The Bus DOESN'T Stop Here

[A-Fletch]

http://sportsmed.starwave.com/media/nfl/2002/0610/photo/s_bettis_i.jpgTonight Jerome Bettis [#36 RB, Pittsburgh Steelers] was supposed to be at my gym for an autograph session.

He'd been working out here (in St. Louis) for the past month -- something about his coach living here and him getting in shape for training camp, I don't know.

Anyway, if you know me, you know that he's my favorite athlete in the world and that I live for the Steelers.

This autograph session had been scheduled for a month and advertised. Originally it was to be from 6-8 PM, but he changed it from 5-7 PM three days ago because he needed to "catch an ealier flight" to Latrobe, Pennsylvania for training camp -- which doesn't start til Sunday. Today is Thursday.

As you can probably guess by my tone, Jerome didn't f*cking show up.

There was about 20 or so of us that came specifically to see him, and I was one of six college-age guys that came with their jerseys and Terrible Towels.

We waited outside for him for two hours.

At least it was fun to meet some fellow Pittsburgh natives and Steelers fans. We threw a football around in the parking lot for a while, listening to "Here We Go, Steelers" on one of the guy's car stereos.

Here's my deal: Do I think athletes are over-paid? No. Why? Because we're the ones who pay them. If we didn't continue to buy ridiculously-priced tickets and watch them on TV and idolize them far more than their worth, then they wouldn't get paid that much. The money is something that just comes with the job, plain and simple. It ain't their fault, it's our fault.

BUT, there are other things that also come with the job, like talking to the media, maintaining peak physical condition during the offseason, and, most importantly, HONORING YOUR OBLIGATIONS TO THE FANS WHO PAY YOUR CHECK. That's part of being a professional athlete.

The reason athletes today feel like they can get away with this kind of crap is because WE, the fans, have allowed them to see their jobs as just purely that of a football player, or hockey player, or baseball player. Those aren't their jobs. Their jobs are to be entertainers. If being a football player was a job in and of itself, then they wouldn't open up games to the public or televise them; they'd just get paid to play the sport. But their paychecks come only from TV and ticket revenue, merchandise sales, etc. -- hence, they are first and foremost entertainers, not athletes; and with that comes the obligation to take just a small time out of your life to say "thank you" to your fans.

The staff at the gym said that they hadn't been able to get in touch with him for the past three days. The LEAST he could have done was call and say, "I'm a bum, and I'm not going to show up tonight." What a f*cking slap in the face.

I have no respect for Jerome Bettis anymore.

[Uncle Fester]

Send the Steelers organization an email about the situation. After you've given them your thoughtfully-worded objection to Bettis's behavior, make sure you add a postscript that says: "By the way, tell Bettis that he's no Franco Harris because Harris has a Super Bowl ring."

[shoemoodoshaloo]

I'm glad to hear of another steelers fan, but sorry dude. That blows. Keep the towel waving, but not for Bettis.

[BEST45CAL]

You said he had an obligation to show up. What kind of obligation was it? Was this autograph signing supposed to be a contracted event or just a word of mouth agreement?

When you said "he" changed the schedule, did Bettis do it, or did someone else change it?

If only 20 people were there, it doesn't sound to me like it was promoted very well, or was this supposed to be a private event?

Big name athletes and entertainers get pulled in all sorts of directions and are usually not the ones who decide where they're going to show up. That kind of decision making is usually taken care of by someone else within the organization, such as a publicist or a public relations director. He probably had a schedule conflict, family commitment, got hurt. Who knows.

I personally wouldn't have blasted him publicly like this until I heard his side of the story. I'm sure there's a good reason for him not showing up.

Contact the Steelers' public relations director or even Mr. Bettis if you can, and explain what happened, but be cordial. Describe how long you guys waited and how you had to take off work and jump through a bunch of hoops to get time off, etc. and how this event had been planned weeks in advance, how your kids were looking forward to seeing him, etc., you know...lay it on thick.

You could get something out of this from the Steelers or from Jerome himself. Professional organizations like the Steelers are usually pretty good at making things right for their fans. Trust me, they do realize who's responsible for their existence.

You do have a right to be upset, however, if you feel that you need to express any amount of displeasure toward Mr. Bettis in your correspondence with him, then there really is no reason for him to explain anything or provide you with any type of consolation.

It's your decision.

[A-Fletch]

You said he had an obligation to show up. What kind of obligation was it? Was this autograph signing supposed to be a contracted event or just a word of mouth agreement?

When you said "he" changed the schedule, did Bettis do it, or did someone else change it?

If only 20 people were there, it doesn't sound to me like it was promoted very well, or was this supposed to be a private event?

Big name athletes and entertainers get pulled in all sorts of directions and are usually not the ones who decide where they're going to show up. That kind of decision making is usually taken care of by someone else within the organization, such as a publicist or a public relations director. He probably had a schedule conflict, family commitment, got hurt. Who knows.

I personally wouldn't have blasted him publicly like this until I heard his side of the story. I'm sure there's a good reason for him not showing up.

If there was a good reason for him not to show up then all he had to do was call and I'm sure everyone would've understood. From what the manager told us, he directly contacted the gym to change the schedule on Monday. After that, he was unable to be contacted. We would've heard by now if something was wrong.

No it wasn't very well-promoted, but when I said 20 people, those were just the ones who came specifically to wait for him, but the gym was packed and I'm sure many more people would've joined the line once they noticed what was going on.

There are plenty of obligations that we all have in life that are simply matters of respect; since when must one be under contract to to feel obliged to honor their commitments?

All it would've taken was a simple phone call rather than a snub.

[Riverboat]

You said he had an obligation to show up. What kind of obligation was it? Was this autograph signing supposed to be a contracted event or just a word of mouth agreement?Whattaya mean JUST a word-of-mouth agreement? In OUR day a man's word was his bond.

[BEST45CAL]

Whattaya mean JUST a word-of-mouth agreement? In OUR day a man's word was his bond.

Sadly, times have changed. Everybody's got to have everything in writing these days.

Yes, I remember the golden days of Hollywood, when all you needed was a handshake to get things taken care of. Now they've got lawyers and unions.

Sad.

[BEST45CAL]

There are plenty of obligations that we all have in life that are simply matters of respect; since when must one be under contract to to feel obliged to honor their commitments?

All it would've taken was a simple phone call rather than a snub.

Well, I'm sure there's a very good explanation. I can't imagine Jerome Bettis acting like a jerk on purpose.