Sunday, January 25, 2009

Cardinals Legacy: A Character Study

I hope you enjoy this guest post written by my insightful husband, Brad Markins. It's about the Cardinals' ability/desire to create a lasting legacy, but more importantly it's a character study. Comment about either below.
Diane Markins


My wife and I have been Arizona Cardinal season ticket holders since the bitter beginning of their tenure in
Phoenix. With the Cardinals heading to the Super Bowl I'm in football heaven. If this is a dream everyone be quiet so I don't wake! I'm even lucky enough to be headed to Florida to witness this historic event. Win or lose in Tampa it's been a great run, which started me wondering, can we do it again next year? To put ourselves in the best possible position to duplicate the success we've had is to bring back as many players as we can.

Ownership has to open up the check book and players need not be so greedy.
I know the Bidwills (team owners) haven't been the sharpest cleats in the locker room but lately they have layed out the cash. Players also need to look at the big picture. I can understand a mid-level player trying to get as much as he can because the $1 or $2 million he gets won't last him a lifetime.

The players I have a hard time understanding are the Big Money guys. Take Edgerrin James for example. He left the Colts after signing as a rookie for seven years and a $49 million contract because he got more money from the Cardinals. He signed here for four years at $35 million. The ironic part is that his former team, the Colts, won the Super Bowl the year after he left them,
while James watched on TV. With $84 million, James is either going to make sound conservative financial decisions and be set for the rest of his life, or he's going to follow the path of the Mike Tyson's of the world and be broke. The difference of a few million isn't going to be the deciding factor.

In addition to money, ego is a huge factor for these star athletes. Their salary is typically "slotted" between that of two other comparable players. If they're offered less (because of salary caps or other limitations) they make it clear that they've been disrespected. Their feelings get hurt. I'd venture to say their agents have a fair stake in cultivating this attitude.
Are you reading this, Anquan?

What will be sad is when some of these players who jump ship for more money look back and wish they would have stayed the course and maybe won a championship (or hopefully ANOTHER championship). Being a part of a legacy lasts a lifetime; a couple extra mil is arbitrary, especially when they're old and gray.

Brad Markins is the owner and president of A & M NUT AND BOLT in Phoenix. He has lived in Arizona most of his life. He occasionally guest posts and contributes/publishes letters to editors at various newspapers. Contact him at Brad@AMBOLTS.COM

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Very well said!