Honestly does the life that a pro athlete leads, money, fame and fortune strike envy in you?

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Money is money, never bothered me much how much they make, but it does bother me that they make a lot and think they should hold out to make more.

Being able to perform for others, doing something they love that brings such great excitement for others, I'd be lying if I said I never dreamed of Quarterbacking a team to victory in the final two minutes of the game.

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I want to answer "yes" to this question, because theoretically, in my head, I do envy the lifestyle they live. But I honestly have to answer "no," because I have no real way of comprehending their lifestyle, nor do I have any realistic means of attaining it; therefore, it doesn't affect me emotionally.

There's a psychological phenomenon known as "relative deprivation," which holds that we don't envy the people who are far above us. We envy the people who are just a little above us. So for example, if I make $40,000 a year, I don't envy the guy making $400,000 or $4,000,000 a year -- those numbers mean nothing to me. I envy the guy making $45,000 or $50,000, because those are numbers I can comprehend and appreciate. Likewise, if I'm driving a beater Chevy Lumina that seems to spend half its time in the repair shop, I don't envy the guy with the Lambourghini or Ferrari -- I have no chance of ever owning one anyway. But I certainly envy the guy with the lightly used Honda Accord who doesn't pay $150/month on repair bills.

Personally, I'm much more likely to envy the students who get an extra day of class off every week than the privileged kids who get to fly off to exotic locations for vacation every few weeks.

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Totally. Not because of the lifestyle. Living like most of these athletes do doesn't sound that attractive to me. Getting paid for playing a sport, especially football, is something I'm jealous off.

You don't have to have a real education, playing the game you love and money streaming in. That's something I do envy a little.

Same goes for coaches, btw. I know that you have to spend ridiculous amounts of time working on your team and gameplan, but it's all worth it when you win that one game or, if you're lucky, the Super Bowl. I would not mind living my life like Jon Gruden if I could have the same results. Not at all.

No, I wouldn't say I envy their life. It's fun to think about what you'd do in their position, but the life of a pro athlete isn't one for me.

It's not the outcome of their life that I envy, it's the road they've taken to get there. It's the dedication and hard work that I admire. As materialistic as I am, I still understand that it's a function of your environment and your personal exertion. So good for them to live up the high life, but it's how they carry themselves while working their way up there that I care about.

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Nope. It is a rediculous amount of money, but no envy here. A few years ago I would tell you that I'm COMPLETELY envious, though.

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Money for me is not that important. I would not want the lifestyle of being mobbed by fans while shopping or having a steak.

I do not envy a Professional Football Player. It is a brutal sport and there are far too many walking wounded for the rest of their lives.

I drip envy however, like sweat on a summer day in Atlanta, for a professional golfer like Steve Stricker, Lee Westwood or Paul Casey. Top Tenners in the world golf rankings, relatively unknown faces who would not be mobbed in the mall, and play on some of the most beautiful real estate in the world.

That life I envy.

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This. I played football for a year in high school and was a good physical specimen for tackle (tallest and almost biggest player on the team). I quit after freshman year though because I didn't like going to practice everyday and I was kind of a pussy back then lol. Now, looking back of course I wish I had played. If I could I would play football everyday, I enjoy it that much.

But, the big but here, what would I have sacrificed that I enjoy so much now?

- I enjoy my level of intelligence and the ability to learn. I think it's especially important that I also need to keep evolving and obtaining knowledge in order to survive, instead of relying completely on my ace-in-the-hole; being a good football player. Would I have tried as hard in school? Probably not.
- My privacy is amazingly important to me. When questioned about being famous the first thing I think about is not money, fame, or anything that that lifestyle entails but being recognized everywhere I go. I would HATE this. I enjoy my time to myself or with my friends and family and to have it constantly interrupted would be awful.
- My health. This is a HUGE concern. If I played football for 20 years of my life my body would break down quickly. I'd probably be in pain most of my retirement years with minimal movement capabilities. I don't want that. As fun as football is I don't want to be banged up and bruised every week.
- Money. A lot of people who get rich are notoriously bad about spending or saving their money. Now if I signed that big paycheck I'm sure I'd be spending like crazy--before I realized that when I retire I'm going to stop earning. That's the catch, football as a career doesn't last that long. Unless you can make it into the ranks of broadcasters, analysts, coaches or front office personnel you're banking on the money you made during your career to last you the rest of your life. I don't think I could do this.

I know everything I said above doesn't happen 100% of the time to every famous athlete but these are the risks associated with that career path. I'm much happier where I am now. Of course, I would definitely love being a part of a football organization (scout, trainer, coach, gm, etc). Now that would be a dream job 🙂

Speaking personally, I truly am not envious of the money or fame.. if I was an pro athlete, I probably would hate the fame portion.. I am more of a low key type.

But I am jealous as hell, that they get to play the game and get paid to do so.

I worked my ass most of my life to play that game up into my teens, and because of life didn't get the chance to prove to myself that I could play at that level.

What really burns my ass.. and probably why I hold the childish nonsense of some, cough.. Moss, TO, #85, or the ones that disrespect the game on a different level in such contempt.

It is absolutely insane to me to bitch about playing a game, getting paid well to do it and then disrespecting the game because it somehow bruised your ego.

I want to believe I would be different and more like the Kampman's of the world if I would have made it.. maybe it changes you.

But yes.. color me jealous of the SOB's of the football world... or the ones that have an insane amount of talent yet live up to it... cough AJ Hawk or Daryn Colledge. ;)

Any other sport.. I give two pinches less about being them.. so I hold no envy. Is there truly another sport beyond football.. lol.

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I envy my next door neighbor for owning a backhoe.

I refuse to borrow it. I dig by hand. He keeps trying to loan it to me when I have to dig something.

It pisses him off that I will not borrow it.

I hate him.

Unless he has beer in the fridge.


I have my price lol