Chris CrockettCutler Looks Adversity In The Face And Shines In Denver
September 1st 2009 12:58
Responding to adversity is a big factor when judging any athlete, isn’t it? When the chips are down, I want to see how you perform. In tough, raucous environments I want to see what an athlete does. Does he or her lift their game or do they succumb to the pressure? Are they eaten alive by the importance of the moment and the potential impact of their legacy moving forward when that moment has played itself out? For all the great things that Alex Rodriguez has done in his career, how do most people view him when he’s faced with the adversity of playing against Boston when adversity is at its highest---especially when playing in Boston? Yankees/Red Sox is unique, but the same is true in so many other rivalry series’ or games throughout professional sports. Adversity is at a pretty high level when facing a rival on a big stage. Put rivalries aside for a minute now and think about this--- how hard is it for an athlete to perform when he returns to his old city after leaving on bad terms? How do they perform under adversity when fans are breathing down their necks calling their mother names, their wife names, their kids names and on down the line? It can get nasty and in a lot of cases it’s not done under the proper guidelines anymore. A lot of times lines of morality are crossed, but in the end you must be able to tune it out and perform at a high level. Adversity exists on so many levels for these athletes.
What Jay Cutler did when he returned to his old NFL home in Denver with Chicago the other night, isn’t quite on the same level with some of the things I talked about above, only because it was an exhibition game. That being said, preseason game or not, it was quite impressive to see and a hell of a sign if you’re a Cutler fan or Bears fan. To be kind, you could say Denver dislikes Jay Cutler for basically blazing his own trail out of town and forcing a trade because he wasn’t happy with new Head Coach, Josh McDaniels, and his supposed lack of respect toward Cutler. I am in agreement with the Denver fans on how he went out. He is the epitome of the new age, ‘I better get what I want and I better be respected for what I’ve done in this game’ athlete. Even though most of the athletes I’m talking about haven’t done a damn thing yet to command such respect other than show flashes of what they might become over the long haul. It’s the new age. People in many different walks of life want the sky to be handed to them before they’ve even come close to putting their time in and earning it. Cutler’s name was mentioned in trade rumors (part of the profession Jay) and he and his ego couldn’t handle it. What’s done is done, he was traded to Chicago and that’s that. The fans in Denver were so loud and hostile while heckling the hell out of Cutler this weekend and stomping their feet that the building was supposedly shaking at Invesco Field in Denver. You see, Cutler was expected to be the next John Elway in Denver. Expectations were off the charts and now he’s back for the first time playing the role of public enemy #1. The louder they booed him the better he played. He led the Bears down the field 98 yards for a touchdown right as the half was expiring and pumped his fist in a fashion that was like ‘bring it on.’ Cutler was tremendous in his return to Denver as the Bears beat the Broncos 27-17. More importantly---if you are a Chicago fan---you have to love how this kid responded to this type of adversity. Whether you agree with Cutler and his decision to force his way out of Denver or not, you have to give him props for staring adversity right in the face and performing at his highest level right in front of it. That is what sports and becoming a star is all about---even if you are a bit of a prima donna who wrote your own ticket out of town due to a bruised ego.
Chuck Hanf
Two Cents From Beantown
| 48 |
| Vote |
subscribe to this blog
Comment by Josh Gans