Jerome Bettis and I have a lot in common

Yesterday, before football, FOX ran a piece about Pittsburgh Steelers running back, Jerome Bettis. The segment focused on how the rigors of 13 seasons in the NFL have taken a toll on his body.

Bettis was shown struggling to walk and climb stairs the morning after a game. After a hard weekend of drinking, I too have difficulty moving Monday mornings.

After drinking on Saturday for over eight hours, I woke up bruised and soar with cuts on my hand. Bettis says he feels "beat up" after a game. I feel for you, buddy.

Bettis said he spends over two hours each day being worked on in the training room and that, by the time he gets home, he's spent. That is how I feel when I get home every night, after being in a bar for a couple of hours.

At this point in his career, Bettis is sometimes not able to even make Wednesday practices, following a Sunday game. There are some weeks that I'm unable to have full-contact drinking until mid-week. Usually however, I can suck it up and be ready the following day.

Bettis was asked if he could have all the fame and fortune that comes with being and NFL star but, at age 40, would walk with pain and, by 45, would have arthritis and would walk with a cane at 50, would he still make all the same decisions. His response: it would be tough, but 'yes.'

Would I make the same drinking choices if they would handicap me later in life? Yes. But that's an easy decision for me since I can barely walk now and have been using a cane for five years.