Dez Bryant, Take Notice

Hazing has been making news this summer, some good, some bad. Respect is a quality that is earned, and hazing enforces that. Most rookies, especially those picked early in the draft, are considered the best college had to offer from the previous season. This causes inflated egos that need to be taken down a notch before the rest of the league takes it down for them.

A few weeks ago, Dez Bryant refused to carry Roy Williams' shoulder pads. Granted, the pads are probably wet from sweat and thus, not smelling like roses; but as the number 1 rookie on the Cowboys, Bryant should have carried the pads, and volunteered to carry Miles Austin's pads as well. Bryant went into the draft with "character issues," causing him to nearly drop out of the 1st round. Every chance he gets, he needs to prove that those issues are in the past. Being the best rookie on the team, the other rookies are looking to him for example. Carrying the pads would have strengthened the team instead of leaving the door open for rookie mutiny.

The complete other side of the spectrum is Tim Tebow. As part of Tebow's hazing, he was given a haircut, seen above. If given the choice of that haircut, and carrying pads, pads seem like the easiest choice, unless you are Jared Allen. Tebow may look ridiculous, but his teammates definitely respect his ability to take a joke and appear as a normal dude, even though he may be the most hyped rookie coming into this season.

Once he was drafted by the Denver Broncos, Tebow jerseys starting selling like hot cakes. Mmmmmm hot cakes. He is hyped, even though most analysts figure he won't excel as a QB in the NFL. I'm inclined to believe that as well. He was a perfect fit in Florida, but running QB's with subpar throwing ability usually fail in the NFL. You need accuracy and power, which come from throwing technique, and Tebow didn't learn that in Florida.

Even though he may not be great, he earned respect this weekend. I know I wouldn't do that to my head, mostly because the Lady wouldn't be happy, and I like keeping her happy. Tebow had no character issues going into the draft, except for maybe loving Jesus a little too much. He proved to be a cool dude, unlike Bryant, who just came off as a child.

Hazing should be a part of sports. It is now and those who take part seem to enjoy themselves. Take the Yankees and Red Sox the past couple years, dressing their rookies up as girls and characters from the Wizard of Oz. Tebow doesn't seem to mind the 'do, nor do the other players in the league who carry pads or are tied to goalposts.

Hazing can get out of hand, when mental and physical abuse occurs, seen mostly in fraternities and sororities. Professional sports hazing though is mostly light-hearted and makes everyone laugh. I hope to see more in the next few weeks, and I hope to see Tebow maintain the haircut all season, as it is quite legen-DARY.