Do you love your job?  Do you wake up every morning and think, "I am so lucky to have the career I have and wouldn't change it for anything in the world?"

Probably not.  Very few of us have that perfect dream job that even if we had to work for free we would do so.  I think for many of us, being a professional athlete would be one of those dream jobs though.

Wouldn't being a professional athlete be great?  You'd have fame and fortune; fans wanting your autograph; women wanting to get with you.  You'd get to travel around the country and experience so much on other peoples' expenses.  You would have the opportunity to become acquaintances with other celebrities and get to attend events all around the world.  Furthermore, you would have a voice in society.  You would get the chance to help out the causes that are meaningful to you and get to express your opinion to all of your fans.  Doesn't that sound like the perfect life?  Oh I forgot, you'd get to play a game for a living too.

So what if a professional athlete doesn't love the game?  Doesn't love their job?  Doesn't love all the perks that we think compile into the perfect career?  Should they be chastised for feeling this way?

This is what we saw at the Pro Bowl.  Some players thoroughly enjoyed their time there; others could really care less.  We had players who tried to showcase their skills on a somewhat national stage, while others galloped through the motions, waiting for the game to end so they could go party in South Beach.  We even saw Bryant McKinnie earlier in the week get kicked out of the Pro Bowl for lack of attendance to practice and meetings.  If the job is so perfect then why don't players care about everything that is involved with being a professional athlete?

I think part of the problem is our society.  We're a passionate nation.  We're supposed to love our country, love thy neighbor, love our family, friends, colleagues, jobs, pets, cuisine, and sports teams; basically anything we can be associated with, we should love.  That's not life though.  We can't always give 100% and shouldn't always care about everything we're associated with.

I guess a lot of people are fake, or at least encapsulated in this culture that we have of loving everything we do.  How many people have picked up a book, read halfway through it, and then decided that the story wasn't that great and decided not to finish it?  Probably very few.  Most avid readers I know think every book they read is great and want to persuade everyone they know to read it as well.  Then we have the fitness fanatics that are determined to fall in love with working out.  They live for the sweat, the pain, the euphoric acid that runs throughout their body.  If they miss a single day on the pec deck then they have to double the effort the next day.

Now I can totally understand enjoying your time at the gym.  You can definitely get a lot out of it including energy, self esteem, and seeing physical results in front of you, but let's not pretend like it's the greatest thing in the world.  If we could obtain the same results by sitting on the couch, watching football, and eating chicken wings then I think we'd go for that route.

We shouldn't have to love all of what we do.  There's going to be positive and negative aspects about everything in life, so let's not pretend that the negatives aren't there.  Even if most of us don't love our jobs, there's probably a sizeable amount of us who like what we do for a living.  There are good days and bad days.  Satisfying times and frustrating times.  That's life; that's people being realistic.

So let's be realistic about being a professional athlete.  There are great incentives that come with the job, but there are deterrence's as well. For some it's dealing with the fame, for others it's dealing with the fortune.  For many football players it's having to act like the Pro Bowl is of importance.  Remember, it's okay to just like something and not totally love it.  I'm sure most of us say we love a sport, a team, or a player, but I'm sure there are parts of it that we actually dislike.  Players are the same way.  There's the good, the bad, the ugly, and the beautiful.

Do players have to love the game? No, and we shouldn't expect them to.

Everyone got their beer and wings ready for their Pro Bowl Party?  Didn't think so.  Most people couldn't tell you what time the game is starting, let alone be throwing a party for it.  Sunday at 7:20 PM if you really were worried about it.  The Pro Bowl is just one of those things that no one cares about.

It's almost amazing to me that no one cares though.  Most of us love the NFL and yearn for anything football related 365 days a year.  Not the Pro Bowl though.  We can blame this year's Pro Bowl on the Super Bowl and say all we are looking forward to is the big game and all the best players aren't participating, but it's been after the Super Bowl in years past and our demeanor hasn't changed.  The only difference this year is the coaches won't be wearing their Hawaiian shirts.  I'm not pro-Pro Bowl either.  I'd rather rewatch the NFL combine from last year and see Andre Smith's pancakes flopping on the 40-yard dash then to watch this meaningless game.  Why's the game meaningless though?  It may seem meaningless to us, but it could mean a lot to the players participating.  So I'm wondering?  Are all star games for the fans or are they for the players?

