Innocence Lost

Today's football players sure seem to have become more destructive in their downtime. Yesterday's players certainly were no angels. They often raised some hell, blew off some steam. One of the most notorious "night owls" of all time, Hall of Fame QB Bobby Layne, spent most of his time away from the field drinking with friends and listening to music in jazz clubs. That seems pretty mild, pretty harmless. Most players were like that. Coaches and owners may have worried about the late nights and drinking, but few worried about handguns, assaults, dog fights. Sometimes the "hijinks" of old would get a bit out of hand, like the Oorang Indians, in drunken fun, picking up and turning around a trolley car in the '20s. During a training camp, Layne once asked a rookie to accompany him to buy some toothpaste. They returned to camp 3 days later. Books could be written about the exploits of Green Bay Packers halfback Johnny Blood McNally. The Flea Flicker will one day tackle some of his exploits. Money and the media glare have changed the game, everything really. The world, as a whole, is different, less innocent. I didn't live in those earlier days, but I miss them.