It's a simple fact of life in this YouTube/Deadspin/blogosphere age: If a famous athlete so much as sets foot in a nightclub or bar, camera-phone photos of him drinking/dancing/behaving like a normal young man are going to end up plastered all over the Internet, and voyeuristic fans are going to fret that such sordid behavior somehow makes him suspect.
Never mind that NFL quarterbacks from Broadway Joe Namath to Ken Stabler, Jim McMahon and Tom Brady have managed to win Super Bowls in spite of their partying reputations: New Bears QB Jay Cutler apparently likes to have a good time every bit as much as his often-photographed-in-the-act predecessor Kyle Orton, and the sports blogs are full of wisecracks about how this supposed playboy is going to divide his time between the film room at Halas Hall and the hot spots on Rush Street.
With Cutler, there also is a legitimate health issue: The cannon-armed quarterback is a Type 1 diabetic, a condition doctors say calls for moderation in alcohol consumption. But as the Sun-Times' Brad Biggs reports, Bears general manager Jerry Angelo sounded satisified Tuesday that Cutler knows how to take care of himself.
''When we did our research, we know he goes out, we know he does those things,'' Angelo said. ''We talked to our medical people, we talked to the Denver medical people. It comes with the territory. We're comfortable with it. I really can't answer it beyond that.
''I'm not going to micro-manage a person. If we have to do that, that's not a good sign. Some lessons, they have to see and learn for themselves. I don't think that's a big thing at this point. It's what he does on Sunday is how we're going to evaluate him. That's the bottom line. He's got a good foundation coming in here. He's a young quarterback, he's played in this league, he's shown what he can do. He gets it. That's the biggest concern. He gets it.''
What's your take on Cutler being pegged as a party animal? Much ado about nothing for a rich, young football star, or an example -- given his health concerns -- of the kind of poor judgment that could lead to potential problems down the road?
Well, Cutler has been able to handle the party life and his health issues for 5+ years or however long he's been in the football spotlight dating back to his College days, so I can't see why this should be any concern at this time. Now does that mean something won't happen? No, of course not, but this is one of those scenarios where it'll just have to play out if something really does happen and he gets in trouble with the law or gets hospitalized causing him to miss football gaes. All this shows me is just more ammunition for the Cutler trade bashers to criticize the Bears. Party life temptation, in the closet health issues... nothing new to me in the world of pro sports. There has been NO history of any off-the-field incidents in Cutler's past so why get paranoid about it now? Just play football, continue throwing the laser beam passes on target and win games. If something happens down the road, then so be it. It's not like the trade can be reversed anymore.
Bunch of crap. But drinking and diabetes is a NO-NO. Diabetes is no punk even with new advances. Drinking with diabetes is kin to heavy smoking and Cancer. Take it from someone who lost a Mother to diabetes.
geez louise....
couldnt you dig up his jr.high guidence counselor reports?
i think stuff like this stunks..BIG TIME.
airing out a guys medical records as a knock against him smacks of the eddie curry situation and that was a real, pardon the pun, heartbreaker.
Also StuDogg, i gotta call you out on the less than FCP standards picture choices lately. I will get into more on the Rose Rookie of Year post, but dude...this picture is him making a Chicago public appearance. This isnt a picture of him partying. I could understand if you ran with a picture of him in the back of a limo with a huge Bottle of Champagne, wasted, eyes slammed shut and two blondes darting in and out of the various pictures....but this?
BRO...ITS A PUBLIC APPEARANCE. He is repping the City...I actually LOVE IT.
Stu responds: Culzie, I agree with you that the concerns about Cutler are unwarranted. The point of the post was that in this YouTube/Deadspin age, athletes are placed under unfair scrutiny every time they show up in a public place. Speaking of Deadspin, we linked to a photo they posted of Cutler out on the town (we, of course, would never stoop to running such provocative photos — even if we came into possession of them — which is why you got a nice, wholesome shot of Jay being cheered at the Hawks game.
ok ok..tooshay...
but seriously...i read the "gossip blogs" (cause this blog is all about the facts)...and it appears he was drinking with some teamates, pals and a nice lady. I dont condone him drinking if its against drs. orders, but its all speculative and there are no facts.
oh...and the girl he was hanging with.."Julia Allison is an American journalist, a columnist for Time Out New York, and a creator of the group videoblog NonSociety.com" (google)
I smell POWER COUPLE...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eat-the-press/Vachon%20-%20Julia%20Allison%20Dana%20Vachon-thumb.JPG
Stu responds: Interesting stuff, Culzie ... thanks!