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The Biggest Wastes of Talent, Sports or Otherwise

Spaceman Spiff

By Spaceman Spiff
in The Tailgate

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Spaceman Spiff

Spaceman Spiff

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1 hour ago, TryTheBeal! said:

 

Staley squandered his talent well in advance of his actual passing.

 

Axl is one of many musical artists who withdrew from the spotlight for a significant time in their prime.  For most, it’s a matter of personal survival.  That’s a tough business.

 

K, I'll leave poor Axl alone.

 

giphy.gif

 

Toodles.

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Corcaigh

Corcaigh

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1 hour ago, StillUnknown said:

 

I wouldnt put Sharapova on that list. She had the great misfortune of being born at the wrong time. She plays in an era with one of the greatest sports figures of all time, who takes a special joy in dominating their matchups. 

 

Aside from rivalry factor she has achieved a lot.

 

Five grand slam titles, including the slam; been ranked World #1 multiple times.

 

She's suffered injuries but has been a competitor on the tour for well over a decade. 

 

Crazy to mention her her as biggest waste of talent.

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Hersh

Hersh

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6 hours ago, StillUnknown said:

 

I wouldnt put Sharapova on that list. She had the great misfortune of being born at the wrong time. She plays in an era with one of the greatest sports figures of all time, who takes a special joy in dominating their matchups. 

 

She almost never took advantage when Serena wasn’t in a tournament nor on her side of the draw. The expectations for Sharapova far exceeded any success she had. Anna Kournikova and Natalie Gulbis are others. 

 

 

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Rogue Jedi

Rogue Jedi

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Not sure if this completely counts as a "wasted talent", but Michael Vick.

 

If he had his 2010 Eagles mindset when he was drafted in 2001, we are talking about probably one of the best QB's to ever play. Truly could've been the Michael Jordan of the NFL. Completely game changing.

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Kosher Ham

Kosher Ham

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2 minutes ago, Rogue Jedi said:

Not sure if this completely counts as a "wasted talent", but Michael Vick.

 

Hmm... 

I think this list should be about folks that screwed up yet still alive. 

Then again, I rarely start a topic so proceed. 

 

Some make sense like Vick, Kemp, Russell, etc. 

Rock stars that stepped away... plenty of them do that. 

So what ? 

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mcsluggo

mcsluggo

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23 hours ago, clietas said:

 

 

He wrote and recorded three of the greatest albums in music history IMO. So I'll just disrespectfully disagree with you on that one. 

 

he wrote and recorded for somebody other than Guns and Roses...?   

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Dont Taze Me Bro

Dont Taze Me Bro

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14 hours ago, Rogue Jedi said:

Not sure if this completely counts as a "wasted talent", but Michael Vick.

 

If he had his 2010 Eagles mindset when he was drafted in 2001, we are talking about probably one of the best QB's to ever play. Truly could've been the Michael Jordan of the NFL. Completely game changing.

 

I don't think Vick belongs on this list.  Even though he admitted that he didn't study playbooks, prepare properly, etc. he still was an extremely electrifying quarterback/athlete.  Look at what he did during that time, he made the pro-bowl three times with the Falcons.  Rookie year aside, he led them to a 9-6-1 record in 2002 with a first round playoff win in Green Bay.

 

Broke his leg in preseason in 2003, team went 2-10 without him as a starter.  He started the rest of the season and went 3-1.  In 2004 he lead them to a 11=5 record, first round bye and they lost in the NFC Championship against the Eagles.  In 2005 he played at a pro bowl level they finished 8-8 and then in 2006 they finished only 7-9 but he became the first QB to rush for over 1000 yards that year.

 

Then his entire comeback into the NFL to regain a starting QB role with the Eagles after being suspended for two years then being a back-up says the rest.  When I think of wasted talent, I think of players like Ryan Leaf, Russell, etc.  where they could have been something big but pissed it away for whatever reason. 

 

Vick was an incredible talent regardless, his non-dedication in his preparation, playbook studying, etc. is the difference in him being a really, really good QB and possibly being one of the top QBs to ever play the game.  Similar to Peppers, who was notorious throughout his career for taking plays off and disappearing on the field at times.  When focused, physical freak and beast on defense, but not a waste of talent, just mis-managed effort/focus.  

 

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Renegade7

Renegade7

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15 hours ago, Rogue Jedi said:

Not sure if this completely counts as a "wasted talent", but Michael Vick.

 

If he had his 2010 Eagles mindset when he was drafted in 2001, we are talking about probably one of the best QB's to ever play. Truly could've been the Michael Jordan of the NFL. Completely game changing.

I blame that on Dan Reeves saying don't fix what ain't broke while he was in Atlanta.

