Is there a scarier word in the history of professional sports? I mean seriously the word potential scares the shit out of me when used in the world of professional sports. That guy has the potential to be the next Michael Jordan. That has been actually said about 20 times in the history of the NBA. (With Harold Miner actually getting the nickname “Baby Jordan”) People have made tens of millions of dollars off the word potential and have proceeded to do nothing with it. Jay Bilas of ESPN College Basketball Game Day throws the word potential around like its nothing.
When I heard the word Potential used in the context of sports I literally cringe. You know what potential means to me, YOU HAVEN’T DONE ANYTHING YET!!!! Ok, I got that off my chest. Ryan Leaf had the potential to be the next Drew Bledsoe. (Don’t anyone out there knock Bledsoe. I’ll hunt you down if you do.) Did Ryan Leaf become the next Drew Bledsoe? Hell No. He was out of the league in like 3 years after the San Diego Chargers blew the number 2 pick on him. Michael Olowokandi had the potential to be the next Hakeem Olajuwon or at least that was said about him prior to his overall number 1 draft pick the Clippers used on him. Did these people do anything at any point in their career? No. Yet each are probably set for life because at one point in their career, someone thought they could have been awesome.
The person that turned me off on the word potential was my high school football coach, Thomas Kasprzak (affectionately known as Coach Kaz or just Kaz. Needless to say that this got quite confusing at some points in high school. Sidenote: What are the odds of two people having the nickname Kaz and somehow being involved in Reading Memorial High School Football. Reading is about 20,000 people. Just bizarre.) I was playing freshmen football way back in the day and I heard the freshmen coach talking to Coach Kaz. The freshmen coach said “We have some talent down there but they are really raw. Some of these kids have never played football before but there are some that have the potential to be great.” Coach Kaz (always one with words) said, “Potential means as much as a bucket full of shit. Let me know when they are actually good.” This came from the same guy that decided it was a good idea to head butt me while I was wearing my helmet after turning his hat backwards because he called the wrong play and didn’t realize it until we lined up in it. It was against our rivals, Woburn (pronounced Woo-Burn for all my non Middlesex League friends), right in front of the stands where all of the parents were sitting. This was also the same game that I scored my first Varsity Football touchdown of my career because the Woburn secondary decided not to guard me as I ran a post right down the middle of the field. When talking to the Woburn players at the all-star game at the end of the year they didn’t guard me because they were told that there is no way they will throw the ball to Kaz if he is beyond 5yds down the field. Sounds like a flawed game plan but up into that point in my career they were spot on.
So now that I am off my tangent about the wonderful and illustrious Coach Kaz, potential is the scariest word in the history of sports. That’s why during last year’s NBA draft they were talking about what Greg Oden and Kevin Durant have the potential to be I was close to vomiting. They said Oden had the potential to be the next Bill Russell and that Durant had the potential to be the best scorer in the history of the NBA. There was no comparable player to him. While these both maybe true, they could end up both being as false as anything. Say Oden is never the same after microfracture surgery and turns out to be more Sam Bowie then Bill Russell. Say Kevin Durant never adds any weight or muscle to his little frame and stays at an 18ppg clip. Why we as a society feels the need to make these bold predictions of potential is a great mystery to me. I mean look at the NFL Draft. In the last 9 years more then half of the number one overall draft picks have turned out to be an absolute bust. The likes of Tim Couch, Courtney Brown, Michael Vick, David Carr, and Alex Smith are all out of the league or should be. (Don’t start sending emails about how Vick wasn’t a bust, the guy was kicked out of the NFL for dog fighting, that is a bust in my opinion or that it’s too early to tell about Alex Smith or how Rusca will defend David Carr because he is from Fresno St. I watch Alex Smith play all too much being out here in the Bay Area and let me tell you, he sucks.)
I ask you to stop using the word potential. Jay Bilas said that Eric Gordon, the 19 year old freshmen point guard, has the potential be the next great guard in the NBA and is comparable to Isiah Thomas. Isiah is one of the best point guards in the history of the NBA. It’s a little early to make that comparison. Just stop it all ready.
Ok, I'm off my soapbox and can calm down now. That had the potential of getting ugly if I didn't. Ah shit... son of a bitch.
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