Million-dollar paychecks, fame, and a sculpted figure all seem pretty appealing. For me, I - very briefly - wanted to be a professional football (soccer) player several years back. That fell through pretty quickly, but what if it hadn't? If I somehow still grew up to be a professional sports player, this is what I would do.
1. I would work hard in practice, but would secretly hope that I'd be benched for most games at the start of my career. Why would I want to sit on the bench? Pressure. More than anything, I think that pressure would be the worst part of playing a professional sport. What if you made a clumsy slide tackle that earned you a red card and the other team a penalty? What if it was the final match in some big tournament, and it was you that flubbed the big chance for your team to take home the cup? I'm not sure I could live with myself.
2. As soon as I amassed some fame, I'd try to get into commercials. Gatorade, Nutella, whatever, as long as I then got a lifetime supply. How cool would it be to go shopping, and pick up a pack of something with your face plastered on it?
3. Assuming I made 10 million or so dollars a year, I'd try to actually do something useful with it. A lot of really rich people give their money away, but I never really hear of sports stars do so. Of course, maybe I'm just disconnected. If it was me, though, I'd stash away a few million for the next ten generations in my family, and donate the rest to a good cause.
4. I'd read every piece of fan mail that was sent to me, but only respond to the people that sounded like decent, intelligent human beings.
5. To increase my connectivity with my fans, I'd start a youtube channel. I don't really care what it would be about. It would be cool, though, if some sports star made a guide to their sport on youtube. "Hey, I'm Messi, and today I'm going to be telling you the basics of the offside rule..."
Really, why doesn't some pro dude make that? I'd watch it.
For me, I think that I've crossed professional sports player off of my list, and have moved onto other dreams of glory and riches. Until that day when I'm making 10 million dollars a year, thanks for reading. Oh, and maybe if you read this blog now, in my early career, then I can reward you later with a share of my salary... :)
Thanks for reading,
-Mark
1. I would work hard in practice, but would secretly hope that I'd be benched for most games at the start of my career. Why would I want to sit on the bench? Pressure. More than anything, I think that pressure would be the worst part of playing a professional sport. What if you made a clumsy slide tackle that earned you a red card and the other team a penalty? What if it was the final match in some big tournament, and it was you that flubbed the big chance for your team to take home the cup? I'm not sure I could live with myself.
2. As soon as I amassed some fame, I'd try to get into commercials. Gatorade, Nutella, whatever, as long as I then got a lifetime supply. How cool would it be to go shopping, and pick up a pack of something with your face plastered on it?
3. Assuming I made 10 million or so dollars a year, I'd try to actually do something useful with it. A lot of really rich people give their money away, but I never really hear of sports stars do so. Of course, maybe I'm just disconnected. If it was me, though, I'd stash away a few million for the next ten generations in my family, and donate the rest to a good cause.
4. I'd read every piece of fan mail that was sent to me, but only respond to the people that sounded like decent, intelligent human beings.
5. To increase my connectivity with my fans, I'd start a youtube channel. I don't really care what it would be about. It would be cool, though, if some sports star made a guide to their sport on youtube. "Hey, I'm Messi, and today I'm going to be telling you the basics of the offside rule..."
Really, why doesn't some pro dude make that? I'd watch it.
For me, I think that I've crossed professional sports player off of my list, and have moved onto other dreams of glory and riches. Until that day when I'm making 10 million dollars a year, thanks for reading. Oh, and maybe if you read this blog now, in my early career, then I can reward you later with a share of my salary... :)
Thanks for reading,
-Mark
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