Michelle Wie Has Jumped the Shark

by user LastRow

Let’s turn back the clock on this one…Gosh, I love it when professional sports franchises along with Topps trading cards does this! Remember it wasn’t that long ago that both Freddy Adu and Michelle Wie were two upcoming phenoms…Why, they were going to transcend both their respective sports into something that we had never seen before. Wie was the Tiger of women’s golf and Freddy was supposed to be the U.S.’s version of Pele, (sorry Pele, no disrespect). That was the plan…Both were the greatest things since sliced bread! Just a question though. What happens when the slice beard becomes infested with mold? The answer…The current status of these two and what they’ve done for their respective sports. A status in which there’s not even enough penicillin to cure both floundering careers.

So how can one go from one end of the spectrum to the other so quickly? Easy…Just look at Britney Spears, that’s all! It’s a simple question to answer if one really thinks about it. Everybody is so quick to find the next great "legend", the one who is just minding his or her own business in the sandbox and turn them into the "Next Great Whatever"! Thus is what we have with these two darlings. Both at young ages, they were light years ahead of their own age group in their respective sport…Thus constantly looking for bigger and better competition. Being normal kids…Unnoticed! Until one day that unnotarity vanishes and the spotlight suddenly appears without ever asking for it! That spotlight can be ones best friend or ones worst enemy depending on how things pan out over time. Tiger Woods basked in the glow at such an early age and has never relinquished it…However, in Michelle’s and Freddy’s case, both had this same spotlight shined on them early on, but unlike TW, these two have gone into a black out and their careers seem to be free falling in contrasting fashions.

The sport of soccer has never really captured the hearts of sports fans in this country. I mean what’s so glorious watching guys chase a little round ball around a football field trying to score goals in an area about the size of my kitchen. When 1-0 tilt is considered a good game…And I thought baseball was boring. Freddy Adu was supposed to change this perspective of the game of soccer in America. Well, guess what? We’re still waiting because it hasn’t it happened, nor will it? We can say what we want about why Freddy hasn’t flourished in the MLS from the coaches inability to recognize his God given ability or what have you, but I ask you…If he was really worth all the fuss, don’t you think he would be flourishing no matter what? I mean if you’re good, you’re good, right? I don’t see Freddy putting MLS on the map like he was tagged to do? Is it his fault? No. It just goes with those oh so lofty expectations given to him as a youngster. Will Adu ever reach those lofty exceptions? Most likely not given the fact that besides his name being known for what it once was…Truth is, he’s just an ordinary lawnboy playing a sport in America which nobody cares about! Don’t feel bad Fred, that Beckham won’t do anything here either!

While Freddy hasn’t flourished due to his overhyped talent, the same can be said for Miss Wie…Along with the most predominant fact that the people around her, Mom & Pops, have basically flushed her career down the toilet! Here’s the classic case of how not to handle your "supposedly" gifted child’s career to try and get rich! If you want to get rich, how about playing the lotto? It’s only a matter of time before Nike figures out a way to null & void that big fat endorsement contract that she signed! Good to see your daughter is nothing more than dollar signs to you! See, there’s a reason why women have their own separate tour…Unfortunately you two didn’t figured that out! Thought your little angel was too good for the LPGA thus why not tee it up on the PGA Tour instead? Thus was the beginning of her demise! Pretty soon she’ll be the only golfer on the Pirates Cove circuit with endorsements because that’s where she’s headed struggling to beat 5-year olds. I just hope she doesn’t come down with heat exhaustion or tweaks her wrists. The Pirates tour has a stroke limit too!

The golfer that was supposed to take the LPGA to new heights…I don’t know what’s more hilarious? Michelle Wie, a professional golfer in general. Or the fact that she was going to put the LPGA on the map? Hell, in a couple months Samantha Woods will be giving her a run! It’s safe to say she is more damaged than my television I threw off my balcony yesterday four floors up that she’ll never amount to anything on a golf course except a hacker! Why I think my boob tube has a better future given the current condition of it in pieces than Wie!

