The story of an autumn Leaf that fell and went back to its branch

As your are reading this article, we are right in the middle of autumn here in Canada and the northern part of the United States of America. It's such a beautiful season, even if it's a little chilly. The scenery is spectacular as the season changes green leaves to beautiful shades of red and yellow. The downside is that the leaves eventually all fall and most of the trees become completely naked, which is ironic because freezing winter is coming...

Allow me to tell you the story of a Leaf that not only fell to the ground during autumn, but also fell into a hole that looked like a bottomless pit.

This is the story of a man. His name is Ryan Leaf. Although he was a professional American Football player, this is the story, in a nutshell, of a man and his mistakes. You don't need to know anything about American Football. It's a story about great expectations and greater deceptions. In other words, this could very well be the story of you or me. I never thought that one day I would tell his story, in a positive way. He was always perceived as an individual that did just about everything to be disliked by everyone. Here's another auto-destructive person with loads of talent.

He was what we call a stud. He was both a high school and college American football superstar. He probably got all the girls he wanted. He was the toast of the town. He was The Man as in "You tha man!".

To make a long story short, at the 1998 NFL Draft, the first choice over all was between him and Peyton Manning. The Indianapolis Colts had the first choice and they opted for Manning. The Chargers chose Leaf with the second over all pick. Deceiving? Maybe just a little bit...But Leaf got a four years contract worth more than 30 million dollars, one third of it as guaranteed money (a signing bonus).

Leaf was rich. He became a little cocky. Before playing one game, before even winning one game, he told the press bluntly: "I'm looking forward to a 15-year career, a couple of trips to the Super Bowl and a parade through downtown San Diego".

A couple of trips to the Super Bowl? A parade? Was I the only one that had a strong feeling that it was about to get ugly for our little champion? Although he already had issues with his team about his attitude, he played well during pre-season. Heck, he even won his first two regular season games.

That's when the wheels came off...

He started to throw more interceptions than touchdowns (for those who don't know much about American football, an interception is basically throwing the ball to a member of the opposing team...which is not good at all!). Funny thing, he also started to slip on imaginary banana peels. He would trip and fall on his butt without being push or tackled by an opposing player. Basically, he was inventing new ways to screw up. He was finding new ways to lose games.

Teammates were beginning to lose confidence. Sports reporters were murmuring words like bust. Pundits were saying Payton Manning was the real deal. Was Leaf spending too many nights partying in Vegas?

The pressure on the young man seamed, at the time, to be unbearable. The bubble was about to burst. That's where we got to know the dark side of Ryan, as you can get a taste it in this video:

Ryan was carrying such a load. Any stupid question from the media was interpreted as an insult. He was young, immature and throwing tantrums at will.

His worst fault? Being rich at such a young age (and being so immature). It gave him the illusion that he was entitled to something. Fans didn't see it that way. It was more the other way around: Ryan Leaf owed them something...for all the money he got.

But his problems didn't end with that. They were only beginning. He got a serious shoulder injury. Then he got into an argument with the Chargers General Manager, his boss. He was suspended and fined. Back from injury, his performances were terrible and he was released by the Chargers. For all the money he was paid, Ryan gave them only four wins in three years. It was a disaster.

After his release, he leaped from team to team. The downward spiral only continued until he hit rock bottom and decided to call it quits.

He then found a "job", as a volunteer, as a quarterbacks coach with West Texas A&M University, a small Division II college. He found a way to mess that up too. Addicted to pain killers, he tried to get some of those pills from the university football players. He was forced to resign (as a volunteer!!).

As if it wasn't enough, he got deeper in his mess (see the video):

Spearing you the legal details, after pleading guilty, he got 10 years of probation and a fine. All of the sudden, he became a joke, a running gag (see video for an example):

Happy ending? You betcha!!! He got into drug rehab which seems to have worked out for him. He understood that Ryan Leaf didn't mean much in Canada, so he moved to Vancouver. Great place for a new start. He got a normal job, and occasionally works for sports radio. And despite being on the right track, last June, he had surgery to remove a benign tumor from his brain stem (It simply never ends for Ryan...).

Now, he enjoys not to be the superstar stud anymore. He also got a book deal for a three books to be written about his football career and personal life, the first of which was released at the beginning of November 2011. He's now in the business of helping others anonymously...how about that for a transformation?

