Gridiron Follies Page 2

would come back to bite you in the rear. It was only a matter of time before women started popping up claiming you were the father of their children.

  By the time you were 3 seasons into your career, at least seven such women had made those claims. You disputed each and every one, but paternity tests proved three of them right. Child support was granted by the law and you couldn’t wrangle your way out of it. This would be the start of your downfall but you were too short sighted to notice it back then. The checks were coming in, so you ignored those going out. If only you’d done a little math, maybe you’d put a curb to your sexual escapades. Alas you were blinded by your own ego; you refused to see how the trail you were leaving would cost you all that you had worked for.

  The fumes in your tail pipe were showing, it was a shame neither you nor the people you surrounded yourself with noticed it.

  By the time your first contract was up, you’d been tagged by many in the organization as a ‘prima donna’.

  Whilst your talent was undeniable, the ever growing issues off the field made you a big distraction for the franchise. The posses, the baby mamas, the drama and your over inflated ego made you a tough one to deal with. It was little wonder when it was time to negotiate a new contract; the team management had serious doubts about keeping you.

  Sports radio and the media ran amok with it. Painting you as the villain who didn’t want to return to Jacksonville. They never liked you from the get go, so they took every opportunity to portray you in a bad light. Sadly you weren’t helping. You made it be known that you wanted the best possible deal you could get, after all you were the best running back in the league. Your agent convinced you to miss training camp as part of a hold out.

  If need be, you were going to sit out all of preseason, just to force team management to give you a deal. Players do that all the time, it’s quite common in the NFL. Unfortunately in your case, you came off as the spoiled brat willing to make everyone upset just to get his way.

  Eventually you got what you wanted. Jaguars’ management caved in and offered you one of the most lucrative contracts in NFL history. Your pockets were swollen once again, we were back in business.

  Or so we thought.

  They never tell you about the things you have to do to stay on top.

  They never tell you about what the machine expects from you and what happens to those who can’t keep up.

  You were allowed to make a fool of yourself off the field, as long as you produced like a star Running back. Once this was not the case, it was open season and the shots came from all angles.

  Now this didn’t happen for a while. For the first few years you justified your new contract. You thrived on the field and the Jaguars were considered one of the best teams in the nation. You had complained to management that you wanted some help so you could compete for a title, and to your surprise and mine, the organization known for its spend thrift ways actually went out and brought in some talented players.

  The team came close to winning it all. True to your word, you performed even better when surrounded with talent. That outfit put together by Jaguars management would probably go down as one of the most talented football teams to never win it all.

  Its unfortunate things didn’t turn out the way you wanted it to. I know for a fact you gave it your all in trying to win a championship, but it seems fate never had that in the works for you. After two straight trips to the finals, including one gut wrenching overtime loss to the Ravens, your passion for the game started to wane.

  From that point onwards, things would never be the same for you. You’d been playing football since the age of five. There’s only so much the human body can take, be it that of one of the greatest physical specimens to ever play the game.

  The hits had been coming for years, you’d had your fair share of injuries, but this time things were different. You were older, and your body was taking longer to heal. What started as a bunch of minor injuries was turning out to be more than you bargained. As much pain as you were in, you refused to let anyone know the extent of your injuries. Instead you partied hard and you played harder.

  I really believe you wanted to be a family man. I think in your heart, you felt like the only way you could stop yourself from losing it all was to have a reason to come home every night. Your body was breaking down on you, your finances were spiraling out of control and you were everyone’s favorite whipping boy especially in the media. You looked towards marriage, hoping to find the refuge you needed from all the turmoil surrounding you.

  She was a stunner. A former beauty queen. Interestingly enough, you had met her through my acquaintance at a charity event. It was love or maybe I should clarify that, and say lust at first sight. You knew you wanted her, but she was unlike the other girls. She actually demanded you get to know her. It took you a while, but eventually you broke through. You dated for seven months, and got married in the eight. Approximately a year later, your first son from her came into the world.

  Things changed, or so it seemed. You devoted more time to family, and you stopped hanging out as much with me. From the outside, you were really invested into being a family man.

  Going into that season, you promised there’d be no more trouble from you. Your skeptics scoffed at the notion of you changing. Once again, the onus was on you to prove them wrong.

  Alas, this time they were right. Yours was a tragedy in the making, and I fear I contributed to it being so.

  I often ask myself how a guy who was compared favorably with the greats of the game, go from being the top player in the league to a guy working at the local home depot. Blowing through millions of dollars in just a matter of years.

  How does one orchestrate such a tragic story despite everything seemingly being in place for your success?

  Well…how does one explain this without portraying you in a negative light? It’s easy to point out all your mistakes, but this is supposed to serve as a cautionary tale for those who might walk the same path.

  As the injuries piled up, your production dropped. Unfortunately your debt and financial woes were going the opposite way. It was terrible timing. Your contract was about to be up and by all indications, Jaguars management was going to cut you loose.

  You knew you had to convince some team to sign you. In your mind, that’d be your last big pay check. The one contract that would take care of your woes. So you sought out black market dealers. You didn’t care what the side effects were…you didn’t care if it was illegal. All you wanted was something that would lessen the pain and heal your body quicker. You were tumbling down that hole of uncertainty and there was no one there to stop you from falling.

  To make matters worse, you had an affair with a cheer leader on the team. On being found out, you claimed things at home had deteriorated to a point where you and your wife weren’t communicating anymore. Said it was a fling and nothing more. Sadly this was a costly affair. Your wife divorced you and got half of what you had, including the house you had completed payments on.

  The cheer leader sued you for defamation and won, to put it mildly, you were being screwed from all angles. Down on your luck, you hoped that the drugs you were able to score off the black market would help. For some time they actually did. Your body seemed to respond to them and you were able to string together some decent games to close the season.

  It wasn’t enough to convince the Jaguars to sign you to a massive contract but it was enough to get a few teams interested.

  What you and your agent failed to take into consideration was your true value in light of all the things happening in your life. You wanted to be paid like a top running back but most teams saw you as a backup. However much money you thought you could get was nowhere near what teams were willing to give you. To make matters worse, you were hemorrhaging money badly and you needed some guarantee fast.

  With time running out and debtors constantly nipping at your heels, you took what seemed like the best offer to you and signed with the Tennessee Tita
ns.

  The backlash was more than you expected. Your tenure with the Jaguars might not have ended with a championship, but for the most part the fans viewed you in a positive light. Whilst management might not have liked your antics, the fans saw things differently.

  They knew how bad the team was before you got there. They were there when you broke records. They saw all the jaw dropping performances. To a lot of them you were a hero. You changed the franchise’ fate when you came aboard. Sure you had a lot of issues, but for the most part you won games and that was what really mattered. This move though was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Even your most loyal fans felt betrayed when you signed with the Jaguars’ division rivals. You leaving to be with the Titans was akin to a girl breaking up with her boyfriend only to go date his best friend.

  I felt sorry for you. This wasn’t how you wanted to be portrayed. In your mind, the Jaguars owed you so much. You had put your life on the line for them. Your body had been put through so much, only to have them force you elsewhere.

  You couldn’t see why the fans were so ignorant to the business side of things. You had to pay your bills and the Titans were willing to dole out the cash. Left to you, you’d still be a Jaguar, but in this money fueled society, whoever was willing to pay the most had the