Winovich talks about the loneliness of being an NFL rookies
December 23rd, 2019 at 9:19 AM ^
Interesting piece. I think most people just tend to think that professional athletes are really close to their teammates and they're buds hanging out with each other in their free time, but I guess that's not the case. And I'm guessing it's especially hard with the rookie hazing where older guys go out their way to make your life difficult.
And I guess another lessen here that can be more widely applicable is that we're all human trying to get through life feeling happy and like we mean something to ourselves and others. Check in on your friends and buddies every week or so and make sure they're good. Especially those who may not have the largest support systems
December 23rd, 2019 at 10:11 AM ^
Not that all teammates are best friends, but Bo said it best...
"...You will never play for a team again...!"
December 23rd, 2019 at 10:55 AM ^
The allure of the professional sports life is a goal all of these players have but I do think many miss the college life once they leave it.
December 23rd, 2019 at 11:42 AM ^
I still miss the college life.
...and I have a house, a car, insurance, money in my wallet, food on the table, a table now... all shit I didn't have in college.
I also miss being in the military. Not every job is perfect but now I'm surrounded by narcissists and sycophants.
December 23rd, 2019 at 12:15 PM ^
me too, I miss the Navy. Met a lot of great people, miss em actually. Son is home from the Marines for a week and is ready to get back to it.
NFL is just a job playing a game for incredible sums of money, so theres that
December 23rd, 2019 at 12:51 PM ^
I also miss being around people with can-do attitudes. for the people not shtting all over others at the office in their quest to make partner one day, there are a lot of people who expect you to do their work for them.
I have to work on a proposal over the break now which is due on the 3rd. An associate said he found some stuff from a previous engagement we could leverage. I said, great, add it to the package please.
He did. Just copied and pasted the data. Didn't even bother to change the previous client's name to the new client's name.
Now the rest of us who have been working other other shit have to go back and redo this his work.
December 23rd, 2019 at 1:19 PM ^
I miss video games
December 23rd, 2019 at 3:38 PM ^
You may be a younger version of me. I remember my senior year thinking, "damn, let's get this over with, graduate, get commissioned and have some money for a change. I'm ready to get on with my life."
Then a couple of years on active duty and I'm thinking, "damn, college was fun, I wish I could go back."
Then a couple of years out of the military and working with jerks similar to your narcissists and sycophants, "damn, I miss being in uniform. I never should have got out".
Things can get better though. I landed a fun and great job 13 years ago and I'm not leaving unless they walk me out the door at gun point.
December 23rd, 2019 at 3:57 PM ^
You may be a younger version of me.
Thanks...
...I always assumed "you" are younger than me.
Plus, look at your balls!!! They are magnificent!
They haven't shriveled up yet!
December 23rd, 2019 at 4:51 PM ^
I have discovered that my dream job would be to be back at college with an easy major and lots of money.
I'd go tomorrow if my wife would let me.
December 23rd, 2019 at 9:37 PM ^
As I've said here and several other places, adult cubicle life sucks.
I regret being one of those kids who couldn't wait to be an adult because it was going to be so great.
Youth really is wasted on the young.
December 23rd, 2019 at 11:37 AM ^
It's their job. I don't hang out with my co-workers every day. I go to work and go home. These are grown men with wives and kids and real stuff. Practice is work, games are work, after that they have real life.
December 23rd, 2019 at 1:04 PM ^
It's their job, yes, but they're also traveling, training, and practicing so much that I don't think many players have time for much of a personal life until they retire. And I can only imagine the support systems that some players have in place already before becoming professionals become toxic once you start making lots of money
December 23rd, 2019 at 9:51 PM ^
Based on this article, it sounds like they do in fact have time for a personal life, hence the loneliness.
December 23rd, 2019 at 1:52 PM ^
I hear you fish, however, if you listen to people who played in the NFL they often refer to their relationship with their teammates as a brotherhood or family or something that speaks to very strong bond. I can only speak for myself, but I've never considered my relationship with my coworkers as a brotherhood.
My guess is the college bond of living/training/playing together is hard to replicate when you start to include money/options/spouses.
I think pro sports are a unique environment doesn't necessarily relate well to 'normal life'.
December 23rd, 2019 at 2:31 PM ^
NFL guys have families to go home to.
Think about how many new friends you made after college.
There's a reason why there's a movie called I Love You, Man. Most people aren't focused on friendships post college. Real world, real life...
He'll find a few friends on the team, just like we find at work. And he'll have his buddies from HS and college. Just like we do.
December 23rd, 2019 at 9:22 AM ^
I remember when I was first alone after moving out of my parents. It was a depressing time. It wasn't until I found a community of friends that I was able to spend more and more time with that I started to feel happy again. Humans by nature are social creatures.
Ironically, now that I live with my fiance and our FOUR kids all I want is some alone time.
December 23rd, 2019 at 11:40 AM ^
In the age of Social Media and hundreds of “friends” on line, people still feel very lonely. Eye to eye contact and human touch are extremely important.
December 23rd, 2019 at 1:43 PM ^
That's what strip clubs are for.
December 23rd, 2019 at 3:40 PM ^
Seriously, league minimum can buy you a lot of companionship.
December 23rd, 2019 at 4:49 PM ^
With working girls, you don't pay for the attention.
You're paying for them to go away.