"How many roads must a man walk down, before you call him a man?"
- Song: Blowing in the wind - Artist: Bob Dylan

In Leaf's case, I can't tell you if Leaf became a man. But one thing is for sure, figuratively speaking, he must have travelled 3/4 of the roads on Google Maps. And for him to show, humbly, signs of change, is remarkable and almost miraculous. Let's just say that almost everyone threw away the towel with regards to Leaf. This story reminds us that we are alone in this life and that it all starts by loving what and who you are.

But you know what? When you really think about it, this story is not about Ryan Leaf. In truth, this story is a tribute to second chance, even if sometimes it seems unlikely. At one point or another in our lives, we all need a second chance.

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THE HODGEPODGE

This week’s lucky number: The clue...You go on a trip to Canada, more precisely in the province of Quebec. You stop at a convenience store. You buy two soft drinks ($2.50 x 2) and six packs of jawbreakers ($0.19 x 6). The answer is the total amount it will cost you. (Bonus clue...don't forget to add the two sales taxes that sum up to 14%).

Clever song lyrics: "We can't afford to be neutral on a moving train." - Song: Deer Dance - Artist: System of a Down

Cheesy song lyrics: "My only addiction has to do with the female species. I eat 'em raw like sushi" - Song: Rico Suave - Artist: Gerardo (Question: you eat them with chopsticks, soya sauce and wasabi?? Dude!!!???)

Sad (and shameful) Clown of the Week:  Joe Paterno. He was a "God" at Penn State. He was a "God" in Happy Valley, PA. There is NO WAY he didn't know about Jerry Sandusky "horseplaying" in the showers. Shame on you. Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, Joe.

Happy and Dandy Clown of the Week: Barack Obama. Giggling, as he watches the The Republican Party Presidential Primaries.

Great idea for a movie sequel: In the first movie, a teenage girl, who moved to Washington State, found her life radically changed when she fell in love with what she thought was a vampire. In the sequel, she finds out that the boyfriend is not a vampire but only a pale skin dude, with a bad case of psoriasis and genital herpes, that could not pull off fake fangs from a previous Halloween costume.

Something a Martian might say if he came to visit earth: Hey! Dude! The Republican Party Presidential Primaries is a spin-off of Saturday Night Live, right? It makes fun of politicians on how stupid they can be, right? That Rick “oops” Perry character is hilarious.

Good song for Rick Perry’s campaign: “Oops! I did it again.”



Love letters, comments, opinions and complaints: reflectionsonamoderncircus@gmail.com

A yellow card for inappropriate behaviour

A little more serious this week. But we still have the Hodgepodge at the end of this article...on a lighter note.

Man has a tendency to fear the unknown. In reaction to that fear, Man has created many mechanisms to protect himself. One of the modern mechanisms is without a doubt cocooning. With television, the Web, including social media, eBay, on-line shopping, food ordering services, who needs to go out? In the comfort of our living room, we are almost immune (or we pretend we are) against mugging, diseases, rudeness and unpleasantness of other people, accidents, etc.

Furthermore, Man is unable to live with the fact that he can't explain why something happened. And the fact that Man cannot fathom something that occurred will sometimes motivate him to push beyond his limits. In the end, he may even surpass his own expectations. Inspired to conquer the unknown, he may conquer his fears as well.

However, on the darker side, when he is a little lazier (as many of us are), Man may be tempted to invent, imagine or improvise an explanation. That's where it gets messy. That's where it also gets interesting. Our Modern Circus, as we know it now, loves to conceive and produce stories to reassure itself. If the answer is unknown, we'll figure out some plausible explanation, then we'll pretend it's real. We'll repeat it so many times that we'll believe it and then, we'll sell it to the people. And they will buy it too (until they find out the truth...but how long 'til they find out?).

Replace "we" by the media and you get what we see every day on the news. The media will find some wacky, wacko, pseudo-expert to make us swallow the explanation that suits any problem. "Ma! If they said it on the TV, I reckon it must be true!" (to read with your best southern accent).

Someone gets killed in your neighbourhood. Of course it's a tragedy. The media implies that you could be next. "Ma! I reckon we need to find tha killa, ma" (again with your best southern accent).

But if they find only a body...but they are no leads. "We need to find a culprit". No evidence against anyone? Media publishes polls on TV saying that the "man on the street" thinks that the first guy that the police interrogated looks suspicious. He lives alone, doesn't talk much, a little shy and anti-social, doesn't seem too intelligent, doesn't care about his general appearance. In other words, he would have no chance to be selected on American Idol (probably the only thing he would be guilty of). If they had to bet money on it, they would bet against him.

