The Letters in TEAM

No I in Team? Maybe, but some guys can spell ME.

It''s a me-first world. Look out for yourself, cover your butt, and watch your back. It's all about taking care of me and mine, right? Right.

But is that how it should be on the football field? I think not. Baseball, now that's an individual's game. Pitcher vs. hitter, the duel of giants with each pitch. A guy like Curt Schilling can single-handedly win games for you. People say basketball's a team sport, but we've seen too many baby brawls between Shaq and Kobe. We know better. We've seen too many highlights of Lebron James tearing up the court while nine other guys stand around looking like pylons. We've seen too much attitude. We've seen MJ get the credit for the success of the Bulls, and Scottie walk off the court because someone else got the ball.

But football, it's not like that in football. Football's all about the team, right? Right.

Let's ask some NFL players, shall we? Let's see, as a completely random sample; let's just pull some arbitrarily chosen names out of a hat:

Ricky Williams, Keenan McCardell, Adewale Ogunleye, Chidi Ahanotu, and Jerry Rice. Good examples, right?

Ricky Williams: The guy who, after standing up and lecturing the team on how everyone had to give a little more, dig a little deeper, and be a leader in their own right during the off season, decided to retire the day before training camp so he could go smoke up.

Now that he's been hit with an 8 million-dollar fee for doing so, he wants back in. And oh, yeah, the NFL should waive the rules about drug suspensions for him because well does anyone really know why?

Keenan McCardell: He's been sitting on his butt for the last couple of months while his team stinks up the joint without a go-to receiver because he was stupid enough to have a pro-bowl year in 2003 without being in a contract year as well, and he's not enough of a team guy to play for less than he thinks he's worth.

He's finally been traded.

Adewale Ogunleye: Pulled the same stunt in Miami. Fortunately, the fish managed to trade him before things got too bad. Then again, they were still reeling from the Ricky thing, so who knows what they were thinking.

Chidi Ahanotu: Yet another Dolphins standout. He decided he wasn't happy with the lack of playing time (I guess getting paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to work out and occasionally play a few snaps wasn't good enough for him), and walked away from the team. He demanded a trade, or more playing time.

Since he was the fourth-string DE, the 'Fins did the smart thing and released him.

Jerry Rice: The best receiver to ever play the game told the coaches in Oakland that he's do whatever it took to help the team win in his last year as a player. The coaches said "thanks," and benched him. Jerry now says he's planning on at least another year after this one, especially since his untouchable record streak of consecutive games with a catch was finally broken. Since it was obvious that the best thing Jerry could do to help the Raiders win was get out of the way, he asked for a trade.

He's now in Seattle, where he can teach the receivers how to catch footballs, and segue nicely into a coaching career, should he desire to do so. Aside from his tantrum on the sideline in the game that broke his streak, Jerry handled things pretty well.

The recent history of the NFL has been laden with "Me First" stories. T.O. in San Fran, Randy Moss in Minnesota, and many others. It's disappointing. I know basketball is a sport full of individuals, but Football is supposed to be a team sport, isn't it? I know the age of the salary cap has made it harder for teams to remain loyal to players, and thus harder for players to remain loyal to the team. I know the shelf life of a pro athlete is short, and they've got to get what can to take care of themselves in the world after the career ends (a world they're often not prepared for). I know all these things, but I also know these guys are supposed to be heroes and role models.

I'll avoid the great soap-box speech about how many kids in society today don't think beyond their own (often short-term) wants and desires, and how the behavior they see in successful people influences their decisions. I'll avoid the discussion about whether Charles Barkley was right or wrong in saying he's not a role model. Instead, I'll say this: When my son grows up, I hope he's more like Curt Schilling, than any of the football players I've mentioned here.

And I really don't like baseball that much.