Dave Pear's Blog

Dave is probably in the middle of his hip replacement surgery at this moment and I’ll report in on his status a soon as we get word from his wife, Heidi. In the meantime, I was pleasantly surprised to see this post today on the Tampa Bay Bucs Fans’ blog, BucNews.com. Appropriately titled The Destruction of a Legacy, it’s probably as good an analysis as any I’ve seen anywhere on NFLPA Executive Director, Gene Upshaw. They highlight many of Upshaw’s accomplishments as a player and athlete, including his long fall from grace in recent years as the guy in the Ivory Tower who has completely lost his way in forgetting where he came from while leaving behind all the people who helped him get there. I’ve followed an old philosophy throughout my entire business career:

The little people you step on going up the ladder of success are the same people you see on your way down.

Excerpted from their post today:

“Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to Gene Upshaw. He was The Raiders’ first round draft pick in 1967 (#17 overall) and started at their left guard spot for 207 straight games. He took part in three Super Bowls, winning two, and was widely considered to be one of the best offensive linemen of the 1970s. The seven-time Pro Bowler was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987.

Upshaw was able to protect guys like Kenny Stabler when it was encouraged to decapitate quarterbacks.It’s because of his former greatness and dominance that it’s so sad to have to introduce you to the tired, bitter, arrogant, loudmouthed, crazy sh*tbox that is the current Gene Upshaw.

A**hole.

The concept is simple: Rookie contracts are too high. They should be reduced for the first year of a player’s NFL career and that money should be re-allocated to veterans who have been playing for a while. I mean, even an Alabama grad can follow the logic, right? Upshaw evidently cannot.”

Read the entire piece HERE.

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