Changing the Face

We haven't had a post with depth in a while. In fact, it hasn't really been a long, long while. But yesterday I came across something pretty interesting.

As some of you know, Erik Ainge's girlfriend is a good friend of mine. She worked on a student government campaign with me in college and though she didn't win, we did our best to get her elected. We were waiting for someone to show up and somehow it came up that she had Eli Manning's cell phone number. I of course said, notta chance. I was proven to be wrong when she dialed the number and we got his voicemail. Turns out that she got to meet all of the Mannings with Erik being part of that whole Cutcliffe quarterbacks deal.

These cell phones are changing the way of the world of sports. If Rachel had these numbers, I would believe that Erik had them too. You always hear that so and so and so and so talk once a week, or text each other when things aren't going well or they just get a hold of themselves to talk about the season. You think any of this would happen if you weren't walking around with a phone in your pocket?

I was listening to Jim Rome yesterday, as I do just about everyday and this whole cell phone thing became even more interesting. First, Rome had Donald Driver on. Driver, isn't the sharpest sword produced by Hattori Hanzo, but he gave a good interview and you can really tell that his personal motivation to be as great as he can be is what makes him so fearless on Sundays. Driver, like most of the athletes who give interviews on Rome's show, are in their locker rooms as you can hear the commotion in the background.

Think about it though, ESPN has how many "hotlines?" They are always getting people calling in to give their input, none of which would be available without a cell phone. I mean, could you get Buster Olney followed by Mort on land lines? Didn't think so.

I want to get back to players talking to players yesterday. The big and most impressive interview of Rome's yesterday was with Chris Paul. Paul is turning into the best point guard in the NBA. Aside from the fact that you could hear his boys in the background, what got me was his comments about Deron Williams.

For those of you who don't know, Paul and Williams were the first two point guards taken in their draft year from Wake Forest and Illinois, respectively. Paul is a shiftier, quicker type player who might mirror more of a Steve Nash or a Tony Parker, where as Williams looks a little more like a young Chauncey Billups before he learned how to score. The point was that they both know that they will always be compared throughout the course of their careers, but that again, they talk every week. They share comments and advice with each other and have a respective competition between each other. They want to push each other to be better seeing as one gets better, the other needs to take a step to match up or take it to the next level.

Would this level of competition be available without the cell phone? Without instant access to human beings through a celluar call or text message? I don't think so. The cell phone has lifted the competition level in pro sports. How? Because it has made competition personal. Athletes can talk to each other and through a mutal respect, they force themselves to be better. And knowing that they will have to talk about it with their new friends puts an added incentive on it.

You think the cell phone changed everything for you. It did. Aside from the fact that it made you accessible at all times, it is helping elevate your sporting world.