That's the bottom line. I know that I certainly get criticized in my line of work- both good and bad, and in my case mostly good. I've had people say things that you wouldn't believe to my face- also both good and bad. Now, I don't get headlines or ahve my performance rated on TV or whatever- sure, and I'm sure that the "pressure" that these players face is more than what I face. The "bad" criticism that I face is no less personal. But the point remains, everyone gets criticized and people say things that they shouldn't in ALL walks of life. The criticism that these players are facing will help him in their life to deal with things and it will make them better at whatever they do- because it will make them mentally tougher.
So, it's not something that we can avoid, and because we know that, we should be asking "what are we doing to help our players deal with criticism and pressure?" rather than "Well, golly gee, they're just kids". If we have players that are not performing because of pressure and criticism, then MSU's athletic dept. is failing them- because we are not preparing them properly.
We need to make sure that we teach our players how to handle criticism because that is part of it- but the reward is also great for them for putting up with it, including a free education and a chance to make millions of dollars and have fame and prestige. Not very many MSU students have that opportunity- even the ones that will go on to become doctors, businessmen, and etc. So, it goes both ways. If you want fame, glory, and etc. there is a price to pay, and your public performance is part of that.
The second part to this was about Tim Tebow- and that's a little bit of a different animal because Tebow is more of a celebrity than anything. The media has chosen him for whatever reason and chosen to glorify him. I think some of it is because of Christian faith and being so open about it, and also being genuine about it. And I also think it's because he is someone that is a great athlete that has the athletic ability and charisma to be a star in the NFL, but at the same time he is very unconventional for what the NFL is looking for in a QB. And I think the media finds that very intruiging- whether he is going to make it or not.
Tebow has asked for none of this "celebrity" status stuff- so I do feel for him in that regard, but at the same time, all of these players want to be the star, so there are things that you have to deal with if you want that to happen. It's no different than a rock star or an actor. Difference is, you don't see too many people saying that you should feel sorry for Johnny Depp.