 

If he had a coach that said "damn, he can run but let's make passing a priority, too" like Andy Reid, we talking about re-writing NFL history.  Atlanta was so used to losing that getting caught up in the hype they didn't settle to what they need to do to actually get a ring out of him before it was too late. 

 

I don't think someone like BB or Parcells would've drafted him, but neither would had patience for that ****, who knows if he still does dog fighting anyway, Hernandez showed even the Pats way can't save everyone 

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PleaseBlitz

PleaseBlitz

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On 8/26/2018 at 8:57 AM, PleaseBlitz said:

Roman Polanski. 

 

I'll expand on this one a little bit.  The theme of this thread seems to be people who were extremely talented, but were not able to fulfill their potential because they made a bad decision or decisions.  Polanski had/has absurd talent, but has serious issues. 

 

His first feature length film, Knife in the Water, despite being produced in war-devastated Poland, was a major commercial success worldwide and earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film.  He then wrote and directed a series of films, culminating in Rosemary's Baby, which won a bunch of Oscars and other awards, was a huge commercial hit and, in 2014, twas selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."  In short, he was doing LeBron James things when he was a young movie maker.

 

Then things started going downhill (which is an understatement).  First, his wife and unborn son were brutally murdered in their home by the ****ing Manson Family.  Despite that, 5 years later in 1974 he made Chinatown, which was nominated for basically every Oscar that year (11 of them) and is considered by some to be The Greatest Film Ever.  The Golden Globe Awards honored it for Best Drama, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Screenplay.  For comparison, this is not Mike Vick, Aaron Hernandez territory.  This is Tom Brady territory.  He was 40 years old at this point, he still has at least a 45 year career ahead of him.  

 

Then he was arrested for drugging and then raping a 13 year old which, as far as throwing a career away but not dying, is pretty much how you do that.  He fled the US for Paris and now lives in Zurich, where he gets arrested and threatened with extradition from time to time.  There are also a bunch of other gross allegations against him, mostly involving his penis and very young girls.  Still, despite being a horrible person, he's a top-tier film making talent and has continued to make Oscar-worthy films despite how difficult you would think it would be for a kid-raper to make, finance, cast and sell films.   In 2002 he won the Oscar for Best Director for The Pianist, which also won 3 other Oscars, was nominated for 4 more including Best Picture, and is often included on lists of the 100 best films of the 21st century.  So, think of what Polanski could have done with Hollywood's full support.  

 

 

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Going Commando

Going Commando

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Posted

Some football ones:

- JaMarcus Russell.  Body of the Greek God of Quarterbacking.  Mind of a tool.

 

- With the exception of 2007, the Les Miles LSU Tigers.  Nobody in CFB consistently did less with more.

 

- I wanted to say Vince Young but he did have several good years in the NFL.  Had HoF talent though.  He had emotional issues and didn't have the support system he needed to handle the pressure of being a star QB in the NFL.  No doubt playing for Jeff Fisher was a terrible situation for him.

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China

China

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46 minutes ago, spjunkies said:

I know that the entire "27 club" has already been mentioned, but I want to point out Amy Winehouse. If that woman could've stayed clean she would've been huge! That voice was one of a kind :(

 

BTW, the whole "27 club" idea is bunk.  Should be the 56 club.

 

https://theconversation.com/the-27-club-is-a-myth-56-is-the-bum-note-for-musicians-33586

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Barry.Randolphe

Barry.Randolphe

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30 minutes ago, stevemcqueen1 said:

Some football ones:

- JaMarcus Russell.  Body of the Greek God of Quarterbacking.  Mind of a tool.

- I wanted to say Vince Young but he did have several good years in the NFL.  Had HoF talent though.  He had emotional issues and didn't have the support system he needed to handle the pressure of being a star QB in the NFL.  No doubt playing for Jeff Fisher was a terrible situation for him.

 

Adam Archuleta. Greek God, freak athlete his first 3 seasons, bust afterwards.

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Spaceman Spiff

Spaceman Spiff

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1 hour ago, PleaseBlitz said:

 

The theme of this thread seems to be people who were extremely talented, but were not able to fulfill their potential because they made a bad decision or decisions.  

 

 

 

PB gets it. 

 

Good writeup on Polanski, btw.  Also disgusting about how Hollywood defends him, praises him, etc.

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Busch1724

Busch1724

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On 8/25/2018 at 11:22 PM, TryTheBeal! said:

 

Plus, he’s going into the studio with Angus Young.

 

 

Actually Brian Johnson and Phil Rudd have been in Vancouver, not Axl. For those that didn't know, AC/DC is recording. No word on if Cliff Williams is on board or not after announcing his retirement. Chances are he is since Brian appears back in the fold. 

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