There was a time in sports when a kid would get drafted by a pro team, develop his talents under the their watchful eye, become a star, possibly become a superstar, hopefully become a legend, and eventually die in the town where he spent most of his professional playing days. All three people who watch American hockey probably know that NHL legend, Steve Yzerman, not only stayed with the Detroit Red Wings for over twenty years, but changed his citizenship to further cement the bond to his team. He was rewarded with a nice Vice President position upon retirement. That was then, this is now.
Players stay with a team barely long enough to develop a halfway decent nickname, let alone the sort of skills that will mesh with the system their coaches put in place. Hell, teams change cities almost as frequently as players change teams. Should we have expected poker players to show a greater degree of loyalty then a football player or one of the thugs from the NBA?
Peter Eastgate went to the World Series of Poker Main Event wearing a Team Ladbrokes jersey. He had qualified through that site, and they handled all the details of shuffling him from Denmark to Vegas, along with feeding and watering him a few times a day. A funny thing happened on the way to the final table though; he seemed to have misplaced his Team Ladbrokes jersey. For some reason he showed up at the year’s biggest event in Team PokerStars gear.
Obviously there is no mystery here. He is a young player, heading for the sport’s biggest stage. Usually when somebody shows his type of proficiency, a bigger, better funded company pounces on the new talent as soon as they develop. Sort of like a high school gym teacher who gets their dates from the JV Cheerleading squad.
Nobody can blame PokerStars for trying to get him, and considering the fact that they presumably parked a dumptruck full of money and perks in his drive way, nobody can blame Eastgate for accepting. It would be nice if athletes, in any sport, could show a little loyalty though. Alas, I think that ship has permanently sailed.
