I'm kinda late, both on the story and with the second post in general. No excuses, but I'm back, and here we go again.
Steve McNair's death was shocking. If I had told anybody even three weeks ago that McNair would be shot dead by his 20 year old mistress, they would've had me committed. What makes this most surprising is knowing where he came from. By all accounts, he couldn't have been brought up in a more humble fashion. How many top flight high school athletes (he was drafted 35th by the Seattle Mariners in 1991) decide to go somewhere like ALCORN STATE? Only the ones who don't want to go anywhere big (2600 undergraduates) or too far from home (about 100 miles). There isn't a rarer breed; Kobe would have an easier time finding a shot he doesn't like.
So to come so far in less than 20 years, from the quiet kid who chose D-1AA Alcorn State over the USCs and Michigans of Division 1 to getting murdered by a 20 year old mistress... it's distressing. It feels like we just found out Harvey Dent just killed a bunch of people.
"The Joker chose ME."
"Because you were the best of us. He wanted to prove that even someone as good as you could fall."
"He was right."
Is this true? Are fame and fortune so powerful that it can corrupt anybody? Is nobody really safe? Next we're gonna hear Darrell Green got busted on drug charges, right? Ok, if that happens I will definitely lose all faith in humanity, but you get my point. I just hope that people can do more than just read the news of this in passing and take a lesson. EVERYBODY is human, whether the guy sitting next to you or is a starting quarterback in the Super Bowl. And I won't say gaps can't be bridged, but NEVER forget who you are and where you come from. Because if you do, you will start getting caught up in things that you simply aren't prepared for, and you WILL go down. And you'd deserve nothing less than whatever happens. Rest in peace Steve McNair.
3 comments:
Way to take this tragic event and find meaning in it. You give some great, insightful advice.
Now what do you make of Jacko's death?
I have a lot of thoughts on MJ, centering on him being probably the most misunderstood celebrity of all time and piggybacking the circumstances surrounding his death onto that sentiment.
First, Mike Tyson is the only celebrity who's even in the same stratosphere as MJ as far as being musinderstood goes (if you can find me another example, please share it, 'cause I draw a blank after those two). People were saying Jackson was "doctor hopping" in search of drugs... just not true. The doctor that was with him was supplied by the promoters of his tour (which was scheduled to make something like $200 million, I believe), and by certain accounts Jackson was NOT healthy in the days leading up to his death. It is my belief that the doctor's job was to make sure Jackson was good to perform, nothing more nothing less, and was pumping MJ full of drugs to keep him on his feet. Jackson was merely looking for help from someone he knew he could not trust.
Just my opinion tho ha. Also, regardless of your opinion on Tyson, I highly recommend watching the Tyson documentary, which was extraordinary and highly educational, especially to those who consider him nothing more than a gorilla with sledgehammer fists.
Interesting points... How bout Tupac? Not to be cliche, but if you've seen the documentary Tupac Resurrection it's amazing to see how misunderstood he was by the (white) establishment.
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