The biggest news in football is the upcoming NFL Draft. The biggest name in the NFL Draft is Marcus Mariota. At least he’s the biggest name in Oregon this year. Maybe in history. This is a player on the greatest adventure of his life and he’s taking us with him.
So far he’s made all the right moves. He’s shown the sort of character you hope every gifted athlete would strive for. The latest example is skipping the televised part of the draft in Chicago and staying home in Hawaii.
You’ve got to imagine he felt pressure to attend, to show another good side to match his other good side. The more Mariota is on the screen the less you think of other players with questionable character.
He evens things out by being the smart guy in the room. How smart? Bleacher Report came out with his Wonderlic Test score. Thirty three ranks well into the good side. You can take the test to see how you do. ESPN posted a sample quiz right here.
While it’s fun comparing test results with the smart guys, what does a low score reveal? If Aaron Hernandez scored a seventeen, as sourced by The Wall Street Journal, does that mean he was destined to be a multiple murderer?
Frank Gore scored a six. He attended a Florida college, University of Miami, The U, and he hasn’t killed even one person. With the last name Gore, you almost see the headlines.
Comparing the upcoming rookie Marcus Mariota with seasoned NFL players isn’t fair to anyone, but they all took the test. Was it the same test? Maybe Hernandez took an altered test with these sort of questions:
1. If you feel a friend disrespects you, do you:
A. Explain your feelings?
B. Take him off your speed dial?
C. Call hit men and have him shot?
2. After you show you’re one of the best players at your position and score a huge contract extension, do you:
A. Celebrate by calling your mom?
B. Gather your team for a party?
C. Smoke a bunch of PCP and go on a rampage?
3. After you’re convicted of first degree murder, do you:
A. Show remorse?
B. Apologize?
C. Give the jury the stank eye and silently mouth, “You’re wrong?”
4. If you are sentenced to life in prison without parole and you get transferred to Kern Vally State Prison in California with Lawrence Phillips as your cellmate, do you:
A. Keep a low profile because Phillips’ old cellmate was also a bad man? (“He is suspected of killing Damion Soward, a 37-year-old inmate from San Bernardino County serving 82 years to life for a first-degree murder conviction.”)
B. Buy all the NoDoz in the state to avoid going to sleep anywhere near Phillips?
C. Review Phillips’ criminal record and NFL stats to decide who The Man really is?
You can be a sports fan and cheer your favorite teams, your favorite players, but why not cheer for the good things they bring to the game? The Wonderlic Test doesn’t weed out players, it just shows tendencies.
That Marcus Mariota scored high and others scored low doesn’t mean he’ll be a great success and low scores mean failure. What it could mean is a guy like Mariota makes an effort to compete. He wants to score high on the Wonderlic Test. He wants to win games.
Most important he wants to live the sort of lifestyle that matches his goals. How do you teach that? How do you test for that?
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