It was all an Unemployed Dream.: It makes much more sense

So I hinted at a good story yesterday on my Facebook page and didn't dive into it completely as I was still recovering from two nights of Pearl Jam. Well, fully recovered, so indulge me for a moment if you will.

So I'm sitting in my seat at the Pearl Jam show on Monday and I notice the guy to my left has already gotten drinks 4 times for his girlfriend/wife/whatever and it was only like 25 minutes into the set. It seemed like a lot to drink in such a short time span, but I didn't really care what they did as long as it involved the guy not walking in front of me every five minutes.

So Eddie plays the opening chords to "Nothingman" and I can tell the girl is now drunk because she's slow dancing with her husband, and in the middle of it, she throws not one but two drinks in my direction. I shoot the couple a glare, even do the hands raised irritated look. The husband assures me she meant no harm.

And in the end, everybody in section 3, row 16 was a winner when the boyfriend decided his girlfriend was too drunk to go on and they left not even halfway through the first set.

Now a little disclaimer- I had very good seats the second night as my friend has been in the fan club for roughly 14 years. This means the people sitting next to us probably had been in the fan club for an equally long period of time, or paid a lot of money for their seats. In any event, why would you get so drunk as too miss the show? I will not ever understand why people can't police themselves at shows.

Witnessing this situation made me think more about the predicament Michael Beasley is currently in (I know I said I'd write less about sports but for the purpose of this post let's just identify Beasley more as a subject, and less as a basketball player).

Now for those of you that don't read 13 sports sites a day, Michael Beasley was the blue chip recruit of the 2007 class. Most sports sites had him ranked number 1 (in a class that included Derrick Rose, OJ Mayo and Kevin love). Nobody could believe how a 6'9" player could make the game look so easy.

But there were already warning signs. He attended 6(!) high schools in four years. He got kicked out of elite high school basketball powerhouse Oak Hill for starting a game with Ty Lawson that basically involved signing his name on as many pieces of school property as possible.

But the bottom line was the kid could play ball. Whoever landed him knew they were only getting a year anyways. Didn't matter to Kansas State. Beasley tore it up for one season, took a rejuvenated program to the NCAA tournament, and left for the pros shortly thereafter, to be drafted by the Miami Heat.

Beasley couldn't keep it together long though. At the rookie class symposium, Beasley and fellow rookies Mario Chalmers and Darrell Arthur got busted for smoking pot. Beasley slipped out the door when police arrived, leaving Chalmers and Arthur to take the fall and get kicked out of camp, while Beasley eventually confessed later.

His rookie season ended with solid numbers (13ppg and 5 rpg) and multiple reported fines for violating team rules. Last Friday, he posted a link to his new tattoo on Twitter. He had wings and "SuperCoolBeas" tattooed across his upper back. While it's questionable behavior to tattoo a self appointed nickname on your back, most people were more concerned with the rumored bag of pot in the photo. It was too blurry to assume it was pot, but given Beasley's past, people did anyways.

Two days ago, Beasley was checked into rehab, citing depression. The initial reaction was something to the effect of, how could this basketball player who has had everything handed to him, not know how to get his shit together?

Now that a little time has passed from him checking into rehab, it seems like more and more people are beginning to think that this isn't just an example of Beasley being a knucklehead, but he might actually be dealing with some issues. And while most people assume if some one famous goes into rehab it's because they're absolutely crazy, that doesn't really seem to be the case here. It seems more like a 20 year old kid who cracked under a very public lifestyle and the enormous expectations placed on his "SuperCoolBeas" shoulder blades.

Now compare this to the case of Plaxico Burress. Coming off a Super Bowl season, he'd established himself as a red zone monster, and for one reason or another, decided to go to a bar with a gun in his sweatpants and shoot himself in his Chuck Taylor's. ESPN wants to shove him down America's throats now with tear jerking interviews and a truly remorseful Plax, but it's a little too late. Now, I don't live in New York, and I don't own any sweatpants or guns, so maybe this is how everyone rolls to the clubs. But Plax, you dug your own grave on this one.

It's easy to just write off all celebrities as spoiled, ungrateful blowhards (and Plaxico certainly appears to fit that mold), but it's unfair to assume that they can't deal with real issues too. Michael Beasley is still just a kid. He's still growing up. He can't even buy a drink, though I imagine that hasn't proven to be much of an issue for him. Most 20 year olds are just trying to figure out how to get to the quad and back. And that's not to say that is any easier or harder than learning how to guard the pick and roll, but with a long career ahead of him, there is hope yet for SuperCoolBeas.

So as for you drunken Pearl Jam fan, I decided to give you the benefit of the doubt. I do not think you're crazy. I do not know what led you to consumer 5 drinks in 30 minutes, but you missed an epic "Whipping>Not For You." I hope you learn your lesson for the next show...and throw your drinks at some one else.