Portland Trail Blazers' Greg Oden likely out for year after fracturing patella - ESPN Granted this particular injury isn't career ending, but how many injuries can he have? It appeared his skill set was beginning to catch up to his freakish size, now another set back. Wish him the best.
I'm not positive "injury prone" even exists, or what causes it, but if it does exist, Oden's got it. Maybe it's just bad luck.
I feel so bad for this young man, even though he's a Buckeye, it's like that old blues song, "if it wouldn't for bad luck, i wouldn't have no luck at all..."
When I told my son's friend who is the same age as Oden and delivers pizza's, about this yesterday, his response was "poor guy". I started laughing and said poor guy? The kid already has a bank account of at least 20 million, and never has to work another day in his life if he is wise with his money. Even if he didn't touch it and only made 2% interest on his money, he would be raking in $400,000 per year.
We're educated grown men, we realize that you can live very well off the interest, sadly most pro athletes end up broke just 5 years after leaving the ranks of professional sports, Antoine Walker is closer to the norm as opossed to the exception.
Yeah, he's likely financially secure but that doesn't mean you can't still say poor guy. A major aspect of his life has been his size and ability to play basketball. It's his talent. And he hasn't been able to do that not because of a lack of work ethic, but because his body has failed him consistently at such a young age. He could be an intelligent person with an excellent personality, but the world will judge his worth on his ability to perform on a basketball court. So far he has been labeled a failure. Take away a persons ability to perform their special talent, and you could possibly devastate him. Having millions of people constantly discussing your failure can make it even worse. I've followed Oden's career since he began getting a bit of national hype. I hope to see him on the court again, and hope he doesn't let this injury crush him.
Regular folks get shot at, bombed and starve every day. Greg Oden will be fine. He's a millionaire in his 20s. The world is his oyster whether he plays basketball or not.
Will this guy ever live up to the potential? Guess not. They must be mad they didn't get Kevin Durant. Durant and Roy = Deadly.
It's kind of like DET waiting 15 years and then making the Darko pick AGAIN. You'd think the kid that would know how to keep his arms and legs inside the car at all times would be the kid that lost a limb from trying to touch the dancing animatronic bear.
Losing the ability to do something you love is tragic and deserves some semblance of sympathy/empathy regardless of the money someone has made. Will he starve. No. Is he devastated by losing his basketball life. You bet.
I dig what you're saying but I ain't gonna shed any tears for the guy. From what I know (which ain't much), Greg Oden is a good [strike]middle aged man[/strike] kid. He's bright, intellectual, and carries himself pretty darn well. I really like the guy and I hope that he makes a full recovery and goes on to do VERY well in the NBA. As a cynic and a sarcastic jerk; I only have so much "sympathy" and "empathy" to go around. I sure as hell ain't gonna waste it on a [strike]41 year old rookie[/strike] young, educated, promising NBA Center who has had some early setbacks in his career. Dude didn't lose a limb. He doesn't have cancer. He's not gonna die from this. Greg Oden is going to get help from the best surgeons that money can buy and he's going to rehab with the best athletic trainers that money can buy and he'll probably go on to have a great career. Oh, and while he's missing out on [strike]"playing"[/strike] work, he'll be collecting millions of dollars. Excuse me if I reserve my sympathy and compassion for those in the world who are truly at the end of their rope. I'll go ahead and empathize with the un-employed guy who's disability insurance ran out a few weeks ago who now has to put together enough cheddar to get something under the tree for his kids this holiday season. Greg Oden will be just fine.
To be honest. I would be surprised to find out if Oden really even knows me, let alone values my opinion. It was a joke guys. It struck me funny that my son's friend is making $1.50 on pizza tips as is feeling sorry for a guy who has [strike]the tiger by the tail[/strike] a pretty remarkable future ahead of him if he is careful. Alot more to life than just basketball. His options ahead of him are unlimited.
Will you hire me as Rufus's assistant? I promise I'll never let him overpower Acorn One's [strike]driver[/strike] pilot again.
Yep, needed to be said. He may be all the postive things you mentioned and at 21 if it is all absent, then he has enough options to make it right for the rest of his life. Let us remember that he is a by-product. And by the age of 21 has been anoited because of a particular talent. He will never have to reject that cheddar cheese because of a blacken-green tinch along it's edges. He won't have to give up much or know that certain decisions might be the half of pain he will carry throughout the rest of his life. I wish him well.
