For the Love of the Game...

In the car I either listent to NPR or listen to music tapes. This morning, on the way to school, there was a short piece honoring Johnny Unitas. Now, I am not a big sports person. And, in fact, I pretty much despise most professional sports because it seems like the athletes have too much money and do not care/understand that young people idolize them. I know that I am speaking in generalizations but it really irks me when you see a talented athlete become very wealthy and then start switching teams in order to make more money. And to also not realize that their lives have become a fishbowl and to watch their behavior.

Anyway, the point of all this is the piece honoring Johnny Unitas which you can listen to here. And what struck me about him (and the other football players of that era) was that they had to hold down other jobs in addition to playing football. Even working during the season. Johnny U was a paint salesman. The piece talks about how a teammate bought a row house and how the entire team pitched in to repair and clean it (with Johhny laying down the new kitchen floor). Talk about playing a sport because you really love the game! How many of our professional athletes would work an additional outside job and play football at the same time? Thank you, Johnny U, for being an example of loving the game (and it doesn't hurt that he was Greek, too:)