Has Loyalty in Professional Sports become outdated?
Steven Gerrard, Red Auerbach, Ryan Giggs, Kobe Bryant, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson...what do these men have in common? Besides millions stashed away in bank accounts and the honour of being named a living legend?
Loyalty, all these players have showed loyalty to the sole club they either joined or were drafted by, Magic Johnson was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1979, until his retirement in 1991 and during his comeback in '96 he only played for them and guided then to 5 championships, rejecting many Lucrative Free Agent Contracts to stay with his team.
Larry Bird was drafted by the Celtics and also stayed with his team till he retired till 1992 and epitomized the Celtic cheer...Celtic Pride.
Above: Larry Bird Spent his entire 13 year career with the Celtics
Today However we see overpaid superstars who rather hold teams to ransom for all that the club can afford and then still have the gall to move on to "greener" pastures when the opportunity arises, now I understand the fact that athletes life is shorter than the average craftsman in other trades and that their window of opportunity to strike it big is short, so they can be excused if they are trying to get one last big pay day or win championships which was the case with Henrik Larsson
Above: Henrik Larrson with Barcelona
who left Glasgow Celtics (the soccer club based in Scotland) for Barcelona and won the Champions league and The La Liga, while playing with superstars such as Lionel Messi, Samuel Etoo and Ronaldhinio. When he returned to play against the Celtics he received a standing applause and was greeted warmly by the Pride park faithful, the same however cannot be said of another superstar, Luis Figo
Above : Figo With Barcelona
Figo was one the most brilliant and technically gifted players on the planet during the late 90’s and propelled Barcelona to Many Championships after first being brought to the club by Dutch Legend Johan Cryuff, he however left Barcelona to Join arch rivals Real Madrid in hopes of receiving a bigger pay check, the move sent shock waves throughout the footballing world , Figo had always kissed the club’s badge after scoring for Barca and the Catalans had come to embrace him as one of their own despite his Portuguese decent, The club even allowed fans to bring back their Jerseys to get his named removed, and on his first match back at Camp Nou he was pelted with everything imaginable from coins, to hand phones and even a pig’s head!!!
Above : Figo after signing With Real Madrid
What however got me thinking about this topic was the recent comeback of Legendary Quarterback Brett Favre and his subsequent decision to sign with the Minnesota Vikings, Brett Favre did retire a season ago only to come back within a few months and play for the Jets, after which he retired …AGAIN and un retired….AGAIN!!
This time however he is signing with the Vikings who are the packers closest rivals, Favre represented the packers for 16 seasons and is revered by their supporters
Favre is statistically one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. Favre is the only player to win the AP Most Valuable Player three consecutive times (1995–97).[6] He led the Packers to seven division championships (1995, 1996, 1997, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2007), four NFC Championship Games (1995, 1996, 1997, and 2007), winning two (1996 and 1997), and two Super Bowl appearances, winning one (Super Bowl XXXI). Favre to The Green Bay Packers is what Eric Cantona is to Manchester United, Steven Gerrard to Liverpool, and Magic Johnson to the Lakers.
I can understand Favre’s decision if he is coming out of retirement to win a championship that he has never won before, but he has, he has achieved everything a starting quarterback can achieve in NFL, and he has made his millions so why comeback now? Especially when you are at the tail end of your career and your abilities are on the downside
His decision to turn out for the Vikings is a slap on the face to the Packers fans who idolized him during his 16 years and that just feels like….Betrayal
Favre With The Packers
Loyalty, all these players have showed loyalty to the sole club they either joined or were drafted by, Magic Johnson was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1979, until his retirement in 1991 and during his comeback in '96 he only played for them and guided then to 5 championships, rejecting many Lucrative Free Agent Contracts to stay with his team.
Larry Bird was drafted by the Celtics and also stayed with his team till he retired till 1992 and epitomized the Celtic cheer...Celtic Pride.
Above: Larry Bird Spent his entire 13 year career with the Celtics
Today However we see overpaid superstars who rather hold teams to ransom for all that the club can afford and then still have the gall to move on to "greener" pastures when the opportunity arises, now I understand the fact that athletes life is shorter than the average craftsman in other trades and that their window of opportunity to strike it big is short, so they can be excused if they are trying to get one last big pay day or win championships which was the case with Henrik Larsson
Above: Henrik Larrson with Barcelona
who left Glasgow Celtics (the soccer club based in Scotland) for Barcelona and won the Champions league and The La Liga, while playing with superstars such as Lionel Messi, Samuel Etoo and Ronaldhinio. When he returned to play against the Celtics he received a standing applause and was greeted warmly by the Pride park faithful, the same however cannot be said of another superstar, Luis Figo
Above : Figo With Barcelona
Figo was one the most brilliant and technically gifted players on the planet during the late 90’s and propelled Barcelona to Many Championships after first being brought to the club by Dutch Legend Johan Cryuff, he however left Barcelona to Join arch rivals Real Madrid in hopes of receiving a bigger pay check, the move sent shock waves throughout the footballing world , Figo had always kissed the club’s badge after scoring for Barca and the Catalans had come to embrace him as one of their own despite his Portuguese decent, The club even allowed fans to bring back their Jerseys to get his named removed, and on his first match back at Camp Nou he was pelted with everything imaginable from coins, to hand phones and even a pig’s head!!!
Above : Figo after signing With Real Madrid
What however got me thinking about this topic was the recent comeback of Legendary Quarterback Brett Favre and his subsequent decision to sign with the Minnesota Vikings, Brett Favre did retire a season ago only to come back within a few months and play for the Jets, after which he retired …AGAIN and un retired….AGAIN!!
This time however he is signing with the Vikings who are the packers closest rivals, Favre represented the packers for 16 seasons and is revered by their supporters
Favre is statistically one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. Favre is the only player to win the AP Most Valuable Player three consecutive times (1995–97).[6] He led the Packers to seven division championships (1995, 1996, 1997, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2007), four NFC Championship Games (1995, 1996, 1997, and 2007), winning two (1996 and 1997), and two Super Bowl appearances, winning one (Super Bowl XXXI). Favre to The Green Bay Packers is what Eric Cantona is to Manchester United, Steven Gerrard to Liverpool, and Magic Johnson to the Lakers.
I can understand Favre’s decision if he is coming out of retirement to win a championship that he has never won before, but he has, he has achieved everything a starting quarterback can achieve in NFL, and he has made his millions so why comeback now? Especially when you are at the tail end of your career and your abilities are on the downside
His decision to turn out for the Vikings is a slap on the face to the Packers fans who idolized him during his 16 years and that just feels like….Betrayal
Favre With The Packers
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