Trying to fill impossible shoes

There must be a tremendous amount of pressure being the offspring of a superstar athlete.
 
There have been quite a few professional athletes that have followed in the footsteps of a father who also played at the professional level. Some have not achieved the same level of fame as their fathers, while others have made their own names by putting up the better statistics of the pair. In rare occasions, the father and son duo have even enjoyed the golden opportunity to play side-by-side. Ken Griffey and his son, Ken Griffey Jr., once even hit back-to-back home runs while playing for the Seattle Mariners.

If the father was maybe a marginal player at the professional level, a son or daughter can "fly under the radar" and make their own names for themselves with their individual accomplishments. But when an athlete's  father was a bona fide superstar, the comparisons come early and often in trying to judge how well the sons or daughters fill their father's cleats or high-tops.

Can you imagine being Michael Jordan's son? Marcus and Jeff Jordan can, because they are.

Jeff plays at the University of Illinois, while Marcus recently announced he will be playing basketball at Central Florida. Both are decent ballplayers, but neither is destined to be the Air apparent to their father's hardcourt legacy.
Then there is the career decision made recently by Jack Elway, son of NFL Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway.

The Associated Press (AP) reported that Jack Elway was leaving the Arizona State football program, where he was a redshirt freshman quarterback. It's not uncommon for an athlete to transfer to another college in hopes of earning a starting job or to find a program that may be better-suited to his or hers style of play, but that was not the case for the younger Elway.

He intends to remain at Arizona State, he is just not going to play football.
Arizona State coach Dennis Erickson was quoted in the AP article as saying, "[Jack Elway] is just tired of football and wants to do something else with his life."

I applaud Jack Elway's strength to make a decision that he feels is best for him, knowing full well that it would be scrutinized and dissected by so many who follow sports. We should all walk comfortably in the shoes we wear in life, be they cleats or wing tips.

Contact Craig Purcell at 824-1036 or sports@tcnpress.com.