Blog #472: How Miami Dolphins Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa Demonstrates That We Need to Accept Walking
- Jeffrey Snyder
- Sep 26, 2024
- 3 min read
“You are the Quarterback of your Family.”
-Mike McDaniel, Miami Dolphins Head Coach
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If you have been following the National Football League for a long time, you know just how brutal the game can be with players crashing into one another despite numerous protections that they have on the field. Recently, one of the top storylines of this current season revolves around Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa who suffered his third concussion in as many seasons back in Week 2 against the Buffalo Bills.
Since then, there have been mounting calls for Tua to step away from the game because there are two sides to this story: trying to stay in the game and win a Super Bowl and there is the side of a person’s life and his family. The same can also be said for individuals who struggle with feeling that they need to stay in a particular job that they would otherwise need to get out of.
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While I wasn’t like Tua Tagovailoa per se, I was in a situation where I desperately wanted to get out of my previous day job, but had to wait an additional 5 years to do so. During that time, I was starting to become a different person almost like a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde persona where I would be Dr. Jekyll outside the day job and Mr. Hyde in the day job.
Despite the fact that there was a Jekyll and Hyde side to the day job, there were some benefits such as flexible hours and union benefits. But to me, those were irrelevant because I had to understand that my life was much more important than just working in a retail environment.
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For Tua, I can see why he wants to keep on playing, for the money and the goal of bringing a Super Bowl to Miami. However, in this situation, chasing championship trophies and rings are irrelevant when a player’s health and mind are called into focus. As we have seen in the past, playing in the National Football League or any contact sport can have ramifications to the point where the player deals with the side effects that can have dire consequences.
In fact, it was recently announced that legendary quarterback Brett Farve had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease possibly from all the years of getting hit on the field. Then, there were also the stories of NFL players committing suicide and getting into dangerous situations because they couldn’t think straight. I mean, who would want to keep playing the game if life and health were more important?
Sure, it’s true Tua has his heart in the game, but at the end of the day there are other ways to make a living within the game of football such as doing what Terry Bradshaw and other NFL players have done which is being in front of the camera.
In fact, everyone who plays in the NFL or any major pro sports league makes a decent living and you can make two different choices: you can either by humble and treat the money you earn like a paycheck or you can be reckless and put the money you earn towards fame and fortune.
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If I were Tua Tagovailoa, I would take a step back and think to yourself whether hearing that I was the quarterback of my family is greater than being the quarterback of the Miami Dolphins or any other NFL team. If I was smart, I would pick the first option because you can replace a job, but you can’t replace your life.
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Catch you all later!!
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