Were NFL players better Role Models back in the day??

Just a question , I grew up Minneapolis in the 70's , and when I would bump into Vikings players ( Sammy White , Chuck Foreman , Jim Marshall , Alan Page, Matt Blair) they were always classy, polite , well dressed ,and always had positive parting words for us young fans ( Stay in school , eat right and exercise , have a good holiday) ...I mean those guys never gave the impression they were hell raisers and negative influences , real solid dudes ....and when we would wait for autographs from visiting players after games, they also carried themselves in the same manner and treated the fans with respect

Nowadays you got the flashy players that rarely stop to give an autographs or talk with fans , and you got players that are constantly in trouble and not very friendly at all

any longtime fans feel the same way ?? Just a question???

Say what you want about him... Tim Teebow. I agree he is highly over rated but what better role model could you ask for if you had a child that needed someone to look up to. I think Tony Gonzales is another honorable name. Charles Tillman, Warrick Dunn, and actually Vernon Davis are other great guys that do stuff for people and charities.

Originally posted by NC49erfan82:
Say what you want about him... Tim Teebow. I agree he is highly over rated but what better role model could you ask for if you had a child that needed someone to look up to. I think Tony Gonzales is another honorable name. Charles Tillman, Warrick Dunn, and actually Vernon Davis are other great guys that do stuff for people and charities.

good examples .......my little cousin tried to get Brandon Lloyds autograph when he was with the 49ers ...all he said was "Nah Dude" in his "street thug accent" and walked away and put his earbuds on , there was only a few fans waiting for autographs too , a real jerk .....but Eric Johnson was a cool dude, he came over and signed my cousins program and chatted with him for a bit

I think people in general had better manners back then. There were some awful people in any time period, but today, it just seems the majority are some rude people. They are also more public than before with the internet, facebook, twitter.

No. NFL is ALWAYS having players out doing all kinds of stuff for their communities, fans, etc.

Pretty much all they do on their "off" days

Originally posted by OKC49erFan:
I think people in general had better manners back then. There were some awful people in any time period, but today, it just seems the majority are some rude people. They are also more public than before with the internet, facebook, twitter.

MUCH better manners OKC, very rarely would we run into rude players .....even Lyle Alzado and Jack tatum were polite to us when we asked them for an autograph, it must have been 15 below zero outside, but they stayed and gave autographs before hopping on their bus ...just seems like back in the day , there was a LOT more classy players than there is today

Good question. I think modern players could be getting a bad rap. We all know a story of bad behavior travels 10x faster than good behavior. With text messages, cell phone cameras, twitter, etc word can travel real fast. If an athlete is flipping people off and screaming at everyone everyone covers the story. If the same guy is out passing out Christmas presents to poor kids, it won't get near as much coverage.

Originally posted by BobS:
Good question. I think modern players could be getting a bad rap. We all know a story of bad behavior travels 10x faster than good behavior. With text messages, cell phone cameras, twitter, etc word can travel real fast. If an athlete is flipping people off and screaming at everyone everyone covers the story. If the same guy is out passing out Christmas presents to poor kids, it won't get near as much coverage.

Bad behavior travels 10x faster than good behavior, but any behavior at all travels 1000x faster now than it did in the 70's. I'm sure without the convenience of the internet, a rich football player partying at a club isn't going to make the front page of any news article. Or it wouldn't be considered news worthy of print that a starting QB like Rodgers shuns a woman asking for an autograph.

Probably better back in the day.

There are other considerations. Today the press and social media are everywhere and back in the day a player could have more private time to let loose.

Also, for some STUPID reason, some people today think it's cool to be rude and flippant.

I grew up in New York City 50's though early 70's and Joe Namath never turned any kid down for an autograph.

Media coverage is the only thing that has changed in the last 100 years. People are people- some good, some not

Originally posted by LasVegasWally:
Probably better back in the day.

There are other considerations. Today the press and social media are everywhere and back in the day a player could have more private time to let loose.

Also, for some STUPID reason, some people today think it's cool to be rude and flippant.

I grew up in New York City 50's though early 70's and Joe Namath never turned any kid down for an autograph.

or a cocktail , or a short skirt

Originally posted by NeeJ49er:

Originally posted by NC49erfan82:
Say what you want about him... Tim Teebow. I agree he is highly over rated but what better role model could you ask for if you had a child that needed someone to look up to. I think Tony Gonzales is another honorable name. Charles Tillman, Warrick Dunn, and actually Vernon Davis are other great guys that do stuff for people and charities.

good examples .......my little cousin tried to get Brandon Lloyds autograph when he was with the 49ers ...all he said was "Nah Dude" in his "street thug accent" and walked away and put his earbuds on , there was only a few fans waiting for autographs too , a real jerk .....but Eric Johnson was a cool dude, he came over and signed my cousins program and chatted with him for a bit

True Story... f**k Brandon Lloyd.

Originally posted by NC49erfan82:

Originally posted by NeeJ49er:

Originally posted by NC49erfan82:
Say what you want about him... Tim Teebow. I agree he is highly over rated but what better role model could you ask for if you had a child that needed someone to look up to. I think Tony Gonzales is another honorable name. Charles Tillman, Warrick Dunn, and actually Vernon Davis are other great guys that do stuff for people and charities.

good examples .......my little cousin tried to get Brandon Lloyds autograph when he was with the 49ers ...all he said was "Nah Dude" in his "street thug accent" and walked away and put his earbuds on , there was only a few fans waiting for autographs too , a real jerk .....but Eric Johnson was a cool dude, he came over and signed my cousins program and chatted with him for a bit

True Story... f**k Brandon Lloyd.

Yup , F*ck that dude , I cringed when there was whispers about trading for that douchebag last year , he might have made a couple highlight reel catches, but he was a real jerk in my book , I'm glad he is ducking passes somewhere else this season and not with us

It's just a sign of the times, isn't it? I mean $$$ is the #1 culprit. These players lose big bucks when their autographed jersey goes on E-bay and want a piece of the pie. Afterall, it is their autograph and the dude asking for the autograph isn't getting it for sentimental reasons. He is trying to make a buck too.

Plus, wasn't Babe Ruth showing up to the games drunk? Didn't Michael Jordan womanize & gamble on golf? That doesn't sound like a setting a good example to me.

Chuck Barkley put it best, "I am not a role model" - Mom & Dad need to be setting that example.

Originally posted by SealTeam6:
Media coverage is the only thing that has changed in the last 100 years. People are people- some good, some not

exactly, people's dirt just gets out on a wide spread scale quicker now a days due to technology, i'm sure being dirty and underhanded was easier back in the day........