las <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>Most athletes do not have to work that hard to accomplish what they
>do. They are simply using God given gifts that come naturally to
>them. I feel much differently about artists of any kind.
There are less than 400 NBA basketball players in the entire world. Each
*year* a few hundred Division I college basketball starters graduate,
plus hundreds or thousands of players elsewhere in the world who want to
play in the NBA. There are few professions in this country with as much
competition for so few spots, and few where the competition is so
constant (i.e., your job is never "secure" -- you are always one coach's
decision from being cut). There are a few very gifted superstars (maybe
30 or 40 players) who don't have to worry about this pressure, but even
they worked hard to get where they are (Michael Jordan became the best
player because he worked hard at becoming the best player). For the
others, it's a 365-days-a-year effort to keep in unbelievable shape,
improve their game, learn playbooks, etc. Many athletes work 10-12 hours
a day at their profession. Sure some days they don't, but I think to say
that "most athletes do not have to work that hard" shows a profound
misunderstanding about what "most athletes" actually have to do to be
successful. Most professional athletes have been working very hard since
they were young children in order to get where they are. They certainly
have to work just as hard as any artist. And remember that athletes
careers usually end about 30 or 40 years earlier than artists ;-)
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