Athletes risk it all for a thrill

Being a professional athlete takes a lot of time and hard work. These people spend their entire lives working for one goal, and that?s to make it to the top of their profession.

They trade in their fun as a youth for endless nights of practice. Family time is limited, and almost nonexistent for players when they make it to the college level and then move to the professional ranks.

Great rewards await the few who make it to the big show. Contracts are signed as money seems to come from a bottomless pit. An athlete?s time playing is short-lived, as most only enjoy a professional career for seven or eight years.

It?s a rough road, and it continues to be during one?s stint as a professional athlete, but the job ? and certainly the money ? makes it all worth wild.

So here?s the question: Why would anyone jeopardize a short career and millions of dollars just for a spin on a motorcycle?

Well, it looks like Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger might be able to answer that question.

Roethlisberger was seriously injured on Monday, after he crashed his motorcycle into a car. And to make matters even worse, he wasn?t wearing a helmet.

First of all, I would have hoped he would have learned a valuable lesson from Cleveland?s Kellen Winslow, but apparently he didn?t. Winslow crashed on a motorcycle in May of last year. The crash caused him to miss the entire season, and who knows if he will be able to live up to his potential now.

It?s very sad, frustrating and disappointing when athletes think of themselves as invincible and incapable of being hurt off the field.

Some may not remember Broderick Thompson, but all professional athletes should ? especially if they enjoy fast cars and motorcycles.

Thompson was a offensive lineman who played for 12 seasons in the NFL starting in 1983 for the Dallas Cowboys. He also played for San Diego, Philadelphia, the Chargers and the Broncos.

This man was bigger than Roethlisberger or Winslow, but had the same ?nothing can hurt me? attitude.

In February of 2002, on a highway outside of Las Vegas, a collision with a tractor-trailer quickly proved him wrong.

Roethlishberger and Winslow were very fortunate they could be taken to the hospital. Thompson didn?t make it, he died from his injuries.

Now most athletes have a clause in their contracts, forbidding them from hazardous activities, which includes riding a motorcycle.

So why would one continue to flirt with disaster and do something he is forbidden to do?

The answer is simple: Boys will be boys. Imagine the temptation of having all that money and not being able to buy a fast car or motorcycle. Or better yet, being able to buy those things and then just to have them sit in your garage.

Sure you could sit back and live in a glass bubble for your 8- to 10-year stint as a professional athlete. But now I ask you what kind of man, especially a young man in his 20?s and early 30?s wouldn?t be out there living on the edge?

One thing I know, life is too short, so why not enjoy it while you can. You can?t sit around and worry about what could happen to you next, but do put on your helmet. Being careful and being stupid are two different things.