Silently, people think that its not such a bad idea. Police wouldn't mind saying they solved it. A scapegoat would be so convenient. Until we catch a culpable party, people live in fear, in the unknown. Like a magician, the "scapegoat" will transform the unknown into a (pseudo) known. Everyone will finally sleep at night. But we would have to cross our fingers the real killer doesn't start killing again...

This is dangerous stuff. When it comes to condemn a person, it's not a "democracy" in a sense that it should not be determined by a poll. Leave polls to TMZ (where you can vote on whether Kim Kardashian should go through with her divorce...). If a person is innocent until proven guilty, I guess it all has to be based on evidence. It's sort of scientific. There's a method to it. It surely has nothing to do with what the "man on the street" thinks.

Please watch the next video. It's a little long, so please forward it to 6:30:

That was the street reaction to the verdict in the Conrad Murray trial was found guilty on one count of involuntary manslaughter of pop star Michael Jackson. A jury found Murray guilty. I'm pretty sure justice was served.

But in the video, at 6:30, you actually hear a crowd cheering out loud. Folks, this is not American Idol or The X Factor. This is not about cheering for your favorite singer, nor is it about cheering for your favorite sports team. Let's keep this in perspective.

I guess the crowd was composed of Michael Jackson fans. But the verdict won't bring him back. The verdict will have absolutely no direct effect on the fans lives either. What is there to cheer about? A man going to prison. Is that what it all comes down to? Is that what we've become as people? I'm satisfied that Conrad Murray will go to jail for what he's done. Nevertheless, the crowd going wild doesn't seem appropriate in my book. It seemed like they were convinced before the trial, before seeing the evidence. Could they influence the jury before the verdict? This ain't right.

Are we too much accustomed to contests like Dancing with the stars and do we feel we have to react that way to any event? Is it the anonymous factor...the Twitter factor? It's easy to take an anonymous stand, without assuming the responsibility of the choice. Some people are referring to it as an historic moment. Really?

Worst part is that it seems to be a new trend (see the video).

If you didn't know the video was about the reaction to Osama Bin Laden's death confirmation, when you hear the "USA! USA! USA!" chant, you could swear that it was a soundbite taken during the Olympics. A sigh of relief would certainly be in order. But cheers, chants and celebrations? Chauvinism. We are not playing video games here where soldiers that die are fictional. After the thousands of American soldiers that died during that war, out of respect for them, I don't see how we can be in a celebrating mood. The troops are still at war. And even if an evil man was killed, Evil (including terrorism) didn't die with him. People in other countries cheer when something bad happens to USA? Ok. But do we have to lower ourselves to their level?

On that day, I had a sigh of relief, I prayed for all the troops that died and for all the ones that are still out there. I keep my cheers for my beloved New England Patriots, during football games...where cheers belong.

In sports, you get penalties or yellow cards for unsportsmanlike misconduct or unnecessary roughness. We should be able to give those in real life, for every day behaviour. Today, I would give a penalty for inappropriate behaviour to all of the above-mentioned people.

Remember this wonderful quote by the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan: "Everyone is entitled to his own opinions, but not his own facts."

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THE HODGEPODGE

This week’s lucky number: The clue...sept (in French).

Clever song lyrics: "Eleanor Rigby died in the church and was buried along with her name. Nobody came." - Song: Eleanor Rigby - Artist: The Beatles.

Cheesy song lyrics: "Mmm bop, ba duba dop, ba du bop, ba duba dop, ba du bop, ba duba dop, Ba du." - Song: MMMBop - Artist: Hanson. (Ah! Goddammit! I'm stuck with that stupid song in my head now!!! Grrr...).

Bad rock group names for Herman Cain:  1-Raising Cain; 2-Herman & the Victims; 3-Grope'n'fondle.

Bad idea for a movie: A young millionaire woman, named Kim, marries her boyfriend, makes money with the marriage itself, then files for divorce after 90 days...then tries to make money with the divorce too (wait a minute...I heard about that before somewhere...).

Good idea for a movie sequel: A girl, named Kim, bumps her head, then realizes she has no talent whatsoever, decides to abandon everything she's got and becomes a nun in Tibet. She brings her talentless friend, named Paris, with her.

Suggestion of a bad musical combination comparable to Metallica and Lou Reed: Willie Nelson and Motörhead.

Appropriate song for the Penn State University scandal soundtrack: "Say it ain't so, Joe" (Re: Joe Paterno)


Love letters, comments, opinions and complaints: reflectionsonamoderncircus@gmail.com