I am old school. Have always been, even before I got old. When the boys were youngsters, they were playing their version of football in the front yard. When Geoffrey scored, he immediately slammed the ball to the ground in conquest. No, no, no. I jumped off my chair and gathered the two around me.
In my world, they needed to heed the actions of former NFL Hall of Famers Barry Sanders and Walter Payton. Specific to Sanders, when he scored a touchdown there was no outburst, no pounding the chest, no gyrations. He simply handed the ball to the nearest referee and headed to the sidelines.
Fast forward to the recent NFL draft. Colorado Buffaloes QB Shedeur Sanders was projected pre-draft to be selected within the top seven picks. That didn’t happen. He tumbled to a 5th round pick, #144. Numerous articles chronicle reports from NFL sources describing horrible interviews, in some cases suggesting that his own arrogant confidence or even entitlement was more a predictor of the outcome than anything else.
I believe there was nothing nefarious regarding Sander’s precipitous drop. Although some in the media suggested racism (the top three picks were all Black), NFL collusion and/or pushback because of his celebrity father, I believe those comments are nothing more than attempts to create social media clicks. The stage was set by his own behavior.
CHARACTER COUNTS! Nothing more, nothing less. I am so proud of my two sons that they live their lives with humility, exemplified by their behavior on and off the gridiron as I described in detail in my book, Raising Giants. I will always believe that one will be more successful in life when humbleness outweighs boastfulness.