It must be an amazing thing to be a star athlete. You not only have the fame of many Hollywood stars, but you also have legions of children who want to be just like you. There is a whole lot of money that usually goes with that status too. It has to be easy for those athletes to lose sight of reality, at least a bit. Some guys seem to stay pretty grounded, while others really need to learn when to keep their mouths shut. Count Houston Texans running back Arian Foster among those in the second group.

Foster hurt his hamstring early in training camp, and has been struggling with it since. Like many other players, he has a Twitter account, and he sent out a missive yesterday to update his followers on his status: “4 those sincerely concerned, I’m doing ok & plan 2 B back by opening day. 4 those worried abt your fantasy team, u ppl are sick.” Clearly, Foster has lost touch with common sense. Apparently, he believes that football fans should genuinely care about him personally. Rooting for someone simply because that player is on your fantasy team is a no-no, I suppose. How ridiculous is that? Sorry, Arian, but I am guessing that even the fans of the Texans are far more concerned with your ability to play football than about your actual well-being. Fantasy football has created a situation in which many people who would normally not care even a little bit about Arian Foster will now root for him as if he played for their own teams. I would think that would be a positive thing, from a player’s perspective.

Foster will be a high pick in most fantasy drafts, likely going in the first half of the first round on a regular basis. He had a great year for the Texans last season, coming out of nowhere, essentially, to rush for over 1600 yards and 16 touchdowns. As a player who was not even drafted coming out of the University of Tennessee, I would expect Foster to be one of those guys who is extremely appreciative of what he has, counting himself lucky that anyone cares at all about the state of his hamstring. Instead, only those with truly selfless reasons for concern are welcomed by this genius. Just wait, Arian. Wait until you are a step slower in a couple of years (the shelf-life of a running back in the NFL is particularly short). See how much anyone cares then.

And don’t get me started on people naming their kid “Arian.”

Bad sports, continued:

2) I find it amazing that the Florida Marlins are getting a new stadium. The attendance in South Florida is pathetic. The turnout for Wednesday’s game, though, was even more atrocious than usual. With Hurricane Irene bearing down on the U.S., the Marlins rescheduled Thursday’s game for Wednesday afternoon. OK, short notice, weekday game, I get that the crowd might be diminished. That would be putting it mildly, it would seem. An unofficial count had the total attendance at game time at 347 people. There are more people than that in line for Crab Fries at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia at any given point during any Phillies game. Embarrassing.

3) Former Baltimore Orioles great Mike Flanagan, winner of the 1979 American League Cy Young award, was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Wednesday. Flanagan was working as a broadcaster for the team before his death.

4) Champion sprinter Usain Bolt did not win the world championship in the 100-meters on Sunday. Instead, he committed a false start that caused his immediate disqualification. He was going for his third consecutive world championship at the meet in South Korea.

5) Javaris Crittenton, once mentioned here for being part of an argument-with-guns with Gilbert Arenas in the Washington Wizards locker room, is in the news again, and it’s even worse this time. He has been charged with murder in Atlanta for the killing of a woman on August 19th. Crittenton is on the run, and is currently being sought by the FBI.

6) I don’t know what it is with Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Texas, but people keep falling from great heights there. Less than two months after a man fell to his death trying to catch a ball tossed by a Rangers player, another man was seriously injured when he fell over 20 feet from a stairwell after a Rangers game against the Angels. The man is expected to recover.

Good sports:

1) A team from Japan had its sights set on bringing back the country’s second consecutive Little League World Series championship on Sunday, but a team from Huntington Beach, California, had other ideas. The American team won the game and the title, 2-1.

2) The worst-kept secret in motorsports became public this week, as Danica Patrick signed a deal to move to NASCAR full-time for the 2012 season. She will compete in the Nationwide Series, driving for a team owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr., and she will also run a limited number of races in the sport’s top series, Sprint Cup. You could argue that she is the highest profile female driver ever, and I believe that it is a great thing that she will be doing a lot to help diversify a sport that has always been dominated by white men.

Bad sports, good sports appears every Monday

• Author Bio
• Latest Posts

Alan Spoll

Alan Spoll is a software quality assurance director from the suburbs of Philadelphia where he lives with his wonderful wife and children. He has spent his entire life as a passionate fan of the Eagles, Phillies, Sixers, Flyers, and Penn State. Recent Phillies success aside, you will understand his natural negativity. Follow me on Twitter - @DocAlan02

Latest posts by Alan Spoll (Posts)

• Pereira comments on “Philly Special” a total waste of time - February 14, 2018
• BSGS News Brief: Tom Brady beats the NFL - September 3, 2015
• BSGS News Brief: Geno Smith gets his jaw broken by a punch - August 16, 2015
• BSGS News Brief – Oh, Vanderbilt. Really? - August 6, 2015
• BSGS News Brief – Sheldon Richardson hits the Bad Sports wire in a big way - July 31, 2015

Tags: bad sports, good sports // 2 Comments »