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by Mike Cole on Jul 27, 2010 2:30:36 AM
Rookie hazing is a part of every sport, most notably football.
Every summer at training camps across the country, rookies are taped to goalposts, forced to sing their college fight songs at dinner and pick up doughnuts on the way into work.
In some cases, they're also called upon to carry the pads of veteran players. One Dallas Cowboy rookie, Dez Bryant, decided he wasn't going to go along with that one when he refused to carry veteran and fellow wide receiver Roy Williams' shoulder pads.
And you know what? Good for Dez Bryant.
Bryant comes to the Cowboys with high expectations. Despite a few off-field incidents and controversies, the Cowboys have faith in Bryant to be an eventual No. 1 receiver in the years to come. They're so confident in Bryant's abilities that they gave the rookie the No. 88 jersey that was once worn by Hall of Fame wideout Michael Irvin.
And with this refusal to carry Williams' pads, Bryant may be displaying a type of attitude that the Cowboys haven't seen since those same days of Irvin, Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith. Those Cowboys teams dominated the '90s and did so with a brash cockiness. No one could tell them what to do and they did whatever they pleased. Much like Dez Bryant is doing.
In fact, Bryant already has a connection to those great Cowboy squads. Bryant was ruled ineligible for the majority of the 2009 college season after failing to disclose the nature of his meetings with adviser Deion Sanders. That is, of course, the same Deion Sanders who gained notoriety during the Dallas dynasty as "Prime Time," an extremely talented football player with an unparalleled ego.
Of course, those teams were established winners and Bryant has yet to see a snap in the NFL, but his bravado is something the Cowboys have sorely missed. Tony Romo is looked at as one of the game's best quarterbacks, but there is the glaring fact that he has struggled to win the big game holding him back.
A player like Bryant could be just what Romo needs to succeed. For too long, it's been Romo who's solely blamed for the Cowboys' inability to win the big games. And while that may be true to an extent, he hasn't had anyone step up with him.
Bryant seems ready to to do that. The receiver has shown so far that he's willing to learn from Romo and from the Cowboys' coaching staff. So while Bryant has all of the natural abilities to give Romo another passing target to go along with No. 1 receiver Miles Austin, he is also showing that he's willing to learn, just on the football field, not off.
Williams claims he's not finished with trying to teach the rookie a lesson let. He seems hell-bent on doing so and said he's ready to look into taking it to "step two."
Of course, no one really knows what that means, but one thing will likely be true: While Williams is doing his best to scheme a way to get back at Bryant for embarrassing him (instead of working on eliminating the pass-dropping habit that's followed him his entire career), Bryant will keep on working hard trying to improve his game and help the Cowboys break through.
And while many are criticizing Bryant for his refusal to fall in line and carry on an old-fashioned tradition, his attitude may be helping the Cowboys revert to their old-fashioned and time-honored tradition of winning.
Rookie hazing is a part of every sport, most notably football.
Every summer at training camps across the country, rookies are taped to goalposts, forced to sing their college fight songs at dinner and pick up doughnuts on the way into work.
In some cases, they're also called upon to carry the pads of veteran players. One Dallas Cowboy rookie, Dez Bryant, decided he wasn't going to go along with that one when he refused to carry veteran and fellow wide receiver Roy Williams' shoulder pads.
And you know what? Good for Dez Bryant.
Bryant comes to the Cowboys with high expectations. Despite a few off-field incidents and controversies, the Cowboys have faith in Bryant to be an eventual No. 1 receiver in the years to come. They're so confident in Bryant's abilities that they gave the rookie the No. 88 jersey that was once worn by Hall of Fame wideout Michael Irvin.
And with this refusal to carry Williams' pads, Bryant may be displaying a type of attitude that the Cowboys haven't seen since those same days of Irvin, Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith. Those Cowboys teams dominated the '90s and did so with a brash cockiness. No one could tell them what to do and they did whatever they pleased. Much like Dez Bryant is doing.
In fact, Bryant already has a connection to those great Cowboy squads. Bryant was ruled ineligible for the majority of the 2009 college season after failing to disclose the nature of his meetings with adviser Deion Sanders. That is, of course, the same Deion Sanders who gained notoriety during the Dallas dynasty as "Prime Time," an extremely talented football player with an unparalleled ego.
Of course, those teams were established winners and Bryant has yet to see a snap in the NFL, but his bravado is something the Cowboys have sorely missed. Tony Romo is looked at as one of the game's best quarterbacks, but there is the glaring fact that he has struggled to win the big game holding him back.
A player like Bryant could be just what Romo needs to succeed. For too long, it's been Romo who's solely blamed for the Cowboys' inability to win the big games. And while that may be true to an extent, he hasn't had anyone step up with him.
Bryant seems ready to to do that. The receiver has shown so far that he's willing to learn from Romo and from the Cowboys' coaching staff. So while Bryant has all of the natural abilities to give Romo another passing target to go along with No. 1 receiver Miles Austin, he is also showing that he's willing to learn, just on the football field, not off.
Williams claims he's not finished with trying to teach the rookie a lesson let. He seems hell-bent on doing so and said he's ready to look into taking it to "step two."
Of course, no one really knows what that means, but one thing will likely be true: While Williams is doing his best to scheme a way to get back at Bryant for embarrassing him (instead of working on eliminating the pass-dropping habit that's followed him his entire career), Bryant will keep on working hard trying to improve his game and help the Cowboys break through.
And while many are criticizing Bryant for his refusal to fall in line and carry on an old-fashioned tradition, his attitude may be helping the Cowboys revert to their old-fashioned and time-honored tradition of winning.
