Column:
Dalton leaves behind tarnished legacy
Published Sept. 1, 2009
It's sad, really.
When freshman quarterback Blaine Dalton was kicked off the football team on Friday, I came to a rather unsettling realization.
I played on the Blue Springs South football team with the 2008 class that boasted a state championship, three conference championships and a district championship. We had a total of 11 players, including Dalton (who was class of '09 but for all intensive purposes, he was with the 2008 class), who went on to play in college.
The number of people from that team playing football now? Four.
And most dropouts are because of stupid reasons. They screwed up academically or with the law — most of the time the latter.
It honestly pisses me off. That team had all the talent in the world, and now nobody will remember it. All they'll see was a team full of kids who don't have their goddamn heads on straight.
You are not a big fish in a little pond anymore. You are not invincible. You are not untouchable. Your actions have consequences.
Because Dalton was the most prolific of all those players (Division-1 recruit, Simone Award winner), I'm going to pick on him. He had the most responsibility, the most to lose and his downfall was the most public and most disappointing.
Dalton even had a second chance, not something people in the real world get a whole lot. Honestly, I wanted to forgive him. I knew he was like that, but maybe his spring arrest was a wake up call.
I was wrong.
Competing for the backup job, already on everybody's radar after the first arrest, and you go and do this. What is the matter with you? Seriously, who told you that was a good idea? What made you think you could do the same crap and get away with it?
And now, you've disgraced your team, your university, your high school, your friends and your family. Blue Springs South coach Greg Oder, the hardest-working man in the Midwest, is now the coach of Blaine Dalton, the kid who threw it all away because he was the big shot.
I hope you actually show some remorse this time.
I also hope Gary Pinkel doesn't take him back. He's not worth the time or the effort. He's already tarnished the Missouri football name enough. Don't make it any worse.
The sad part is Dalton will probably get offered a job at some Division III or junior college school.
It happens all the time. A lot of people drink and drive. He had so much at stake. He knew that. But this time, there was nobody to bail him out.
I really hope you find some help, Dalton. It's sad to see somebody who you play the greatest team sport in the world with throw it all away because they just don't have any guidance.
But once you find help, you owe a long-overdue apology to just about everyone in your life. You had kids who looked up to you. You had people who were proud of you. Now, you have nothing but a broken college career and a couple arrests.
Seriously, it's getting ridiculous. To those going to college to play football, or any sport for that matter, get your head on straight and keep it that way.
There's too much to lose.