December 23rd, 2019 at 9:28 PM ^
High quality pros are one of the best things in life.
Don't ask how I know this.
December 23rd, 2019 at 12:11 PM ^
Humans by nature are social creatures.
TIL I'm not human
December 23rd, 2019 at 1:04 PM ^
I’m an antisocial creature.
December 23rd, 2019 at 9:27 AM ^
#footballrookieslivesmatter
December 23rd, 2019 at 9:37 AM ^
They’ve also found hobbies. Harris binge-watches “One Tree Hill.’’ Winovich recently purchased five books for his Kindle, having just finished “Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind’’ by Yuval Noah Harari. Among those on the docket in the future is J.D. Salinger’s classic “Catcher in the Rye.’’
The Michigan difference.
December 23rd, 2019 at 9:47 AM ^
Dude come on, catcher in the rye is like sophomore year of high school shit.
December 23rd, 2019 at 9:51 AM ^
Maybe, but it is definitely a better use of time than binge watching One Tree Hill! Also, perhaps it is one of his re-reads. I have a number of books that I enjoy so much that I re-read them every few years. Catcher in the Rye is actually one of them, along with One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, The Three Musketeers, LoTR and The Civil War: A Narrative.
And while Catcher in the Rye may be high-school level, that Sapiens book sure sounds like some advanced shit!
December 23rd, 2019 at 9:53 AM ^
unless you're from a conservative midwestern town, in which case catcher in the rye is never mentioned and if you eventually stumble across it and elect to read it for your senior english class you have no chance of getting an A unless you roundly criticize the themes of the book.
December 23rd, 2019 at 10:31 AM ^
Oh please, I grew up in a conservative town in the West and my Junior English teacher made sure we read it and explored all of the themes in it. I'd honestly be rather surprised if your experience was much different.
December 23rd, 2019 at 11:08 AM ^
What's it like if you're from a conservative town in the Carolinas or the Pacific Northwest?
Assuming you're not making anything up, why not just say "conservative?"
As a Midwesterner I prefer to not have to work against silly stereotypes.
December 23rd, 2019 at 10:03 AM ^
Just started reading Sapiens myself, great book so far.
December 23rd, 2019 at 10:13 AM ^
"Catcher in the Eye" isn't bad either
December 23rd, 2019 at 10:38 AM ^
That’s not a book though.
December 23rd, 2019 at 11:18 AM ^
Definitely a movie. Pretty sure Peter North has a starring role.
December 23rd, 2019 at 10:15 AM ^
Good choices, Chase! Sapiens is an excellent read - I highly recommend it!
December 23rd, 2019 at 9:39 AM ^
December 23rd, 2019 at 11:06 AM ^
... and then (sooner or later) figure out how badly money fails to address the condition of the human heart.
December 23rd, 2019 at 3:44 PM ^
Humans, always over-thinking things.
December 24th, 2019 at 1:17 PM ^
Maybe money doesn’t buy happiness, but not having any can sure bring about a shitload of misery.
December 23rd, 2019 at 11:56 AM ^
until your body immediately began aching from the activity, reminding you that you traded gradually destroying your body in exchange for loads of cash
December 23rd, 2019 at 4:56 PM ^
Beats gradually destroying your body in exchange for very little cash.
December 23rd, 2019 at 9:41 AM ^
Damn that guy is likable.
December 23rd, 2019 at 9:44 AM ^
An interesting article and something I never thought of. It’s easy to see how these guys could be lonely and what a huge adjustment it all must be
December 23rd, 2019 at 10:01 AM ^
That kind of money can buy you companions.
beautiful companions
December 23rd, 2019 at 10:03 AM ^
I mean yeah: You're likely moving to a city you may have never been to before in a region of the country that you don't know very well.
You're in a competitive situation where everyone is kind of out for themselves and you have to prove yourself first.
There's no time to go out and be social, at least if you're being responsible. Yeah, it's got to be lonely and I feel bad for the guy.
December 23rd, 2019 at 10:04 AM ^
I recall an interview with Brendan Shanahan where he talked about that. He said there he was playing as a rookie for the Devils, on the ice throwing fists with guys and going back to his room (don't recall if it was a hotel or an apartment) and crying like a child because he was lonely. Here people saw this young rookie, so tough he wouldn't back down from a veteran NHL enforcer, but was sitting on his bed crying.
everyone is human.... well most everyone.
December 23rd, 2019 at 11:11 AM ^
Shanahan and Winovich seem like thoughtful people. That in itself can be lonely when you live among many boring automatons (and I don't mean just pro sports).
December 23rd, 2019 at 10:16 AM ^
just finished "nfl confidential," by "johnny anonymous," which...may have a michigan connection (wink).
he mostly talks about the football part of being an nfl player - the meetings, the politics, etc. - but he also talks about life as a player in a 'foreign' city. you're away from friends / family / girlfriend, you're bored, you're in pain. he likens it to being a traveling salesman, which is interesting. even with the money, it doesn't sound like a great life.
December 23rd, 2019 at 11:48 AM ^
As a traveling salesmen, I agree. Which is why I try to limit my travel to one night a week. Never travel on Sundays or Saturdays is one of my strict rules.
And, I may have only missed a handful of baseball games between the four kids. It helped that I was the head coach so I had no excuses to leave town.