Modesty: A forgotten pastime?

Pondering the upcoming NFL season by going through the stats of the stars of today in order to prepare for fantasy drafts across the country. Some play for money, others play for free, but all play because of their shared love for the sport of football.

Football is a sport that brings out the inner aggressions and passion of players, coaches, and fans alike. Bonds between teammates radiate the energy that stimulates the crowd. It helps fulfill the crowd’s thirst for punishing tackles, fast breaks through the gaps, and dazzling throws made even more spectacular by the bounding leaps of wide receivers.

But when is the excitement, and cause for it, a little too much?

Nothing is wrong at all about a team or player getting pumped and having the intensity to compete at the best level they can. It’s another thing altogether, however, to glorify events or plays in various contests that really don’t matter, or would be considered routine.

The source: A steady decline in modesty in today’s culture.

When Albert Pujols was interviewed during the MLB All Star Game this past July, the interviewer made reference to him being “argubly, the best player in the league today”. Pujols, in an act almost shocking to witness, cracked a smile and bashfully disclaimed the statement. He mentioned that there were many great players in baseball today.

Now THAT is modesty.

Back to football, if you watch a game, you can’t help but notice excessive celebrations and just outright disrespect toward others players and teams. It seems routine these days to make a shoe string tackle after the running back already withstood four crushing blows, and proceed to do backflips and crowd taunts. Its unncessary and reflects a bad image on the players and the league overall.

Modesty is a fading commodity in this country it seems. Every day more and more people feel a sense of entitlement and desire to put themselves on a pedestal and make themselves out to be something special. These kind of people generally have no real accolades, and rely on activities that cannot be judged by a true standard of rules.

If you ever went to a college party, you would know that 98.75% of the people at the party claim to be the “sickest beer pong players ever”. After you’ve heard this obnoxious and juvenile hype for what seems like forever, you start to accept it as common place.

Therein lies the problem. We merely cast aside those with big egos as either being too full of themselves, or believing that they really are something special and respect them out of reputation.

We need to bring modesty back to the forefront. It brings with it honor and respect, which as you know are important characteristics in human life. If we stepped back for a second, and reflected on where we truly are in life, we shouldn’t be thinking of it with an inflated sense of self-importance. Rather, we should look at our achievements, be proud of what we’ve done, and strive to improve ourselves.

There is nothing wrong with pride, but when it starts to overcast what you are truly capable of, its only a matter of time before someone gets called out for it. You can’t go through life with a holier-than-thou approach, or you’re either going to piss off a lot of people, and in a case or two, get your ass handed to you for it.

Satisfaction is the death of desire.