Last week soccer superstar Wayne Rooney told the media he wanted to leave. Rooney believed that his squad, English giants Manchester United, did not have a winning future. For those of you who don't follow European football, that's like Derek Jeter saying he wants to leave the Yankees for a team that has a better chance of winning. Throughout their storied history Manchester United won 18 First Division/Premier league titles, 11 FA Cups, and 3 European Championships. Sure, you could make an argument that Man U are on the decline, a definitive step behind league leaders Chelsea, but we're hardly talking about a team with no hope. Rooney and company won the Premier League as recently as 2009, and the European Cup just back in 2008.
Nevertheless Rooney stated he wanted to leave, something you just don't do at Manchester United. A few days later Rooney made a sudden turnabout and agreed to stay, but only stayed after ownership and management assured him they would do whatever it took to build a winning team (the residents of Manchester literally storming his estate with torches and pitchforks may have had a part to play in his decision.)
Of course, Manchester United are already loaded with talent, with A-list stars like Nani, Ferdinand, and Rooney's heir apparent Javier Hernandez, and so early in the season Man U are still very much in Premier League and European Cup contention. So what's holding the team back? Well, quite frankly, Wayne Rooney. Rooney has simply not been up to form. Since March, Rooney has scored a paltry two goals in both domestic and international duty, and was a complete wash for England during the World Cup. In other words, Rooney would like very much to win, he just doesn't want to try so hard.
In the entire world there may be three teams in the world where Rooney would stand a better chance of winning. English leaders Chelsea, who don't need Rooney, Barcelona, who really don't need Rooney, and Real Madrid, who really, really don't need Rooney. Out of those three teams, Real Madrid are the only likely suitors, and only because they are willing to sign absolutely anybody and everybody. Would a Real Madrid with Wayne Rooney likely win a lot of trophies? Absolutely. Could Wayne Rooney claim any real credit for any of those wins? Probably not. Not when you have Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Sergio Ramos, Xabi Alonso, Gonzalo Higuain, Mesut Ozil and about a dozen other top-flight internationals on the same team. But that doesn't seem to matter much to any superstar athlete anymore – all you need to do is win, and how that happens is up to your agent.
'Championship hunting' is hardly a new thing, and in a few circumstances, fans can even forgive and encourage it. I picture Roy Halladay, toiling away at the Blue Jays for season after fruitless season before finally getting the chance to succeed in a championship contender. Or Ray Bourque, after a billion seasons in Boston finally getting the blessing to move to Colorado and hoist the Stanley Cup. Kobe, a few years before the Lakers decided to lock down and get Pau Gasol was inexplicably in a rebuilding mode, despite having one of the top 10 basketball players of all time on their team, in his prime. No one would have blamed Kobe then if he had left.
And no one would have blamed Lebron either if he left for greener pastures in Chicago or New York either. The Cleveland management was so inept during his stay with the Cavaliers that they never surrounded him with anywhere near the talent necessary to win a championship, and he almost managed to win it all anyway. It was only by hoping onto the legacy that Dwayne Wade had already built in Miami that people began to question Lebron's desire to win. After all, if Lebron won in Miami could he really claim responsibility? Not when Wade was there first.
There are contradictions in what we teach young athletes today. Being a team player and winning is encouraged, but great players who seek other great players to play with are looked down upon. You should win, but only exactly how we say you should win. While I acknowledge that the public can be fickle, there seems to be general consensus around one principle – if you want to win, you better give it your all, because we won't cheer for people who take short-cuts.
After Karl Malone and Gary Payton, two players who epitomized 'great, but not great enough ' joined Shaq and Kobe's Lakers team in the early 2000s, no team became more despised in the league, especially in the eyes of the fans. Not because the players individually were not liked, but because it felt like the players believed their championship was to be a sure thing. It felt like they could coast and win going at half-speed. It looked like they didn't care about sports as much as we did.
