This year’s HBO’s Hard Knocks features my favorite sports team, the New York Jets. The first episode premiered to critical and popular acclaim. I loved it. A big theme in the episode (and all the stories about training camp) is the hold out of All-Pro cornerback Darelle Revis. Revis thinks he’s the best player at his position and, thus, should be paid the highest. In essence, he feels under appreciated and only money is how professional athletes feel appreciated these days.
My 5 year-old son is absolutely obsessed with Transformers. I bought him the DVDs of the original 1980s cartoon series and he watches the episodes constantly. When he is not watching those he is watching the two feature films or other DVDs from related series. Of course, he has a ton of Transformers toys which, unfortunately, I’m the one who has to transform them since he doesn’t know how to do it yet. Or he’s lazy.
Well, I watch the movies and cartoon with him. I loved the cartoon when I was a kid as well and had the toys, but not as many as my son has now. What stands out to me in the cartoon and movies is what awful teammates Autobot leader Optimus Prime has. He is constantly fighting Megatron and the other Decepticons by himself. The other Autobots either stand around or totally bail out while Optimus is getting double-, triple-, or quadrupled-teamed. Optimus usually ends up victorious. He’s died twice under those circumstances, in the 1986 Transformers Movie cartoon, or in the feature film Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. He’s then brought back to life to save the day because, of course, his Autobot teammates suck.
Forget Revis, if there is anyone who should hold out it’s Optimus. Never has a single person—or robot—had to carry a lazier, more cowardly, group of teammates. Optimus’ signature saying is, “Autobots, roll out!” It should be, “Autobots, man up!”
My 5 year-old son is absolutely obsessed with Transformers. I bought him the DVDs of the original 1980s cartoon series and he watches the episodes constantly. When he is not watching those he is watching the two feature films or other DVDs from related series. Of course, he has a ton of Transformers toys which, unfortunately, I’m the one who has to transform them since he doesn’t know how to do it yet. Or he’s lazy.
Well, I watch the movies and cartoon with him. I loved the cartoon when I was a kid as well and had the toys, but not as many as my son has now. What stands out to me in the cartoon and movies is what awful teammates Autobot leader Optimus Prime has. He is constantly fighting Megatron and the other Decepticons by himself. The other Autobots either stand around or totally bail out while Optimus is getting double-, triple-, or quadrupled-teamed. Optimus usually ends up victorious. He’s died twice under those circumstances, in the 1986 Transformers Movie cartoon, or in the feature film Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. He’s then brought back to life to save the day because, of course, his Autobot teammates suck.
Forget Revis, if there is anyone who should hold out it’s Optimus. Never has a single person—or robot—had to carry a lazier, more cowardly, group of teammates. Optimus’ signature saying is, “Autobots, roll out!” It should be, “Autobots, man up!”