Can anyone tell me the final score of any all star game last year?  I bet some of you could tell me who won the MVP of the game or who won one of the skills contests.  That's what we watch for.  We aren't at the edge of our seat with our hands clasped praying that the East beats the West or the National League finally gets an all star victory over the American League.  We'd much rather watch skills competitions like the home run derby or the dunk contest.  That's the problem with all star games; competition.

They're not competitive, or at least not in our sense of thinking about sports competitions.  We are watching players that we see give it their all everyday go up against fellow greats and not care to win.  They would rather pull off a trick play then to show they are the best in the league.  Maybe they don't want to get hurt or maybe that's just how the all star games have evolved.  Either way, they're not too much fun to watch.  No sport has a good all star game.  Baseball probably has the best just because like a got a ridiculous clause installed to give it a little meaning, but when we see 10 different pitchers come into the game it just doesn't feel authentic.

So if we as fans don't enjoy the games then why doesn't any sport change the process up?  The only thing any organization has done is give us the chance to vote so we can see who we want, but even that interest has waned in the past five years.  Give us what we want; skill competitions.  Forget the all star game and just get Kobe, Lebron, Dwayne Wade, and Dwight Howard to do the dunk contest.  Let’s have some more creative competitions at the Pro Bowl and let us witness these great players' talents in an event that we haven't seen before.  We've seen them on the field; now let’s see who is the fastest in the league.  Lets see what quarterback can throw the farthest and hit the most targets.  It's tough with football to get solid competitions because it's so team related, but there has to be something they can do to grab our interest.

Why do we have all star games?  Are they for us as the fans or for the players to be recognized?  Are they for us to see these extraordinary talents or for the players to get some extra bonus money and contract leverage in the off season?  Each league may say it's for us, but I know it's not something I care to watch.

Did you hear that every team in the NBA wants to offer a trade for Amare Stoudemire?  That's basically what every piece of breaking news from the NBA was this week.  This team wants Amare and this team wants Amare and this team has the package to get Amare.  It seems like every year in the NBA we have lots of speculation on what players are going to be traded and where they will go.  Eventually there are a few trades that actually go through.  There's always the one massive trade where seven teams end up trading one player four different times, the entire collection of Ron Artest rap verses, and the rights to Dirk Nowitzki's psycho ex-fiance.  That's basically it.  No huge blockbuster that we hoped would happen.  This year things will change. On February 18th, at 3:00 pm, the trade deadline will commence and the NBA will be changed for years to come.  Here's why.

Anybody who has been following the NBA at all for the last year or so knows that 2010 is the year.  The year when all the big name franchise players are either free agents or have the option to opt-out of their current contracts and become free agents.  We have names like Yao Ming, Amare Stoudemire, Lebron James, Chris Bosh, Joe Johnson, Shaq, Ray Allen, Manu Ginobli, Dirk Nowitzki, Carlos Boozer, and the biggest one, JJ Redick.  All the hype seems focused on the off season; teams have been cutting salaries like barbers cut hair. That was a quote from Ronnie on the Jersey Shore reunion.  The problem is that it's not about trying to acquire these players in the off season, it's about acquiring these players from trades.  Why wait when you can grab the go now, schmooze him for the rest of the season, make a big playoff run, and then hopefully resign him in the off season.  Teams aren't dumb and players aren't dumb.  A team isn't going to trade for someone for three months and then hope they resign with them.  This isn't baseball.  No, teams are going to push the player to sign a new contract or they won't go through with the deal.  On the other hand the teams with some of these key players need to unload them.  There is no way the Toronoto Raptors are going to keep Chris Bosh after this season so why not get some goods in exchange for him before he just bolts?  This is exactly what is going to happen to many of these free agents that are getting ready for the 2010 off season and if some of these trades fall in place then we will see the future of the NBA become like years past.

