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Thursday, June 5, 1997

It's the new Michael Irvin

By GARY MORRIS / Guest Columnist

NEWS CONFERENCE:

For those that saw the side show yesterday...the news conference was about money, and about Michael's public/private life, his all too public, and not so private life. It should be apparent that Michael is a SHOWMAN, a very good showman, one who could do well in the entertainment business long after football, IF HE CAN CHANGE HIS IMAGE,....but should he be a gambler and a quitter as well? See below.

MICHAEL THE GAMBLER???

Michael needs to ask his new lawyer if he is confident enough in winning the lawsuit that he will take the case on a contingency. That is, when you find out if the lawyer is just after your money or if he really believes it is the best bet. And I do mean BET since it is a gamble. Michael may be hoping to get back some of the money he has lost since his lifestyle caught up with him, but he may be throwing good money after bad. After you have lost millions, do you spend more to try to recoup some of you losses, or do you say enough losses are enough?

MICHAEL THE DECISION MAKER:

The problem is one of "point of no return" proportions. Michael may or may not realize the significance of his crossroads decision paradigm. Michael was living in the fast lane...fast women, fast money, ( he could snap his fingers and someone would be there to offer him money TO BE MICHAEL IRVIN..no more, no less), but now he doesn't know if he can still be the same MICHAEL IRVIN.

Of course he can't!!! That is the realization that he must come to!!! There is an old adage, "It takes a major event to cause a major change". In Michael's' case that event should have been the realization that the rest of the world was not out of step with reality...he was!

He needs to become a "changed" person; he can never go back to being that same person that he loved to be..."THE MAN", the guy in charge...the guy that loved to love and be loved, living a carefree life that was getting away with avoiding the whole point of what religious leaders have know for centuries...that the reason for the "shalls" and the "shall nots" is the natural law of "CAUSE AND EFFECT".

If you put your finger on a hot stove, you WILL get burned. If you get married and then don't act like you are married, then you will soon NOT be married and will most likely have severe emotional trauma a from a divorce. You will have to ask yourself if you have actually failed in one of life's greatest challenges ... learning how to pass on life's lessons to your children as a father and role model.

You see, Michael has been putting his finger on a stove, i.e., living in the fast lane without getting run over, for so long that he thought he could get away with just about any "shall not" and never get burned. I'm sure that all through College he was sheltered from having to pay for the consequences of his actions, but when we suffer the consequences of our actions is when we grow the most and when we don't, that is when we are damaged, integrity wise, the most.

Now that he has been burned, he must realize that it is time to become the "NEW MICHAEL IRVIN", one that can find happiness in something more substantial than parties and getting high.

The family man is the answer. Take a close look at Daryl Johnston; he doesn't need artificial stimulants to make him happy. He understands that you need to make your wife your best friend, and make your family your closest friends.

Michael understands family when it comes to the family he grew up with, but It still hasn't hit him that he needs to make his new home a better place to live than the one he grew up in. That means a stable father who enjoys taking his son fishing, etc. He needs to put himself in his childrens place and remember what it was like needing both a father and a mother that loves you.

Michael needs an attitude shift. He needs to find the passion to play the game for his family and their future. How much can he provide for his family WHENEVER he retires? If he retires now, will he eventually become broke? What skills outside the entertainment industry does he have that can provide a VERY comfortable lifestyle for both him and his very large outside family that counts on him?

It really shouldn't be a tough decision. Hmmm...let's see...pay Jerry back 2.7 million dollars in unused signing bonus, lose almost 8 million dollars in salary and possibly never know what it's like to make even $100,000 a year again. Or.....play a kid's game that he loves and provide very well for his family both now and probably in the future.

The flip side could possibly be the removal of REAL DEMONS. I can imagine that people are across the street from his house and have parabolic microphones pointed at every window, picking up every conversation that occurs in his house, and when the carpet cleaners come, they may plant a bug or several bugs, (listening devices), for the press, police, or private investigators and he must take every precaution when leaving the house to SNEAK away so the blood hounds can't follow either him or his family.

I imagine that even worst DEMONS than that are eating at him. But I think not being able to provide a VERY nice income would be MUCH WORSE! The solution is to become a NEW MICHAEL IRVIN, the only question is...which MICHAEL IRVIN will he become?

MICHAEL THE QUITTER?????

Michael needs to play for about 5 more years and show the whole world that he is the "NEW MICHAEL IRVIN", one who loves his family first, and then has enough left over for other REAL friends and others who genuinely care for him. Then he could possibly get into the broadcast industry and become a very unique color commentator for FOX or CBS depending which one wins the next NFC contract. This is the kind of future he should be contemplating, not just QUITTING, both on life and on his teammates, not to mention quitting on his family!

I for one do not think Michael is a QUITTER! I believe his whole life has been one of fighting to prove he can provide for both his immediate family and his previous family and that he will soon come to that realization and announce that he will be at training camp ready to help his teammates and fans back to the best "NATURAL HIGH" possible...winning the SUPER BOWL!

I truly believe that this team with the new Michael Irvin, has a better chance at winning the SUPER BOWL than any of the previous Dallas teams that won it and that this team without the new Michael Irvin has only a fair chance. So please Michael, say you have realized that now is the time to have the NEW MICHAEL IRVIN be one that is fighting for his new lifestyle that is built around love for his family, which in turn rekindles his passion for the game, and not make the "NEW MICHAEL" a QUITTER!

There are plenty of people who understand the old saying, "hate the SIN, LOVE the SINNER", and can EASILY forget his past when he overcomes it.

COMMENTS:

garywm@jps.net