Don't stress out
Michigan State beat Notre Dame in overtime Saturday in a thrilling college football encounter. After the game, Spartans' head coach Mike Dantonio suffered a mild heart attack.
College football coach is a stressful job. It requires long hours and probably more responsibility than one man should be required to shoulder. It also pays a whole bunch of money.
After Dantonio's heart attack, the media has gone into panic mode, saying perhaps the NCAA should limit the number of hours coaches can devote to their professions.
First of all, what happened to Dantonio was alarming and sad. But, he wasn't the only person who had a heart attack Saturday night.
Heart attacks happen to people in all forms of work. Unfortunately, they're a part of life and a very real part of death.
All of a sudden, people are supposed to be concerned that football coaches' lives are in danger because of the stressful nature of their job. Is a coach's job more stressful than a doctor, who literally has the blood of his patients on his hands? Every day a doctor makes life or death decisions.
Is a coach's job more stressful than that of a police officer? Cops pull cars over all the time. Mostly, they have no idea who is going to roll the window down when they tap on the glass. It could be a little, old lady or an angry man with a gun. These days, it could be a little, old lady with a gun.
That's stress.
I don't know what it's like to be a college football coach - to have the media nipping at your heels, to have clueless fans criticize your every decision, to have your job performance graded by thousands of fans who've never been to a practice much less ran one.
That's a stress I don't understand.
I do know what it's like to have the everyday stress of having to pay $500 worth of bills with about $300.
Coaches worry about what play to call on third-and-four. Other people have to decide between paying their electric bill or their gas bill. You want to talk stress? Try making a five dollar bill last for a week.
I think it's sad what happened to Dantonio. But, please, don't make it like millionaire coaches have it worse than truck drivers, farmers or construction workers.
Stress isn't a coaching thing. It's a life thing.
College football coach is a stressful job. It requires long hours and probably more responsibility than one man should be required to shoulder. It also pays a whole bunch of money.
After Dantonio's heart attack, the media has gone into panic mode, saying perhaps the NCAA should limit the number of hours coaches can devote to their professions.
First of all, what happened to Dantonio was alarming and sad. But, he wasn't the only person who had a heart attack Saturday night.
Heart attacks happen to people in all forms of work. Unfortunately, they're a part of life and a very real part of death.
All of a sudden, people are supposed to be concerned that football coaches' lives are in danger because of the stressful nature of their job. Is a coach's job more stressful than a doctor, who literally has the blood of his patients on his hands? Every day a doctor makes life or death decisions.
Is a coach's job more stressful than that of a police officer? Cops pull cars over all the time. Mostly, they have no idea who is going to roll the window down when they tap on the glass. It could be a little, old lady or an angry man with a gun. These days, it could be a little, old lady with a gun.
That's stress.
I don't know what it's like to be a college football coach - to have the media nipping at your heels, to have clueless fans criticize your every decision, to have your job performance graded by thousands of fans who've never been to a practice much less ran one.
That's a stress I don't understand.
I do know what it's like to have the everyday stress of having to pay $500 worth of bills with about $300.
Coaches worry about what play to call on third-and-four. Other people have to decide between paying their electric bill or their gas bill. You want to talk stress? Try making a five dollar bill last for a week.
I think it's sad what happened to Dantonio. But, please, don't make it like millionaire coaches have it worse than truck drivers, farmers or construction workers.
Stress isn't a coaching thing. It's a life thing.
posted by Tony at
4:14 PM
1 Comments:
Well spoken.
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