The NBA was great in the 80's and 90's because of the rivalries.  We had repeat meetings in the NBA finals, stars together on the top tier teams, and a landscape where we expected the Bulls, the Celtics, the Lakers, or the Spurs to annually return to the finals.  It was what we wanted to see.  It could return to that state if we see Chris Bosh move West and Amare Stoudemire move East.  The trade rumor that has been circulating for a month is to send Bosh over to the Lakers for Andrew Bynum, a couple draft picks, and an epoxy replica of Khloe Khardashian's butt to cover all the empty seats in Toronto.  If this trade goes through then we have a dominate Lakers team with a starting lineup of Chris Bosh, Pau Gasol, Ron Artest/Lamar Odom, Kobe Bryant, and a point guard to be named at a later date.  Bosh would definitely resign with LA and the Lakers have the money to do so with the correct trade.  They would be in the finals year after year.  They need a partner though if we want a finals rival.

This is where the Cleveland Cavaliers come in.  Yes, Kobe versus Lebron for years to come could be in the works.  The annointed one needs a partner in crime though, and so far in his career he hasn't had a perennial all star to team up with.  The Cavaliers need to make the big push for Amare Stoudemire.  The Suns just want to get under the luxury tax.  They know they won't be keeping Amare.  If they wanted to keep him they could've signed him in years past.  The Cavs could trade J.J. Hickson, Big Z's expiring contract, and a draft pick or two to get Amare's services for four months, a run at the title, a solid chance to resign him, and most importantly, have the pieces in place to have a perennial championship caliber team that Lebron James would want to stick around Cleveland to play with.  The pieces are out there for the taking.  These teams just need to make it happen.

The NBA is going to change soon.  Maybe it won't be these history in the making trades that would give us the greatest rivalry maybe in the NBA ever.  Maybe Amare ends up in New Jersey and they become a powerhouse once they draft John Wall with the #1 pick.  Maybe Chris Bosh goes to Miami with Dwayne Wade.  There will be new powerhouses popping up in the next couple years, but to return to the glory days of the NBA then we need to have that rivalry that we hope takes place year after year.

As President Obama prepares for his State of the Union Address tonight he will be talking about many policy, economic, and social factors that he plans on changing.  We have a high unemployment rate, a massive amount of government spending, and a war that continues in Afghanistan that he will have to explain reasoning for.  Do I really plan on hearing anything we haven't heard before from any other politician? No.  Whatever is going wrong will be made right.  Whatever is going right will continue to prosper.  That's politics, that's business, that's life.  Fix the problems and keep the positives in the black.  We've heard numerous promises from President Obama that haven't been achieved yet, but there is one glaring one that we all hoped and prayed for that never happened.  The elimination of the BCS system.  Now this may not increase jobs or fix the economy.  The fix of this problem probably won't end the war in Afghanistan.  That would be pretty awesome if it did.  The generation of a playoff system would however put America's faith back with President Obama, and that's exactly what every politician wants; faith in them.

I think President Obama should switch his whole speech up.  If he really wants to capture America's attention and get us back in his good graces then he needs to not only fix the BCS, but also fix the rest of the sports world in general.  Sports organizations in general are some of the hardest structures to crack.  It would take 10 years for the NBA to increase the air in the basketball by one PSI and the only changes the NFL makes in recent years is increasing penalties for anyone that skims the face of the quarterback.  President Obama could change all that in one speech.  Tonight is his chance to shine; his time to capture America again.  Instead of trying to change issues that are so partisan based he needs to attack issues that the whole nation wants changed.  Those are the sports issues.  So I'm going to outline some of the major changes that President Obama could claim to change within the next year, and if done, he will not only bring the country back to the great nation we are, but he will also solidify his spot as one of the greatest President's ever.

NFL:

1.  First thing to fix is the collective bargaining agreement between the players and the owners.  It may be fun to see a year with no salary cap, but it won't be fun if there's a year with no football.  If he saves football then he saves America.

2.  Get rid of the pussy rules.  No more hands to the face or accidently tapping a quarterback below the knees.  No more helmet-to-helmet penalties when the offensive player tucks.  No more unsportsmanlike penalties for end zone celebrations.

