Ricky Williams, the Achilles of a Postmodern World

I'm absolutely in awe of a man who could choose travel, serenity, and---let's face it---ganja over a successful (and perhaps Hall of Fame) career in the NFL. The existential polarity in professional sports is represented by Ricky Williams on one side, and Tom Brady, who was present at Mr. Bush's State of the Union in order to confirm the fact that steroids are a national security threat, on the other. Fuck Tom Brady!

In this otherwise insightful article on how Williams' decision affects coaches around the league (and Dave Wannstedt in particular), Adrian Wojnarowski is incredulous about Ricky Williams' values: "He can't be so shallow that he just left to hang out under tropical waterfalls and smoke blunts the lengths of goal posts ... could he?" As if playing a game for obscene amounts of money isn't a shallow pursuit. I realize the timing of this was pretty wretched, and it's going to hurt the Dolphins' season. Sorry if I can't shed tears over that. The Dolphins will recover one day. Meanwhile, Williams just delivered a gut shot to the conventions of our society. Nietzsche would be smiling.