A Special Kind of Athlete

We always hear the superstars of professional sports say that they play the game for the game not the money. It is the passion and their teammates that keep them motivated to play the game. If this is the case then we do we also hear that "he is in a contract year" or "he is playing for a contract." This is fine because it makes for a compelling season to watch that player and see where they end up the following season.

So if we always hear about these athletes then why do we never hear about those that do not play for the money, but really do play for the joy of the game. I witnessed this first hand today while organizing the Virginia State Games Special Olympics Swim meet, these athletes are by far my favorite! No matter how far behind an athlete was in a race the crowd was cheering them on and that athlete never gave up. These athletes were truly having fun during the entire day, I met a swimmer named Darrell who was having a great time. He swam very well, but he could not tell you what his time was, but he could tell you how many times he scared me or tried to steal my pen. I met another young athlete named Aliyah who is 9 and to see her congratulate all the other athletes in her race by hugging them was so awesome. These athletes were having fun, that is what sport is all about. The moment someone stated we should pay you to play sports the fun was sucked out of it.

The argument has always been made if college athletes should be paid. I say hell no, why would they need to be paid, most of them are having their college paid for. If we paid these athletes then we would never see Tim Tebow make his legendary speech after the loss to Ole Miss. College athletes do not need to be paid, they have everything they could ever want at their fingertips and always will. Play the game to have fun and love every minute of it, just imagine if Derek Jeter hugged David Ortiz after the Yankee/Red Sox game.