Radio DJs are dumb.

So I was driving back from my lift yesterday morning (another puker...those 3x10 squats at 70% of max with a minute rest in between just floor me) and the guys on the radio were talking about the olympics. One of them made the point that hey, what really separates us from them is the time that got put into training, that everyone pretty much has the natural talent to at least be a collegiate-level athlete. The guys on set agreed with him that if only they would have gone back and focused on one thing back in junior high or highschool, that they could have been able to compete at a decently high level.

I was displeased, to say the least. I have no respect for people who downplay the achievements of others by claiming that they could have accomplished the same thing if they wanted to. It's no different than the kid who says sure, he's smart enough to get an A in the class, but he just didn't feel like putting in the effort. Or maybe someone you work with claims that really, he should have gotten your promotion, but he didn't want to kill himself so he had time to be at home with his wife.

There's no difference between "I could have, but..." and "I didn't." And by the way, the road to high school and college athletics is littered with people who did try, and tried as hard as they could, and still didn't make it because they didn't have the natural ability.

This is part of the reason that I wanted to write about this in the first place. The disconnect between regular people and athletes is wide enough that there's not an understanding of what really goes on or what it's like to operate at that level of athleticism. Here's an example: on a scale of athleticism, I'm closer to your average guy than I am to an NFL player. So it's safe to say that I'm far enough removed from the life of an NFL player that I don't really know what it's like for him. Earlier this summer, I was invited to work out with an NFL running back. He is still playing, although he is nearing the end of an illustrious career. He has been criticized in recent years for slowing down and not having as much explosiveness as compared to his younger self or other running backs around the league.

Look, I've always thought of myself as fast and explosive. I ran the 100 and 200 in college, and I ran a 4.6 40-yard dash in high school. As a 5'9" white guy, I have no trouble dunking a baseball. But compared to this NFL player, I was nothing. He was so much faster, so much stronger, so physically gifted that it stopped me in my tracks. He could give me a head start, run me down, and knock me off my feet with an open-hand slap if he so chose. And he's fighting to stay in the league.

I could have started at birth and absolutely perfected my technique for being a cornerback (my natural position on a football field) with hours of practice every day, and I would never, ever be good enough to play collegiate football. To say that I could if I had wanted to would unfairly take away from the guys who have the talent AND put in the time needed to excel.

I'd love to get a radio DJ in the box in "just a collegiate baseball game" and start a 91-mph slider at his hip, just to see if he wets his pants.