BLOG: It's Not A "Millennial Thing"

Andrew Luck opened a door this weekend. He opened a door that has previously been closed and locked with the key hidden buried 50 feet under ground and one knows where to find it. (Similar to the Jay Jerahian ball mark that was lost in a bunker a few weeks ago.)

But as a fellow friend went back to the bunker and meticulously combed through the fine sand, she found the cherished ball mark, so too did Luck. Luck dug deep in the ground, discovered the key, unlocked and opened a door that has been closed for a long time.

There has long been an understanding, especially in sports, that if you're not physically sick or ill you have to look like you have it together, but that is far from the case. And it is the millennials who have noticed and are taking action.

You see millennials are not all bad people (speaking as someone who is on the older side of the generation). Many millennials (not all of them) are consciously aware of themselves and what they want, and it makes them targets to older generations, who grew up in the age of "sit down, do your time and your time will come."

Millennials are misunderstood. They want to make a difference. They don't fear change, unlike some older generations, they embrace it. They embrace doing things a little bit differently that what was done before. Remember the most dangerous phrase in business is "we've always done it this way."

We're slowly starting to see the change. Locally, we saw it this summer with long-time Hockey East Commissioner Joe Bertagna stepping down from his role within the organization in this well-crafted release.

On the professional level, we saw it first with Colin Kaepernick and his activism for "Black Lives Matter." Andrew Luck is now showing us that the belief that we need to be hyper-focused and super obsessed with our passions is actually hurting us as a society. With the increased development of artificial intelligence and technology, it benefits society greater to be more a more well-rounded person.

Sports has never been this way. Sports fans along with the majority of the athletes are all about the sport they play. It's their whole lives from the moment they open their eyes until they put their head down on the pillow at night. They live and breath the game. But it's unhealthy and one the reasons I, personally, don't like the term "sports" as well as the title "sports information director." It trivializes the activity and the profession and is the reason Barstool exists as an organization.

My preferred phrase is "athletics." It is a healthier term, bringing more prestige and awareness to the activities. Instead of using "sports" as an outlet to drink beer, use foul language, and gawk at scantily clad women in bars, use "athletics" as an outlet to improve your life. Participate recreationally with friends or family, instead of watching it on television and being a Twitter-analyst for people who really couldn't care less about your opinion.

Luck and Kaepernick are different from their colleagues. They both have lives and interests outside of football. The two are highly intelligent - Luck graduating from Stanford with a degree in architectural design and Kaepernick as deep political thinker and activist, he didn't score the highest score on NFL's Wonderlic test for no reason. Football is piece of their lives and who they are, not their entire life and does not define them as people. Many won't or can't understand this although most who read this post will.

The younger generation is coming and want change.