Tuesday, August 15, 2006
The Entertaining Downfall of Matt Leinart
Every now and then, an athlete makes an absolutely terrible business decision. Think Maurice Clarett forgoing his NCAA eligibility by testing the NFL’s entrance by-laws, or former Texas Longhorn point guard Daniel Gibson whose sub-par 2006 campaign in Austin took him from lottery pick if he' left in 2005 to virtually unemployed.
And Matt Leinart can now be grouped in that category. As of January, 2005, good ole’ Matty was on top of the world—fresh off a Heisman award and a National Championship-- hell he was hanging out with Nick Lachey when Nick Lachey was banging Jessica Simpson! He was the no-doubter first round pick of the close-to-home San Francisco 49ers, where they would have paid him upwards of $25M in guaranteed money.
Wrong. Leinart, in a decision that can only be described as early-Mike-Tyson-on-a guy’s-night-out-destructive, decided that, “college is fun”. He went back to finish his degree (commendable on the face, but he then assured us that he only needed to pass Ballroom Dancing to complete his degree from the University of Spoiled Children), sleep with more girls, chill with more celebrities and live off the University’s dime while coasting through another year in the weak-sauce Pac-10.
*Note: I hear you can get laid and chill with celebs in the pros—just a rumor.
Enter Vince Young, Reggie Bush, and the harsh realities of world of sports. You know the story; Leinart gets outshone by two other players in the championship, then scouts fall in love with a quarterback from Vanderbilt, and Jess and Nick break up.
Leinart now finds himself the tenth draft pick to the Arizona Cardinals, where he finally ended a three month holdout Monday by accepting a 6 year, $50 million deal, guaranteeing about $14M, reportedly. My question: what took you so long Matty?
Why this constant state of denial? His downfall over the last 18 months has been steady, continuous, and fun as hell to watch (unless, you’re, like, a fan of his). His holdout was absolutely ridiculous, absurd and upsetting, and probably ensuring even worse days ahead for him—at least in the near future.
I’m no expert on negotiations (yet), but wouldn’t we have liked to see Leinart get his ass to camp, work like a dog, learn the system, play in all of the preseason games, and win the starting job from Kurt “If you bench me, you’ll hear it from my wife and Jesus” Warner?
People tell me that Leinart is a likable guy; I just want him to do something likable.
Special thanks to the B.G. for his contributions to the page. Will there be guest columnist to come? Maybe. In other sports news, I think I busted my thumb playing pick up basketball at my new complex. It took me ten minutes to do, the day before orientation starts. I’m told you actually need your hands in law school to “take notes”. Good start.
And Matt Leinart can now be grouped in that category. As of January, 2005, good ole’ Matty was on top of the world—fresh off a Heisman award and a National Championship-- hell he was hanging out with Nick Lachey when Nick Lachey was banging Jessica Simpson! He was the no-doubter first round pick of the close-to-home San Francisco 49ers, where they would have paid him upwards of $25M in guaranteed money.
Wrong. Leinart, in a decision that can only be described as early-Mike-Tyson-on-a guy’s-night-out-destructive, decided that, “college is fun”. He went back to finish his degree (commendable on the face, but he then assured us that he only needed to pass Ballroom Dancing to complete his degree from the University of Spoiled Children), sleep with more girls, chill with more celebrities and live off the University’s dime while coasting through another year in the weak-sauce Pac-10.
*Note: I hear you can get laid and chill with celebs in the pros—just a rumor.
Enter Vince Young, Reggie Bush, and the harsh realities of world of sports. You know the story; Leinart gets outshone by two other players in the championship, then scouts fall in love with a quarterback from Vanderbilt, and Jess and Nick break up.
Leinart now finds himself the tenth draft pick to the Arizona Cardinals, where he finally ended a three month holdout Monday by accepting a 6 year, $50 million deal, guaranteeing about $14M, reportedly. My question: what took you so long Matty?
Why this constant state of denial? His downfall over the last 18 months has been steady, continuous, and fun as hell to watch (unless, you’re, like, a fan of his). His holdout was absolutely ridiculous, absurd and upsetting, and probably ensuring even worse days ahead for him—at least in the near future.
I’m no expert on negotiations (yet), but wouldn’t we have liked to see Leinart get his ass to camp, work like a dog, learn the system, play in all of the preseason games, and win the starting job from Kurt “If you bench me, you’ll hear it from my wife and Jesus” Warner?
People tell me that Leinart is a likable guy; I just want him to do something likable.
Special thanks to the B.G. for his contributions to the page. Will there be guest columnist to come? Maybe. In other sports news, I think I busted my thumb playing pick up basketball at my new complex. It took me ten minutes to do, the day before orientation starts. I’m told you actually need your hands in law school to “take notes”. Good start.
