Many people look up to athletes; they become role models to people everywhere, but to see a role model destroying their life with drugs and drinking is a horrible sight. For an athlete that was capable of being a legend to destroy their career, their life, and their game is a waste of talent. One of these athletes destined for greatness was George Best.
Best was a skilled player on Manchester United, but his habit of drinking and partying denied him the path of becoming a legend. People say Best was going to be a star, but they never would’ve guessed that Best would ruin his career.
Best had a spectacular career as a winger. He would easily blow past defenders with his amazing speed and quickness while having complete control of the ball. His ability to cross, pass, and shoot with speed was an extraordinary skill.
Best would continue to drink and soon he was in need of a liver transplant. He was lucky to have survived when he got the transplant and he promised never to drink again. Best; however, wasn’t strong enough to fight his addiction and soon he was seen drinking in bars again. He was even arrested for starting a fight with a reporter at a pub.
Best’s drinking lead to the decline of his game. He became slower and he couldn’t do as much as before. Being a winger you have to be fast enough to get past defenders while maintaining control, but Best wasn’t able to do that as well anymore. He got heavier and slower which affected his game. He couldn’t get across defenders as easily anymore and he couldn’t control the ball as well either.
Best wanted to stop drinking because he knew what it was doing to him. He realized that drinking was just killing him and there was no reason to drink. "I know that I will never drink again," he said. "The only reason I would is because I want to kill myself or I want to go through this again - and I don't want either, so there's no reason to drink.” Best was in a depressed state, he felt as if he let his fans, his wife, and himself down and he couldn’t get away from drinking.
Today he is remembered as one of the greatest soccer players ever and he is considered as a legend. In a sense he was pretty successful, but he could’ve achieved much more if he didn’t get addicted to drinking. Best never thought his final match would be against drinking as he died on November 25,2005. "Drink is the only opponent I've been unable to beat," Best wrote in his second autobiography “Blessed.”
Showing posts with label drinking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label drinking. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
The giant drinker
Every time you wanted a good show, you would expect to hear these words, “Standing at seven feet and four inches tall, weighing in at 540 pounds, the Eight Wonder of the World, Andre the Giant!” With his opponents trembling with fear, and his fans with widened jaws, Andre Roussimoff would give one hundred percent in the ring. He came in giant proportions and let out sheer power and aggression.
He started to drink alcohol when in the Japanese Wresting League. This continued when he joined the WWF in 1972. A man of enormous stature, he consumed beer in massive quantities. All of his associates had stories about his wild drinking and his need for alcohol. During the one month shooting of the movie “Princess and the Bride”, Roussimoff had a $40,000 bar tab. He was said to sit in his hotel room and just order beer after beer. His rival and later friend, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, once said, “[Andre the Giant] once sat with us in the bar of a hotel and drank 156 beers.”
Roussimoff became a dominant force in the WWF elevating his status to championship contender. He competed in many of the early Wrestlemania events. Before these important matches, Roussimoff would drink record amounts. He once drank 16 bottles of wine and went to wrestle in a 20-man match. He won the match and didn’t even stagger. He drank a lot, but it appeared to never affect him in the ring; however, he would actually pass out after matches because he drank so much.
He left the WWF for a short time because of a broken foot. While home, he started drinking uncontrollably. This time at home ultimately damaged Roussimoff. He developed heart and liver problems because of his size and drinking problem. He started losing his edge and became an in-ring villain. He went on a rocky losing streak for 3 years. Roussimoff made a huge comeback in 1990 after attacking his stable partner, Haku, and slapping his manager, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. Throughout 1990 and 1991, he made in the WWF after that. His last WWF appearance was in 1992. After that, he returned to Japanese wrestling until December 1992.
His death surprisingly didn’t come from liver failure. On of January 27, 1993 in a Paris hotel room, he died from congestive heart failure in his sleep, shortly after attending his father’s funeral. Even though drinking didn’t kill him; he was dubbed as, “The Greatest Drunk in History.”
He started to drink alcohol when in the Japanese Wresting League. This continued when he joined the WWF in 1972. A man of enormous stature, he consumed beer in massive quantities. All of his associates had stories about his wild drinking and his need for alcohol. During the one month shooting of the movie “Princess and the Bride”, Roussimoff had a $40,000 bar tab. He was said to sit in his hotel room and just order beer after beer. His rival and later friend, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, once said, “[Andre the Giant] once sat with us in the bar of a hotel and drank 156 beers.”
Roussimoff became a dominant force in the WWF elevating his status to championship contender. He competed in many of the early Wrestlemania events. Before these important matches, Roussimoff would drink record amounts. He once drank 16 bottles of wine and went to wrestle in a 20-man match. He won the match and didn’t even stagger. He drank a lot, but it appeared to never affect him in the ring; however, he would actually pass out after matches because he drank so much.
He left the WWF for a short time because of a broken foot. While home, he started drinking uncontrollably. This time at home ultimately damaged Roussimoff. He developed heart and liver problems because of his size and drinking problem. He started losing his edge and became an in-ring villain. He went on a rocky losing streak for 3 years. Roussimoff made a huge comeback in 1990 after attacking his stable partner, Haku, and slapping his manager, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. Throughout 1990 and 1991, he made in the WWF after that. His last WWF appearance was in 1992. After that, he returned to Japanese wrestling until December 1992.
His death surprisingly didn’t come from liver failure. On of January 27, 1993 in a Paris hotel room, he died from congestive heart failure in his sleep, shortly after attending his father’s funeral. Even though drinking didn’t kill him; he was dubbed as, “The Greatest Drunk in History.”
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