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Diary 34 (Rookie Duty and Twitter Rants)
POSTED BY BARONBATCH
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2011
For 9 months I have been a drifter, traveling from place to place and jumping from hotel to hotel. I can thankfully say those days are behind me for the moment. For the first time in a while I am settled in one place. Recently I moved into my new apartment in Pittsburgh, and have unpacked my 3 duffle bags that have served as my faithful traveling companions. The life of an NFL rookie is by no means a glamorous one as ESPN sometimes portrays. For most rookies life consists of constant travel and even more constant uncertainty. In many ways the only certain thing is the uncertainty. With that being said, it feels good to finally be settled. It feels good to rest.
5 weeks have passed since my surgery and I’m feeling great. My knee is getting stronger each day and I have started doing lower body lifts like leg press. It will be about 2 more months before I can start running. I’m finally beginning to get back in a structured routine and it’s a welcomed change from my previous chaotic schedule. I’m learning a ton from the older guys and feel like I’m grasping the offense better each week that goes by.
However, I am not a huge fan of rookie duties. I guess it’s not too bad considering all the other guys went through the same thing at some point. Also when I take into consideration the stories I have heard about other rookies ‘rookie expenses’ it really makes me breathe a breath of relief. My ‘rookie duties’ really aren’t that bad at all. They consist of buying Popeye’s Chicken for all the other running backs the Saturday before every away game, and the breakfast of their choosing the Saturday before every home game. My most recent rookie task was to provide the running back room with snacks. Today I was given a list of different items and was told to stock up. The first thing on the list was “High powered Nerf guns (the automatic kind).” I can’t say I didn’t live out my childhood fantasy today at Target as I threw every delicious snack, variety of candy, and awesome high-powered Nerf gun in my basket.
As I walked through Target with my basket filled to the top with candy and Nerf guns, children gazed at me with awe as jealousy filled their little eyes and their parents stared in confusion. I strolled through Target with my basket full of ‘awesomeness’. A childhood fantasy had been fulfilled; it was like a dream come true. Once I saw the subtotal I woke up pretty quick though. I could hardly believe the amount that I had spent on candy and Nerf guns! I wanted to ask the cashier “Can I pay you in stride layers?”
I mean I guess candy and Nerf guns is a silly way to spend money, and I’m sure some of you are like “Oh Baron doesn’t know how to spend his money wisely”, Just like this financial twitter guru suggested to me after I tweeted about my Nerf gun/candy spree.
Well I guess Mr. Financial Twitter Guru could be right. Or maybe he’s not. Maybe there are worse things I could be spending my money on. Maybe I should name a few that are a tad worse than candy and high-powered Nerf guns. Hmmm….let me think. Ah! I got it.
1.) Bling- for those of you that don’t know what ‘bling’ is let me explain. Bling is expensive jewelry that doesn’t really serve a purpose besides for shouting to other people “Hey look at me! I have money! Come rob me!”. Bling can come in the form of earrings, watches, chains, bracelets, and other bedazzled accessories. I do not own any bling and don’t plan on it. Unless I could get a bedazzled Canon 50mm 1.2 L lens (for my non photographer friends this would be equivalent to 50 Cents chain. To my photographer friends that don’t know who 50 Cent is. His chain is equivalent to a bedazzled Canon 50mm 1.2 L lens)
2.) Child support- I don’t think I need to go into detail about this one. I don’t have and nappy headed, ashy kneed, mini Barons running around. The only reason I bring up the ashy kneed and nappy-headed part is because that’s exactly what my future kids will be like.
3.) An Entourage- I don’t have an entourage, nor will I ever. I don’t need an entourage. I roll one deep and stay strapped with my canon (camera) and MacBook pro. I’m so hood that when Safari unexpectedly closes I don’t even report it to Apple. Snitches get stitches.
Ok I could keep going but I really don’t think I need to. I guess this was just a rant in response to Mr. Financial Twitter Guru. I sincerely hope you read this. I rarely rant in blog posts but every now and then it just comes out, and they always serve as a bit of comic relief to the seriousness on my blog.
Mr. Financial Twitter Guru I hope that this post has enlightened you and helped you realize that all professional athletes don’t squander their money. I was actually one of the few collegiate athletes that managed to save and put money away while in college and didn’t complain about not getting paid.
However, I do understand your concern. I mean Nerf guns can get expensive and in all reality might even tempt me into to getting the real thing. On the streets they call Nerf guns ‘gateway weapons’ wait that’s not true at all.
My rant is over now.
Whew deep breaths!
Rant aside I just want to tell all of you how much I enjoy your support and encouraging emails, but above all your prayers! Please keep em coming. I appreciate all of you. God bless!
