Young Man's World

Word began to spread today that Vince Young, the next ‘man who could revolutionize the quarterback position’ almost retired after his first year in the NFL. Apparently he had some personal issues crop up that he wanted to attend to in addition to the building pressure of being an NFL quarterback and the face of a franchise. I have yet to hear any fallout from the Skip Bayless-types saying how wrong it would be for a young man with so much to gain, to forfeit. But I feel it necessary to chime in here in this instance.
I too am a young man, new to the workaday world with the pressures of waking up on time and getting your ass into work – also a time-measured task. I’d by lying if those things didn’t seem daunting at a time when my life revolved around catching Y+R and making time for a good 4 hours of Madden and Tiger Woods each day. I too considered I had made the wrong choice. I was miserable. I arrived at work at 7:15 on a good day and left 4 o’clock on the dot. I took multiple jaunts outside each day to get some fresh air. Meanwhile all I could think about was if The Man had me under full time surveillance or if I could make a break for it and not have it end getting shot in the back like Willem Dafoe in Platoon.
But I sucked it up. I knew I had loans looming on the horizon which would break me if I decided I ‘need more time to figure out what I want to be when I grow up’. So I kept showing up and things started to get better. I was having fun with the guys at work and slowly things started to make sense. I’m not going to sit here and claim that I have my profession figured out, but I’m beginning to get an understanding of it all.
So don’t chastise Vince Young and say that he’s another young black athlete with a horrible attitude. Let’s call it what it is: a young man with a lot on his plate – personally and professionally – that got to him and forced him to reflect upon his chosen profession. And for a young man that can be a daunting task. Everyone hears that alarm on at least one day and says I can’t do it anymore. But the winners are the ones who drag their ass outta that bed and get shit done. Even if I was 15 minutes late…