

They need that money because they gotta have a place to lay their head at night, eat every once in awhile, buy that new Beyonce CD or pay for the downloads, see a movie, and buy some clothes every now and then. The point is they get paid far less to do something that, if they had another choice, they probably wouldn't do. It must be great to get paid to do something that you love to do... something you would do for free. Michael Jordan said as much. He said that he loved the game of basketball so much that he would have played for free if they weren't paying him and I believe it.

And, this is where I have a problem... let's say you're Plaxico Burress, you're a wide receiver for the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants, you're making more money this year than you can spend in a lifetime, and your team is in first place. There are kids on some street corner or some field in a small town who would kill to be in your shoes and you've just thrown your blessing away. I have a problem with people who do that... I really do.

Only a few people born in this world are going to be blessed with the opportunity to get paid millions of dollars to do something that they love. You got two blessings right there... a job you love to do and crazy loot to do it. The least you could do, if you are that fortunate, is to make the best of such a great opportunity. There are people who come to see you and spend a quarter of their earnings just to get a good seat and not to mention, eat something and drink a beer too... and you go into a club with a gun that is not registered (I guess the law only applies to those fans and other people, not you), that you obviously don't know how to use (If you knew how to use it, you'd know that the safety should be on at all times when not in use.) and shoot yourself in the thigh!

I'll admit, I laughed about this for days when I heard about it but, I've stopped laughing now because it's not funny. It's sad. This guy is in the hospital. He is facing criminal charges and ironically enough, the only person he hurt was himself. And now, there's a possibility that his pro football career is down the toilet. Somewhere, Michael Vick is shaking his head and saying, "Man, I now how you feel."

I don't know what your major was in college Plax but, I surely hope it's something you can make a decent living at, if you should have to spend the mandatory "three years in the slammer" that the mayor of the city you play for is recommending. Ahhh, how soon they forget, huh Plax?