For Who For What: A Warrior's Journey - Hardcover

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Ricky Watters is one of the most prolific running backs of the NFL, scoring three touchdowns in a SuperBowl victory for the San Francisco Forty-Niners, rushing for over 10,000 yards in his 11-year career, and making five consecutive appearances in the Pro Bowl. Ricky Watters is a recognized humanitarian and contributes his time to raise funds and awareness for various children's charities. Ricky Watters has appeared in movies such as Any Given Sunday and is a recognized rap poet. He is utilizing his passion for writing and creating music to educate the younger generation about how to survive the many pitfalls in football and in life.

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....When you're a boy the worst thing you could be called is a "sissy." Once you are given that tag, you'd better get ready for all the teasing and mocking that will take place for the rest of your childhood.This is why it was so alarming to see the ages of the kids who died from heat complications during summer football camps. At the ages of twelve and fourteen, they don't know when to call it quits, and we can't expect them to stand up to their coaches and say, "I'm really tired. I can't go on!" or "I really need some water!" On all levels of football, I can recall being denied water breaks. My coaches would say things like, "You haven't done anything yet!" or "If you spent as much time running these plays as you did drinking water, we'd be a better team." They acted as if we had to earn our breaks. So they became the ones to determine when and if we needed the break.

Even when you become an adult, if no one has explained to you in the past that it is okay to show emotion, as it is not a sign of weakness, you continue to uphold the warrior mentality. As you get older it becomes amplified, the stakes are higher, and you have more to lose. Now the pressure has evolved to "Are you going to let your opponent take food off your family's table?" It becomes a personal vendetta instead of a sport. It is do or die. The old adage, "Winning isn't everything" no longer has meaning, because winning not only becomes everything, it becomes the only thing you're concerned about.

In professional football as well as other professional sports where money is a factor, it is the expectation that you will play hurt. The doctors even have ways of numbing the pain in the injured area so that you can continue to play. Obviously, that is the worst thing you can do. There is so much pressure to perform, because if you don't, you might get cut from the team, and there goes your livelihood. Even if you realize that your injury may get worse later on due to continued stress on it, you will more likely be more concerned about your current situation which needs another paycheck to survive.

....You pay a price for everything in life. Nothing comes for free. So although playing football may appear to be an easy way of making hundreds of thousands of dollars or even millions in some cases, is any amount of money worth risking your life for? There is no glamour in being crippled. There is no glamour in death. Remember Korey Stringer and the eighteen others who fell prey to the warrior syndrome which continues to stand strong today. We don't want them to have died in vain.