Missed opportunities

I’ve applied for several jobs during my long working career. For each job I was interested in I needed to modify the resume and get new letters of recommendation. Now that I’m retired and doing volunteer work or part time substitute teaching, having to prove myself or needing someone to vouch for me is something I don’t need to worry about.

What if you are a former college and professional quarterback that happens to be a bit controversial, like Colin Kaepernick (CK)? We all know the story of the former 49er QB who angered a lot of football fans by taking a knee during the playing of the National Anthem. I know that many people believe that that was the main reason for him losing his starting position at San Francisco.

CK had a great start to a career and would lead the 49ers to the Super Bowl. The 49ers would lose the game but CK’s future looked bright and many predicted Super Bowl runs with CK leading the team. But a funny thing happened to him and his team. The Legion of Boom or the Seattle Seahawk defense figured out how to defend CK and his ability to run and pass the ball and utilize his athletic talent was neutralized and the 49ers successful run came to a screeching halt with CK running the team. Other teams figured out the same way to defend him.

Now after the National Anthem incident and the games that followed many believed that the ownership was punishing CK and maybe they were a bit because no professional team can be successful with their fans if one of their players is a hated subject. But CK also had a fair amount of people that supported what he was doing and even had team members join him in the pregame kneeling.

CK became a bit outspoken in why he was protesting. I think that if he hadn’t been quite so outspoken and worked with local law enforcement to brooch the subject of how to deal with police and race maybe his career may not have gone sideways.

CK became a hot topic but not in a good way. NFL teams said they were interested in him as a QB maybe not as a starter but as a backup. But since he threw his last pass no one has been willing to give the lanky former Nevada Wolfpack QB a second chance as a NFL signal caller.

Let’s say that something happened in the place that you are working and you are now out of a job. Would you analyze why you were let go or would you bad mouth the place that you had been working? Would you feel sorry for yourself or would you find another opportunity and rebuild your reputation, dignity and ability to earn a living?

For CK it was NFL or nothing and to this day it is nothing even though there is a professional league in Canada where CK could excel in a larger field of play. But that didn’t happen. Is Warren Moon the only QB that went from the Canadian Football League and play in the NFL? Moon understood what he was up against and had a phenomenal career in both leagues.

CK has once again been telling anyone that would listen that he is in great shape and is ready to either lead a team or become a team’s backup QB. However CK hasn’t played in the NFL since 2016. Now he did talk with two leagues (XFL and the AAF but asked for guaranteed money in the range of $20 million. It seems to be a tad high since most QBs in those leagues were making around $250,000.

This spring the USFL is playing and CK seems to have missed another opportunity to play football. I think NFL GMs would like to see what a 34 year old former player that hasn’t played a game in six years would look like in live action. It would seem to me that either you want to play or you want to complain. Most people would need to figure out how to earn a living but CK has made money from big business doing commercials so money isn’t the issue. Pride on the other hand…well let’s just say that if you really want to play then polish up the resume and show me what you can do and soon.