Nick Cellini of 680/The Fan goes on FB diatribe: stop making excuses and blaming others!
By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Tuesday, September 19, 2016
Nick Cellini, morning co-host at sports talk station 680/The Fan, today wrote a mini-essay about people who bitch and moan and blame others for their lot in life. The gist of it: get over yourself. Stop complaining. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Do the right thing.
He noted what he did in June of 2013 (his silly ALS bit that got him fired from the Zone) and the bout of unemployment that led him for a time to drive for Uber.
"I can't tell you how many mistakes I've made in my life. MANY of them in the public eye," Cellini wrote. "Try having your shortcomings televised on CNN for the world to see. You know what I did about it? I picked myself up every day. It's what my family taught me to do. No time to feel sorry for yourself. No one wants to hear it. THAT would be the ultimate sign of weakness."
The bottom line: "Teams lose, feelings get hurt, jobs are lost, people aren't going to like you, you're going to get screwed over. Do you make excuses or do you fight back? It's up to you America."
Most of his fans agreed with him on Facebook, even asking him to run for president. Then one of his friends noted some irony:
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Here's Cellini's entire note:
Let me tell you about my life:
I grew up in the inner city of Cleveland. Neither one of my parents graduated from high school. My father worked 2-3 jobs his entire life. My mother worked part time in a kitchen. We lived in a double house as big as a shoebox.
I've had many people that I grew up with that are still my friends til this day. Nobody gave them a damned thing. We've seen people get killed, we've seen people go to jail, we've seen A LOT of things no kids should ever see. Some of us are more successful than others, but you know what? Never has an excuse been made that "life isn't fair!!"
I can't tell you how many mistakes I've made in my life. MANY of them in the public eye. Try having your shortcomings televised on CNN for the world to see. You know what I did about it? I picked myself up every day. It's what my family taught me to do. No time to feel sorry for yourself. No one wants to hear it. THAT would be the ultimate sign of weakness.
I look around this world today. Republican, Democrat, Independent, etc. it doesn't matter to me. Each side points the finger at the other. THAT'S the kind of BS that has this country in the quandary it finds itself in today.
My fathers generation wasn't perfect, but you know what they didn't do? Blame others. They fought in a war, they came home and went to work. They wanted a better life for us. They embraced the American Dream, wether they achieved it or not.
They passed that along to me and my siblings. I'm trying to do that with mine. I remember my first trophy. I was five and I played baseball for the Twins in our church league. Do you know why? Because we EARNED IT by winning the league championship.
Teams lose, feelings get hurt, jobs are lost, people aren't going to like you, you're going to get screwed over. Do you make excuses or do you fight back? It's up to you America.
Sorry for the diatribe. Now back to your regularly scheduled programming
About the Author
Rodney Ho writes about entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution including TV, radio, film, comedy and all things in between. A native New Yorker, he has covered education at The Virginian-Pilot, small business for The Wall Street Journal and a host of beats at the AJC over 20-plus years. He loves tennis, pop culture & seeing live events.