3.  Overtime Rules.  Everyone complains when overtime happens because both teams may not get the ball.  Change the system so it's similar to college football, but the teams start out at the 50 yard line instead.  It makes it interesting, it doesn't end in sudden death, and it could make for much more exciting games.  This would eliminate special teams, but if that's a major fault then I'm sure we could throw that into an overtime system as well.

MLB:

1.  Start a salary cap.  Salary caps will not increase parity and they will not make all the bad teams good.  What salary caps do is allow the bad teams to build up their teams and keep the team intact to remain successful for subsequent years.  This is a definite for baseball.

2.  Institute blood testing.  Baseball wants to get tough on steroids, but they still don't want to go with blood.

3.  Eliminate the DH.  Is there any other professional sport that has a completely different lineup and set of rules from one league/conference to the next?  It may make the games better for the American League, but I think we can handle watching pitchers attempt to bat.

NBA:

1.  Bring back the toughness.  The game is so much more finesse right now.  There are no more brawls or battles.  There are no more Rodman/Malone scuffles where they kept tripping each other.  We need some more contact in the game.

2.  Force the stars to participate in the dunk contest.  Make it some sort of stipulation like baseball does with the all star game where you get suspended if you don't.  Just think if baseball did this with the home run derby and we saw the likes of Mark Reynolds, Aaron Hill, Adam Lind, and Kendry Morales battle it out as the league's best long bombers.

3.  Kobe/Lebron.  Make it happen somehow.  We want to see it in the finals.  ESPN wants to see it.  Everyone wants to see it.  If the NBA can setup Cleveland getting Lebron then they can setup Lebron and Kobe in the finals.

NHL:

1.  Bring the NHL back to ESPN.  The NHL is actually great right now.  Only four teams in the league have records below .500.  Let's see that in any other sport near the midway point.  The NHL is still a major sport and it needs to be broadcasted and marketed as such.

2.  Rename the European players.  The toughest part of the NHL is not knowing the names of the players.  Let's rename players and make it much simpler.  The least we could do is create some more nicknames.

3.  Cage Fights.  Let's make fighting an even bigger spectacle.  Bring them to center us.  Drop a round cage around the center ice circle and let them go at it.  The winner is decided if someone gets knocked out or someone climbs the cage.

NCAA Basketball:

1.  Preseason March Madness.  Let's have an October Madness.  An early season tournament with 128 teams at the beginning of the season that will help us rank teams initially at the beginning of the year, while also bringing some excitement to the sport right when it kicks off.  Who needs Midnight Madness if we had that?

2.  Investigate John Calipari.  I don't know anyone more corrupt as a coach.  This guy jumps from school to the NBA to school to school right as investigations or offenses are displayed.  He leaves the school out there to get the brunt of the punishment and then goes on to the next university where he will begin some more illegal recruiting techniques again.

3.  Keep kids in school.  This one works with the NBA and NCAA as we need the age limit to be increased to 20 years old so then most players will have to stay in school for more than one year.

NCAA Football:

1.  Eliminate the BCS.  This was his number one sports change during the campaign tour and now he could really make a bold statement and make the change.  A playoff system would totally change the landscape of college football for the better and this one change would bring everyone to Obama's side.

2.  Change recruiting rules.  Too many recruits verbal early on and then jump ship later when teams don't get a prized recruit and then try to steal a recruit from another team.  Have an early signing period or some sort of recruiting system that would help minimize recruiting issues.

3.  Bring back Tim Tebow.  Tebow belongs in college football.  He belongs being behind center on the Florida Gators.  Enforce the Tebow rule that would allow Tim Tebow, and only Tim Tebow, to have an unlimited amount of eligibility, while allowing him to obtain money from endorsements.  We could see Tebow play in college football for 15 more years.  We'd get sick of him, not like we already aren't, but it would still be great to see.  Just think of Tebow at 40 years old with eye black on that reads Matthew 6:25 as he trucks some 18 year old kids on his way into the end zone.

