Why don't baseball card collectors care about WS Rings?

[Asian62150]

Originally Posted by hermanotarjeta

Griffey, Banks, Sandberg, etc. - they all greatly regret not being able to play in the World Series and have been quoted to say so.

Dan Marino’s biggest regret in the nfl was not having won the Super Bowl.

I understand today’s players may have different priorities which reflects today’s societal priorities, but when you are already filthy rich, not having a championship ring is always something that your filthy rich champion colleagues can hold against you.

You all may be filthy rich, but if you don’t have a ring, you will still be haunted for never winning it all. It’s human nature.

Back in the day, before money was the only priority in sports, people actually took pride in winning.

When you got it all, you don’t actually have it all unless you have a ring, ask any athlete that, not their agents.

Winning is important to professional athletes, I'm saying it's not the #1 priority for a vast majority of them.

And I trust what an agent says vs. what athletes say in public. How many athletes are going to publicly admit money is their top priority? Look at a guy like Kirk Cousins. He had that special place in his house for the Lombardi trophy and kept talking about wanting to win it. But when he was a FA this summer, he took the money even though he's already like top 10 in highest earners in NFL history. If winning was really that important to him, he could have taken less and stayed with the Vikings (or gone to another team on the cheap). Actions speak louder than words.

How many pros under the age of 25 would take a championship ring over $100M? Most of them are just fighting to stay in the league so they can get a 2nd contract.

So to answer your original question...what do most athletes play for and why?

I'd say most play for money so they can provide for their families.

And I don't fault them for that. As an athlete, that window to cash in is very small and can shut quickly. Make $$$ while you can. And honestly, even if you take less money, there is still no promise that you're going to win a chip. But the money is guaranteed (for the most part).

Just don't expect me to believe it when you say your top priority is winning and you're getting top dollar in the sport.