[url="http://baronbatch.blogspot.com/2011/09/diary-34-rookie-duty-and-twitter-rants.html"]http://baronbatch.blogspot.com/2011/09/ ... rants.html[/url]
POSTED BY BARONBATCH
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2011
For 9 months I have been a drifter, traveling from place to place and jumping from hotel to hotel. I can thankfully say those days are behind me for the moment. For the first time in a while I am settled in one place. Recently I moved into my new apartment in Pittsburgh, and have unpacked my 3 duffle bags that have served as my faithful traveling companions. The life of an NFL rookie is by no means a glamorous one as ESPN sometimes portrays. For most rookies life consists of constant travel and even more constant uncertainty. In many ways the only certain thing is the uncertainty. With that being said, it feels good to finally be settled. It feels good to rest.
5 weeks have passed since my surgery and I’m feeling great. My knee is getting stronger each day and I have started doing lower body lifts like leg press. It will be about 2 more months before I can start running. I’m finally beginning to get back in a structured routine and it’s a welcomed change from my previous chaotic schedule. I’m learning a ton from the older guys and feel like I’m grasping the offense better each week that goes by.
However, I am not a huge fan of rookie duties. I guess it’s not too bad considering all the other guys went through the same thing at some point. Also when I take into consideration the stories I have heard about other rookies ‘rookie expenses’ it really makes me breathe a breath of relief. My ‘rookie duties’ really aren’t that bad at all. They consist of buying Popeye’s Chicken for all the other running backs the Saturday before every away game, and the breakfast of their choosing the Saturday before every home game. My most recent rookie task was to provide the running back room with snacks. Today I was given a list of different items and was told to stock up. The first thing on the list was “High powered Nerf guns (the automatic kind).” I can’t say I didn’t live out my childhood fantasy today at Target as I threw every delicious snack, variety of candy, and awesome high-powered Nerf gun in my basket.
As I walked through Target with my basket filled to the top with candy and Nerf guns, children gazed at me with awe as jealousy filled their little eyes and their parents stared in confusion. I strolled through Target with my basket full of ‘awesomeness’. A childhood fantasy had been fulfilled; it was like a dream come true. Once I saw the subtotal I woke up pretty quick though. I could hardly believe the amount that I had spent on candy and Nerf guns! I wanted to ask the cashier “Can I pay you in stride layers?”
I mean I guess candy and Nerf guns is a silly way to spend money, and I’m sure some of you are like “Oh Baron doesn’t know how to spend his money wisely”, Just like this financial twitter guru suggested to me after I tweeted about my Nerf gun/candy spree.
Well I guess Mr. Financial Twitter Guru could be right. Or maybe he’s not. Maybe there are worse things I could be spending my money on. Maybe I should name a few that are a tad worse than candy and high-powered Nerf guns. Hmmm….let me think. Ah! I got it.
1.) Bling- for those of you that don’t know what ‘bling’ is let me explain. Bling is expensive jewelry that doesn’t really serve a purpose besides for shouting to other people “Hey look at me! I have money! Come rob me!”. Bling can come in the form of earrings, watches, chains, bracelets, and other bedazzled accessories. I do not own any bling and don’t plan on it. Unless I could get a bedazzled Canon 50mm 1.2 L lens (for my non photographer friends this would be equivalent to 50 Cents chain. To my photographer friends that don’t know who 50 Cent is. His chain is equivalent to a bedazzled Canon 50mm 1.2 L lens)
2.) Child support- I don’t think I need to go into detail about this one. I don’t have and nappy headed, ashy kneed, mini Barons running around. The only reason I bring up the ashy kneed and nappy-headed part is because that’s exactly what my future kids will be like.
3.) An Entourage- I don’t have an entourage, nor will I ever. I don’t need an entourage. I roll one deep and stay strapped with my canon (camera) and MacBook pro. I’m so hood that when Safari unexpectedly closes I don’t even report it to Apple. Snitches get stitches.
Ok I could keep going but I really don’t think I need to. I guess this was just a rant in response to Mr. Financial Twitter Guru. I sincerely hope you read this. I rarely rant in blog posts but every now and then it just comes out, and they always serve as a bit of comic relief to the seriousness on my blog.
Mr. Financial Twitter Guru I hope that this post has enlightened you and helped you realize that all professional athletes don’t squander their money. I was actually one of the few collegiate athletes that managed to save and put money away while in college and didn’t complain about not getting paid.
However, I do understand your concern. I mean Nerf guns can get expensive and in all reality might even tempt me into to getting the real thing. On the streets they call Nerf guns ‘gateway weapons’ wait that’s not true at all.
My rant is over now.
Whew deep breaths!
Rant aside I just want to tell all of you how much I enjoy your support and encouraging emails, but above all your prayers! Please keep em coming. I appreciate all of you. God bless!
[url="http://baronbatch.blogspot.com/2011/09/diary-34-rookie-duty-and-twitter-rants.html"]http://baronbatch.blogspot.com/2011/09/ ... rants.html[/url]
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