by Jake Thompson

Heart Beats Hype

What is more important, hype or heart? Hype | /hīp/ | extravagan...
Heart Beats Hype

What is more important, hype or heart?

Hype | /hīp/ | extravagant or intensive publicity or promotion. Also known as a deception carried out for the sake of publicity.

Heart | /härt/ |courage or enthusiasm especially when maintained during a difficult situation.

People love hype. We crave our names on billboards, our pictures in every magazine, and the perks of hype & fame. Who doesn’t want to be “the next great ______?” You fill in the blank. Hype leads sports writers to claim greatness for athletes before they ever play a down at the highest level.

Remember the hype surrounding Darko Milicic in 2003? He was drafted ahead of Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, & future Hall of Fame player Dwayne Wade.

What about the hype surrounding Michigan’s Drew Henson? He was heralded as the next great two-way player, and destined to be a star in the NFL and on the diamond for the New York Yankees. He never made the major leagues and only spent a couple of NFL seasons as a backup.

But Henson’s backup? This scrawny guy below.

Tom Brady at NFL Combine
Tom Brady, 2000 NFL Combine | NFL.com

The epitome of heart. The greatest quarterback in NFL history was judged by his lack of hype. Tom Brady himself posted a picture on Instagram in his original NFL combine shirt with the following notes that NFL draft scouts had written about him:

“Poor build, Skinny, Lacks great physical stature and strength, Lacks mobility and ability to avoid the rush, Lacks a really strong arm, Can’t drive the ball downfield, Does not throw a really tight spiral, System-type player who can get exposed if forced to ad lib, Gets knocked down easily.”

But the one thing they failed to properly evaluate? His heart.

Hype shouts Alabama is the greatest college football team of all-time. Heart powers Deshaun Watson & Clemson to a championship.

Hype shouts the Soviets will never lose on the ice, especially to someone like America. Heart fuels The Miracle On Ice.

Hype shouts that you must be born to a certain class, gender, & race to be success. Heart propels Oprah Winfrey to an abusive & poor childhood to being the queen of media.

Hype will always try to tell you who “is important,” who “will win,” and who “deserves” the praise.

Heart will determine who truly is impactful, who holds the championship trophy, and cements a legacy.

People love hype. It’s on billboards, in magazines, & flooding social media. The “who’s who” of fame. But it rarely lives up to expectations. But heart? It takes longer to discover. Heart is the unknown fighter, working in the early mornings & late nights, to train for their moment.

And when hype meets heart?

Heart wins.

The post Heart Beats Hype appeared first on Compete Every Day.

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