We have entertainers come through our cities along with pro and college athletes. Most people will think only about how much money someone is making for delivering to us entertainment for our money. What most people never think about is life on the road. What good does having all the money in the world if you have to keep working harder and harder at what you do? So many end up having all the things in life money can buy, but none of the things it can't.
Let me give you an example of a few types of life on the road. One is the rock band life on the road. Life on the road as a rock star more realistically is the everyday grind of travel. Have you ever been stuck in an airport? Think about being stranded 20 times in a year or more. The road traveled between cities can be rough too. Rock bands don't usually get the best drivers for the tour bus. Think about how hard it would be to find a bus driver to drive a party bus from city to city for six weeks, away from their family, and free of full-time employment before departure. At least you party every night and get to trash hotel rooms city to city! But anyway who cares about rock bands anyway, this is a sports blog!!
Different sports have diffrent types of road trips. Baseball may be the hardest. You start off the season with 5 weeks on the road in Florida or Arizona for spring training. Some teams when they do get back home and get ready for the season they start the season ON THE ROAD! Baseball also has series when they play someone. You may end up with a road trip of over a week at a time as a regular occurance.
Football may have the best. They only play once a week and when they do go on the road, it is only for two days. They are home a minimum five days of the week. Hockey and basketball have similar schedules but road trips usually only max out and 5-7 games on the road.
Life on the road as a pro-wrestler is strange as well. For instance WWE Superstar Ric Flair said in his biography that he had wrestled Ricky "the Dragon" Steamboat over two thousand times in a five year period, most of which were one hour draws. They were on the road over three hundred days a year and Flair insists he wrestled eight times a week (twice on Saturdays) everyday for two years. In 1975 in a effort to start to cut travel time down Flair had a guy with a small Cesnna airplane that ended up crashing and breaking his back. He is still on the road today because his life has been spent on the road. Life on the road for Flair has been stylin' and profilin'. Adam Copeland spent a lot of time on the road. He said part of his yearly trips through Canada included a two hour drive across a frozen lake to get to the next city. Copeland who is known in WWE as "Edge" has paid his dues like many before him and many after him will do.
Life on the road for me as a wrestler throughout my life has been a great one. My trips were almost always weekenders. I loved traveling from city to city and state to state to test my skills and meet new competition. My type of wrestling in not what you see on T.V. at all. I was a freestyle wrestler. The kind you or your buddy was in high school. I started my adventure at seven years old, a 52 pound grapler, ready learn how to be a wrestler. If you were a young wrestler in the midwest from 1981 to 1992, wrestled in extra tournaments, I may have twisted your head off or broke your will to compete, I am sorry, yeah right. Now I spend my time as an adult as an instructor for a wrestling camp hosted by the U.S. Olympic coach Steve Fraser. That is a lot of time away from home but it is a great experience. Sometime life on the road is great because you get to go away for a while and do what you love to do.
If life on the road still sounded sweet to you, think about the fact that most athletes don't even live in the city they play. Remember it is a business. You don't know if you are going to finish your career with anyone. So they will get a condo or rent a house and still live where ever they always have. Look at Roger Clemens. He lived this way his whole career. His family in the Houston area and him playing in Boston, New York, and even worse........TORONTO! When all your toys are at home and you live on the road, what is so great about that?
Hey this is just another way to look at something you may have never thought about. I didnt even hit on hockey parents life on the road either.
Tell me about it. My dad was a traveling jewelry salesman. M-F he was gone every week. He'd be home for Sat. and Sun and then it was gone again. I never held ill will towards my father though because everytime he came home he always made time for his family. He never wanted us to just "leave him alone".
I understand what the athletes and stars go through but they are compensated well for their troubles. And rockstars have groupies:)
bob ......... Life on the road is one thing ! But Clemens is now liable to become a wandering minstrel. He'll play if he's paid and that's the be all , to end all of it ! Can we say mercenary ?
He should retire as his legacy is already written in stone. What more can he do that's not already been done by him ? The Cy Young awards and the World Series rings are a testament to that fact !
Flint Michigan -
-bob260505@ya hoo.com-
Three time defending (division 2) four square champion
1993 United States Hacky-Sack Champion (runner up in 92 and 94) - finishing move "the Stall"
MVP of 1986 Whiffleball World Series - WWS was played in the side yard and had longer home runs.
2006 1st place league Champion fantasy baseball, 2003 and 2004 second place in fantasy football, 2003 second place in fantasy baseball and hockey, The last person out in Dodgeball in a record 17 of 22 games played in 1992 and led the gym class with over 175 kills in 92 - 93 (averaged 8.18 kills per game)
bob260505@yah oo.com
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Let me give you an example of a few types of life on the road. One is the rock band life on the road. Life on the road as a rock star more realistically is the everyday grind of travel. Have you ever been stuck in an airport? Think about being stranded 20 times in a year or more. The road traveled between cities can be rough too. Rock bands don't usually get the best drivers for the tour bus. Think about how hard it would be to find a bus driver to drive a party bus from city to city for six weeks, away from their family, and free of full-time employment before departure. At least you party every night and get to trash hotel rooms city to city! But anyway who cares about rock bands anyway, this is a sports blog!!
Life on the road as a pro-wrestler is strange as well. For instance WWE Superstar Ric Flair said in his biography that he had wrestled Ricky "the Dragon" Steamboat over two thousand times in a five year period, most of which were one hour draws. They were on the road over three hundred days a year and Flair insists he wrestled eight times a week (twice on Saturdays) everyday for two years. In 1975 in a effort to start to cut travel time down Flair had a guy with a small Cesnna airplane that ended up crashing and breaking his back. He is still on the road today because his life has been spent on the road. Life on the road for Flair has been stylin' and profilin'. Adam Copeland spent a lot of time on the road. He said part of his yearly trips through Canada included a two hour drive across a frozen lake to get to the next city. Copeland who is known in WWE as "Edge" has paid his dues like many before him and many after him will do.
If life on the road still sounded sweet to you, think about the fact that most athletes don't even live in the city they play. Remember it is a business. You don't know if you are going to finish your career with anyone. So they will get a condo or rent a house and still live where ever they always have. Look at Roger Clemens. He lived this way his whole career. His family in the Houston area and him playing in Boston, New York, and even worse........TORONTO! When all your toys are at home and you live on the road, what is so great about that?
