Those Who Let Greatness Slip Through Their Hands

If a man has talent and can’t use it, he’s failed. If he uses only half of it, he has partly failed. If he uses the whole of it, he has succeeded, and won a satisfaction and triumph few men ever know. -Thomas Wolfe

To ignore the advice of the elite who came before us is to wallow in ignorance. There is always room to improve and build no matter who you are. It is when one chooses not to do these things that great potential is wasted.

Unfortunately, talent is squandered far too often within the world of sports, politics and film. Those with promise flame out just as quickly as they spark up. Here are a few figures that top this unfortunate list.

JaMarcus Russell—NFL

The LSU product was the first overall pick in the 2007 NFL draft. After a career college record of 21-4 and MVP honors for the ’07 Sugar Bowl, Russell’s draft stock began to skyrocket. He was expected to solve the long running issue at the QB position for the Oakland Raiders.

However, the football world should have known trouble was just down the road. Russell held out through training camp and the first week of the season before signing a lucrative contract including $31.5 million guaranteed. The missed time resulted in little on-field action as Russell was unable to prove in practice he was ready for the starting gig. His rookie season ended with a very small sample size in which to judge.

During the 2008 season, Russell showed brief glimpses of the type of QB he could be. The Raiders went 5-11, though, and fleeting signs of ability were not enough for a supposed franchise savior.

The following year is when JaMarcus Russell’s career came to a screeching halt. Initially, he appeared at training camp a reported 290 plus lbs! Following a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, Russell was benched by then head coach Tom Cable. When Russell’s replacement was injured, Cable opted to go with the next backup instead of Russell. Now number three on the depth chart, Russell’s draft selection was beginning to look more and more awful by the day.

In 12 games that season, Russell finished with the lowest quarterback rating, completion percentage, passing touchdowns and passing yard by any qualifying QB that year. The chubby passer was subsequently released during the off-season.

Alas, the string of pathetic woe surrounding JaMarcus Russell does not end there. In 2010, Russell was arrested for being in possession of codeine syrup without a valid prescription. In an interview with ESPN later that year, Russell revealed that he had tested positive for codeine directly AFTER being drafted by the raiders.

Lil Wayne once rapped, “Sip syrup got me moving at a turtle pace.” I believe that, coupled with the 300 pounds of excess fat, accurately describes how Russell appeared to players, coaches and fans when on the field. Russell is now universally considered the biggest draft bust in NFL history.

Anthony Weiner

Anthony Weiner is a former U.S. Democratic Representative for the great state of New York. His career in politics started long before that, however.

Young and ambitious, Weiner upset the competition in a surprise victory for a New York City Council seat in 1991. His programs and development plans over the next seven years were well received and popular among political circles. The City Council experience laid the groundwork for his eventual rise to U.S. Congressman in 1999.

Weiner combined some popular approaches to both domestic issues and foreign policy during his time in Congress. A close friend of comedian Jon Stewart and actor Ben Affleck, the NY Representative appealed to the younger generation. His wit and personality were engaging. Needless to say, he was a rising politician.

Yet, his career wasn’t the only thing that was rising. In 2011, Weiner sent some very sexually suggestive photos of himself over Twitter to a female follower. For someone so intelligent, it was pretty idiotic of him to send this over his public feed rather than a direct and personal message. Seriously, that’s like if Barry Bonds stepped into the batters box with an “Inject Steroid Needle Here” sign on his jersey—way too obvious of a blunder, my friend.

Weiner promptly resigned from Congress a month after the initial leak of the photo. I believe it’s fair to say that his once promising political career is all but over pre-maturely (see what I did there?)

Nicolas Cage

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Nicolas Cage was once a justified A-list actor. However, the last 10 years of his career have been eerily similar to a bad date—painful to experience and easily forgettable.

Cage’s first legit big success was in the Coen Brothers’ “Raising Arizona” in 1987. It was there that we first saw the eccentric and comedic angle Cage was once able to bring to a character.

I like to consider myself a quality movie buff. However, after his initial success, Cage appeared in a string of generally unsuccessful films, unnoticeable films. Then out of nowhere, Cage went on a truly incredible two-year hot streak.

It began with his performance as a depressed and suicidal alcoholic in “Leaving Las Vegas” in 1995. This role marked the pinnacle of critical acclaim as Cage won the Academy Award for Best Actor. The man then absolutely dominated the action genre with the subsequent releases of “The Rock” (badass), “Con Air” (equally as badass) and “Face/Off” (even badassier…Not a word? Doesn’t matter, I’m going with it.)

Each of those action flicks generated over $220 million at the box office (with “The Rock” making just over $335 million!) So, not only was Cage an Academy Award winning actor, but he was now also a bankable movie star capable of opening a film to financial success.

From 1998 to 2004, Cage enjoyed a decent stretch that included both some quality movies and some you won’t be buying On Demand anytime soon. His second and last Oscar nomination came in 2002 for his role in “Adaptation.”

Despite the uneven performance and critical reception of his films in this time period, Cage was still very much relevant within Hollywood circles. But, then something happened. To put it lightly, the actor simply stopped giving a f***.

Cage has not appeared in a significant film since 2005. In fact, the roles he has chosen have literally been laugh out loud funny as Cage has elevated himself to King of Unintentional Comedy. Whether this sudden turn in career choices was due selling out (the most reasonable answer) or a simply bizarre mental makeup (equally as plausible…The dude named his son Jor-El, after all), Cage’s career has never been the same.

Cage possessed the potential to carve out a very nice niche for himself among the Hollywood elite. Rather than go the successful route, he chose to throw it all away with laughable scripts and mailed in performances

I mean, really ? “Ghost Rider” one AND two?!

For the three examples above there are thousands more whom had the potential to do something great and never lived up to it. Take this article as a precautionary tale and never let Elite slip through your fingers.

Brandon Katz | Elite.