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American Hero
by Machine
From time to time I have occasion to speak to younger athletes in all
areas of sports. It's nice to see the fire and fierce competitive
spirit in them. In fact I'm amazed they are as focused as they seem to
be with the role models they have.
Often times I have considered what achievements could be made on
bodybuilding or powerlifting and strongmen if we had 5 million a year
to throw around. That concept boggles my mind… The worlds that could be
conquered are endless. Today's athletes that soak up national acclaim
are like non-stop self promoting, talking jackasses. They seem to stand
for nothing except money and shameless conceit.
The methods we use today come from years of back breaking toil and men
paving the way in iron. These great men were not paid. True love and
passion guided and drove them to carve out mounds of muscle and lay the
ground work we all borrow from to this day. Personal identity and
responsibility seem to be seriously lacking in some kids looking to
them for an example.
I can't help but notice a trend in the behavior of some high profile
athletes. Now a days it seems like you can't start training camp until
all the members of the team settle up their criminal charges. No doubt
the culprit for this crap is the winning mentality of the people in
charge. Win at all costs, seems to be their credo. Sometimes the cost
is too high. I tell kids I coach, "If you have to tell somebody how
good you are, you ain't that good".
Worse than any of this is that lately every time I pick up a
bodybuilding magazine there are football players scattered through out
the pages. I pose a question to those of you who embrace individual
thinking as I do. What do they do for us? Why do the powers that be
litter our magazines with pictures of people who are by our standards
in miserable shape? Maybe football players should exert some influence and
force T.V. networks to air advertisements showcasing bodybuilders. This
way there could be an environment of mutual respect.
At some point in time, football was not the huge machine it is today.
This changed when American industry embraced the sport and made
national heroes out of its athletes. Wouldn't it be nice if football
could do the same for us as athletes in our own right. Trust me these
athletes know the level of dedication we function at daily. Other
athletes know how difficult our sport is, and how we suffer without
large contracts and exposure in the mainstream media.
I think its time to wash up the dirty hands. Let everyone eat or let
everyone starve. Why should those athletes who don't even embrace our
sport be all over the mags. Worse, why should they take a contract
opportunity away from someone who does? Simply because someone thinks a big name will move product, that's why. The people I
love do not function this way. They admire people who lead by example
and stomp through this world without applause from anyone. I applaud
you, the guy who carries bags of cement all day and then is in the gym
that night trying to break 500 on the bench. That's power, that's heart
and that's my American Hero...
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