Thursday, April 16, 2015

Bob Lobel: The Wasted Talent of Aaron Hernandez


By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

Murder One. That’s a pretty scary pair of words, especially if you’re the reason someone was convicted of it. 

We know what murder one became for the former Patriots' tight end. Maybe the use of two other words like tight end aren’t exactly appropriate for the trial and conviction of Aaron Hernandez. 

What do you think is the predominate feeling people have about this? I mean, he was a very big part of the professional football future around here. So does that selfishly leave us disappointed that he won't ever play again with Brady and Gronk?   

Do we feel like this idiot, this thug, this sociopath wasted everything he was given in talent by just being a stupid punk? I suppose all of that and more comes into play. 

Maybe he was a victim of his own upbringing. Most of us blame our parents for bad things that happen to us, like we just give up control of our lives when exactly the opposite should happen. So tell me, what do you think Aaron Hernandez was thinking during the last few years when he was becoming a star football player and still playing with guns and bad guys?  

Count on this, the National Football League will probably rush to judgement and try to play catch up with the legal system. How will Roger Goodell do this? He has probably already has suspended him for the first four regular season games next season. That’s getting tough alright.  

Let's leave it there for now, unless you think they will retire his number. I would make it mandatory in the NFL that, if any player is convicted of murder one, his number must be retired.

The one number certain to be retired for all the right reasons is the QB. 12 will become untouchable around here. I mean that all teams should retire the number 12, unless they already have. Look we know 4, 6, 9 and 33 are magical for the players that wore them. I'm offering this opinion based on opening day for the Sox, and Tom Brady's appearance with the four Super Bowl trophies make him the single most popular athlete ever to play here. 

Despite his great personal appeal and contribution to four championships, the push from all different kinds of media, social or otherwise, makes him untouchable. All the others are commonly referred to as being on the Mt. Rushmore of Boston sports, but number 12 is in a class of his own. 

Tom is this generation's x, y and z, with a little baby boomer thrown in right next to the millennials. And to show that some things can be forgiven, number 12 actually threw touchdown passes to a murder one guy. 

The popular sport has been to list the top guy at each sport in this town which, by the way, totally blows any other town away. Now, there is no doubt in my mind that when all the Mt. Rushmore guys get together, they will call #12 Mister or sir. 

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