Those are some of the changes we need in the sports world that President Obama could help institute.  He should forget the gibberish that he was planning on speaking of tonight and go with a full fledged, balls to wall address that lays out these changes for the sports world.  Fans in each sport will be excited to experience the changes for the good.  People across the nation will see that he wants to make changes for the greater good of all of America, not just stick to his party's agenda.  This could be the speech that puts him on the plateau of other great speakers that changed the country.  This should be tonight's State of the Union Address.

Being a sports fan is tough these days.  We have to know everything, spur of the moment, no questions asked.  We need to know the trade rumor before the Mort Report comes out and the final score of every game immediately once the clock hits zero.  We need to know injuries, coaching changes, front office changes, weather, depth charts, stats, and any other bit of information that could possibly come up when speaking to other sports fans.  I don't know if it's the competitive nature of sports that makes us need to know everything, watch every clip, and think about sports around the clock, but it's almost a way of life now.  Technology has changed the sports world.  Most things for the better, a few things for the worse.  Even with all the changes that have evolved with technology, the biggest change in a sport fan's life is just growing up.

Do you remember watching sports as a child?  I think when I was about 5 or 6 years old is really when I began having an attraction to sports.  I used to have this old 19" television that sat on the floor in my bedroom that I used basically to play Atari or Nintendo.  I didn't get many stations with it.  It had the basic 13 channel rotary dial with an antenna in the back that I'd have to move around to get a good signal.  I didn't watch much television on it anyway.  At 6 years old my bedtime was 9pm on weekdays so most of my time after I finished school, dinner, and homework consisted of video games, video games, and more video games.  RBI baseball where the ball would curve behind the foul pole for a home run.  Joe Montana football where you could pull off the fake field goal pass for a touchdown almost every time.  These were the things I productively wasted my time doing before bed.  There was one television I always watched though.  Every Monday night I would turn on Monday Night Football to watch the game.  I watched every game, beginning to end, no matter who was playing.  I wasn't supposed to be up that late, but every Monday I would stay up to 11:30 or so.  My parents would hear the TV on and come check to make sure I was asleep.  I used to quickly lay my head down and pretend I was in a deep coma the whole time.  They would turn off the TV and go to bed and then I would get back up, turn the TV back on, decrease the volume and finish watching the game.  I loved it!  I loved watching the game, I loved staying up past my bedtime, and I loved being one of the only kids, even in Kindergarten, who could show up on Tuesday morning and knew all the facts about the game.  Even at a young age I was maturing into the sports fan I am these days.

Watching sports back then was great.  I was a fan of Jim Kelly, Emmitt Smith, Thurman Thomas, Troy Aikman, Barry Sanders, Bubby Brister, and basically anyone else that I could remember the name of on any given team.  The team didn't really matter.  Of course I gravitated toward watching the Steelers since my father watched them every week, but I rooted for anyone I knew.  I had Starter jackets, the awesome pullover ones, of teams like Penn State, Duke, Seattle Super Sonics, Chicago Bulls, Pirates, and probably others I can't remember.  I didn't have to pick one team; I picked my favorites based on the players I loved to watch.  This is what being a sports fan as a child was about; just liking a team for any reason, whether it is the team colors, a player on the team, or if the team was successful at the time.  I didn't have to worry about knowing every starter's name on the Steelers offensive line to be considered a legitimate Steelers fan.  I was just a fan, a fan of sports.

As we grow up things change; the competitive nature comes out of us.  We hit middle school and our love for individual players has waned.  We may have a favorite player, but now we stick to rooting for that team.  It's the beginning of being chastised when the team you support is bad and it's the beginning of grouping yourself with fellow fans and learning that your common bond of fandom is more important than anything else you could learn about the person.  It's around this age when we start solidifying what teams we will support for years to come and what rival teams we will hate for years to come as well.

I'm not saying I wish we could once again root for teams based on individual players and not care as much if our favorite team wins or not, because we do care.  I just wish it was exciting to root for other teams without having money riding on the game or having to have one of our fantasy players participating in it.  I guess it's just a part of growing up though.  There's no exact point where we grow up as sports fans.  It's at a different time for each individual.  Some point along the way I guess sports just becomes more than a game.