We drank from a hose. We drank when coach said we could. Sometimes we didn’t drink at all. And we liked it.
I’m sitting here at Newswax headquarters—my office, the one I come to every day, because some of us still believe in showing up—and I’m reading about how sports hydration has gone soft. Another professional athlete had to leave practice because he was “dehydrated.”
Dehydrated. In a facility with presumably unlimited water. With staff whose entire job is bringing water to people. And yet, this guy still got dehydrated.
You know what we called dehydration in my day? Tuesday.
We Didn’t Have Soft Hydration Protocols
When I played—All-Conference Honorable Mention, linebacker, 2006—we had a water cooler at the end of the field. One cooler. For the whole team. Coach believed that water was a privilege, not a right. Consequently, you earned water by not complaining about not having water.
Did guys pass out sometimes? Sure. Did we lose a scrimmage once because half the defense couldn’t see straight? It happened. However, that’s how you build character. You can’t build character if you’re constantly comfortable. These modern players don’t understand that.
The Science Is Corrupt
Now they’ve got “sports scientists” saying you should drink before you’re thirsty. That’s like saying you should eat before you’re hungry. As a result, that’s how you get soft. Furthermore, that’s how you get a generation of athletes who can’t push through anything.
My body knew when it needed water. It told me by making me dizzy and confused. That’s biofeedback. That’s the body’s natural wisdom. Now we’re supposed to ignore that and follow some “protocol”? Give me a break.
I Played Through Worse
My senior year, there was a game where it was 94 degrees on the field. I played every defensive snap. Did I vomit at halftime? Yes. Did I keep playing? Also yes. That’s what athletes do.
I remember coach looking at me, seeing that I was clearly struggling, and saying, “Bricker, you want water?” And I said, “No, coach.” Then he nodded. Because that’s what men do. We refuse water and nod at each other.
Did I spend the next day in bed unable to move? That’s not the point. The point is I finished the game. As I’ve written before, these guys today wouldn’t last five minutes in a real program.
From Headquarters: Why Sports Hydration Is Soft Now
Look, I’m not saying athletes should die of heat stroke. Instead, I’m saying they should get closer to it than they currently do. That’s where growth happens. That’s where legends are made.
I write this from my desk at Newswax headquarters. I have a water bottle here. I drink from it when I want because I’ve earned that right. I put in the work. In contrast, these professional athletes making millions of dollars haven’t earned anything until they’ve truly suffered.
Suffering builds winners. Meanwhile, hydration builds participants.
The Bottom Line
If you need a “hydration specialist” to tell you when to drink, you’re not an athlete. You’re a patient. And I don’t mean that as a compliment.
Back in my day—which was 2006, not that long ago, still very recent actually—we knew how to push through. We knew that the body is weak but the mind is strong. Additionally, we knew that water was for after the game, or possibly the next day.
That’s why we were champions. Well, conference contenders. All-Conference Honorable Mention, at least.
And that’s more than these hydrated losers can say.
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