For a long time (and actually still), I thought it would be fantastic for my kid to be an NFL punter. I think if he trained for it for a long time, there is probably a single digit percentage chance he makes a roster. Seems like a decent life and then in your 30s maybe go back to school or find something else fulfilling to do with zero financial pressure. Most importantly, extremely low CTE risk.
Of course, I’m probably idealizing how I would have approached it. Non-zero chance he gets addicted to hookers* and blow and I wish he was an accountant.
*I know sex workers is preferred here, but it doesn’t have the same ring to it. My apologies.
This is also insanely competitive and being good enough to make a lot of money is not easy at all.
In a country where this is the #1 sport, this also seems really hard.
I don’t even want to research this one, but I think it fails for the same reasons.
The reason why NFL punter is so attractive, is that no one really aspires to be one, which cuts down on the competition. If you train from a young age with a punting dedicated regimen, I think you have a reasonable chance of success regardless of innate talent. The hardest part is getting a kid to do that because punting is lame.
I’ve had two meaningful life changing experiences that hit me in the gut like no others. One was shortly after getting my driver’s license. I was fucking around flying through a residential neighborhood showing off my driving skillz and how fast my car was, when this lady on her front lawn ran towards the street waving her arms screaming SLOW DOWN!! My first thought was, fuck you lady hahahaha. Then I saw behind her was a little kid about 4. I thought back to the sheer terror on that woman’s face and it hit me wtf would I have done if that kid ran out in the street and I killed her child? I never sped thru a residential neighborhood again
I had a very similar feeling on one of my first posts in the trans forum when Risky told me to sit the fuck down. My first reaction was indignance. But then it was pointed out to me that she was trans and that my ignorant questions and abrasive takes were not only distressing, but could induce her to having thoughts of suicide. Who would’ve thunk that when you post without thinking?
All this to say that while I appreciate the cred about being intelligent enough to change course, the truth is, it was really fear that my actions could cause grave harm to someone who’s already vulnerable and struggling mightily in a world that doesn’t understand her. I would invite simp to think a bit more about how carelessness on our part can affect others in unintended tragic ways
