I'll probably get ridiculed for this, but I've become increasingly annoyed by the general approach and attitude of young players coming into the league, including a whole boatload of our own players. For decades it seemed, players would be happy to get drafted, work their ***** off for years, achieve some success, get rewarded with more money, more security, longer term contracts. The very best became leaders on their teams, led them to playoff and SB glory. The cream of the crop made the Pro Bowl, and there were numerous *stars* around the NFL, who became rich & famous due to their talent and on-field achievement.
Past few years, seems every ******* rookie coming in is automatically a made man. Everyone's flaunting their cash on Instagram, posing with luxury cars & clothing, flashing the bling. Look around the league, look at social media, even mediocre players project starpower, wealth & success even if they've done exactly *jack ***** in their young careers. Some are barely even playing, yet they're acting like they're Jay ******* Z. On our own team, I noticed a player like Isaiah Buggs, who came in as a sixth round pick in 2019, barely made the squad, is nowhere near being an established NFL player or star, yet he's posing on Instagram with Bentleys, gold chains around his neck, acting like a rap star. JuJu and Claypool same thing, following AB's footsteps. Everything's about the brand. Not the Steelers' brand, or even the NFL brand, but their own personal brand.
It seems this attitude has permeated, and has affected a large swath of players in the NFL and other professional sports. The way our DB's pose & preen for the cameras. What a ******* joke. Everything's superficial. Look at all the player pictures they post on the official Steelers FB and Insta accounts on gamedays. It's players dressed to kill, wearing flashy clothes, getting ready to board the plane, or arriving in the stadium. The NFL has turned into a ******* Fashion Show. All bells and whistles, smoke and mirrors. Achieving credible, legitimate star power by on-field performance has disappeared. You can't tell the difference between a true star from a ****** bench player who hardly plays. They're all flaunting their wealth, all pretending to be God damn superstars. It's like success is granted, it's a given, comes on a silver plate. Just get on an NFL team, boom, you've made it big. Humility, hard work, a lunchpail attitude, respecting the game, the tradition, the coaches, the veterans all seems to have dissipated. Perhaps for good.
Alright, rant off. Sorry.
