On Respect
(This is a response to a recent post on my fantasy baseball website about the Southern Cal Trojans not getting enough respect from the national media.)
What is all this crap about respect? I hear this garbage all the time. "We don't get no respect." "They don't give us respect." It's just meaningless bluster.
Where is USC ranked in both polls? First. Clearly no respect shown there. Where did USC finish in the AP poll in the 2003 season despite not getting picked for the BCS championship? First. No respect there either.
Stephen A. Smith spent maybe 45 minutes the other night talking to everyone ever associated with USC except O.J. Simpson and Fred Lynn. Pete Carroll is being called the greatest recruiter in college football history after four years on the job. I've seen or read maybe 1,000 features on Matt Leinert in the last six months. Tommy the Trojan was selected as the second best human mascot. I wish Northwestern, my alma mater, could get disrespected like that.
It's the same thing in other sports. The White Sox don't get enough play on Baseball Tonight. There's not enough news about the U.S. men's soccer team. There's too much focus on the Red Sox and Yankees. Waah!!
I am so tired of hearing about who gets respect and who doesn't. It's just a way for someone to feel self-important or look whiny.
"Nobody loves me! Waaah! Even though I'm the greatest thing God ever created. You should love me! Waaaah! You shouldn't talk about anyone else except me. Waaaaah!"
I say this. Just be excellent. Win championships. Glory in the excellence that your hard work has brought. Your fans love you. Your wife (and many other groupies) loves you. Your kids, even the illegitimate ones, think you're a big hero. So, enjoy your excellence, and don't talk about who's getting dissed and who's not gettin' no love.
Gimme some props.