Is it just me, but am I always peeing in my pants to hear about the latest Michelle Wie F-Up? Most likely coming from the whole sick of beginning forced fed with this broad. Unlike Freddy, which I can give a rats ass what he does…Sorry man, nothing against you personally, just your sport. I like hearing news of Michelle’s failures and piss pour excuses! Makes her look like exactly what she is…A complete laugh! That’s all she is now…And she has nobody else to thank but her wonderful parents for turning what was once a child full of promise and young talent into one of the biggest busts, if not the biggest the world of sports has ever seen! And because of that, let’s just hope never panning out as a great women’s golfer doesn’t take her to extraordinary measures…Not saying it would, but which has the potential to do! All because of mom & dad!

Two young phenoms with the spotlight shining so bright on them, who were expected to transcend their respective sports has encountered a power outage for vastly different reasons. One thing that they will always share is never having the opportunity of living up to all the hype!

[[Media:[In staying with the Adu/Wie theme and in conjunction with Tom Petty "Free Falling", (heartbreakers optional) LastRowSports.com Pick’em Poll wants to know, well who’s "Free Falling" the most? A Freddy or A Michelle? Stuff the ballots…It’s easy than trying to figure out how to use that damn I-Phone! Lot less cheaper too!]]]

LastRowAll-American

907 days ago

Score 1

Um, yeah...Title Issues! TITLE SHOULD BE...Freddy Adu & Michelle Wie…Where Did it Go Wrong? This damn thing!!

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Tyrone BriggsHall of Famer

907 days ago

Score 3

There is something to be said for the tragic mismanagement of these two prodigies. You raise very valid points but emphasis should be directed on the PR departments of these kids for creating the overhype in the first place. Adu was expected to save a professional sport with next to no interest in the United States while Wie was expected as a teenager to cross a gender line and succeed in men's golf. These expectations were simply ludicrous from the beginning. Young talent needs to be nurtured and developed, not exploited to silver line the pockets of their hanger-on worthless entourages only interested in making a cheap buck off the short-attention span of Joe Average American Sports Fan. These kids have made their own mistakes but it is rather harsh to condemn them for not handling a spotlight that NO TEENAGER should ever have to enter in the first place. Give'em a chance to develop their skills and more importantly restore their confidence with a more mature and intelligent outlook.

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LastRowAll-American

907 days ago

Score 1

I totality agree with the development aspect! Adu was in a better situation, (if that's the correct thing to call it) than Wie...Expecting her to do something that has no validity to it by crossing over into mens sports is simply ludicrous. However I guess she's suffer way more than Ado...Since soccer fall on deaf ears in this country. Like I said, Wie's dow fall comes mostly from her parents and the wrong directions that they've steered her in! They like showcasing their child in all the wrong ways

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Taytay 24All-American

906 days ago

Score 1

I agree with Tyrone. And as Cap suggests below, it is still very early for both of them. They still have plenty of time to have successful careers, and maybe even eventually achieve some of the lofty standards that others have set too early in their careers.

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ThecrookedcapAll-Star

907 days ago

Score 2

Wie is a case of show-parented gone awry. We've seen it before with the cast of Different Strokes, but not in sports. On Adu, let's remember: he is 18 and in a sport where one individual rarely makes the whole different in a game. Of course, since nobody knew anything about soccer. The way he was brought up in the professional game was, in my opinion, a mistake. He really should have been sent to Europe at 15 or 16 when he still could go into a top youth system. However, he was instead made a pro at 14 and stuck here in the US until he was 18. One reason I think this happens was that they wanted to make sure Freddy became an American player (he was also eligible for Ghana, which would have been an enticing draw these days). DC United really didn't care about his growth, they acquired Christian Gomez who play the same position and played Adu out of position. It's not too late for him - most players at his position don't peak until they're 27 or 28. He will play in Europe in the next few years. Whether he will be successful is TBD, but I am pretty sure he'll be a national team regular pretty soon.

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ThecrookedcapAll-Star

907 days ago

Score 2

Addition: where it says: "Of course, since nobody knew anything about soccer," add "this was not known to people."

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ChristofMVP

907 days ago

Score 1

Wie is going to get a Friday Fryer nomination or Chair itself in the near future.

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