Fair Play: The Biggest Ego of All Time

IF you think a certain president’s P1-million dinner was lavish, try P5 million.

No it didn’t involve politicians from a third-world country. It featured hungry linebackers engaged in the weird ways of rookie initiations.

News like this doesn’t see much print, probably because each team in each US league has one.

But some do crop up.

Like that P5-million dinner.

Yahoo reported that part of a rookie’s responsibility in the NFL is to take the team to dinner.

And if you can imagine 60 hungry American football players having dinner, you can imagine what the bill would be like. Yahoo said Larry English shelled out $14,000,

while Shawne Merriman lost $32,000. Since the NFL offers the biggest salaries in American sports, those dinners aren’t expected to start a congressional inquiry.

American baseball also has its rookie traditions. Though it doesn’t hurt the pocket, it hurts that stars where it matters most—their egos.

MLB rookies are forced to don quirky dresses and costumes at the start of training camp, while NBA rookies have to carry the ball bags, or have to provide the refreshments in every practice.

One episode of NBA Jam also showed how one team regularly plays pranks on their rookies and when one fought back by pouring popcorn on a veteran’s car, that rookie’s ride was rendered useless the rest of the season.

I remember also seeing in another show that Allen Iverson refused to take part in such traditions at Philadelphia, to the chagrin of one veteran who said, “Rookies are not what they used to be.”

I guess some egos are just bigger than some traditions.

Speaking of egos, none was and is bigger than Michael Jordan’s.

He was inducted to the Hall of Fame lately and one columnist had a scathing account of Air Jordan’s speech, slamming the Big Ego for pathetically picking on the players, coaches and executives whom he feels has slighted him.

Adrian Wojnarowski wrote in Yahoo, “Whatever, Michael. Everyone gets it. Truth be told, everyone got it years ago, but somehow he thinks this is a cleansing exercise.

When basketball wanted to celebrate Jordan as the greatest player ever, wanted to honor him for changing basketball everywhere, he was petty and punitive.”

I guess Jordan is counting on the fact that nobody remembers the Hall of Fame speeches, only the highlight reels in the NBA games.

Jordan also dissed the Chicago GM over the now infamous quote, “Organizations, not players and coaches, win championships.”

Like what Wojnarowski said, Jordan is showing that to be false now that he is on the other side of the fence, as what he showed by picking draft bust Kwame Brown as the No. 1 pick when he was with the Washington Wizards.

When MJ returned and was facing Shaquille O’Neal and the Orlando Magic in the 1995 Eastern Conference semifinals, I got into an argument with a friend.

He loved Shaq, and hated MJ. I loathed the Big Guy and loved anything Jordan. I remember his exacts words, “Wa man nay ayo si Jordan kay hambugero ka-ayo.”

When Jordan faced down the Utah Jazz, he cheered for the Mail Man. I remember gloating when the Bulls won the title.

Right now, I am just glad that my friend doesn’t have my current number.

I really hate it when people gloat. It’s bad manners.

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