Why Are So Few Athletes Articulate?

While I do not spend too much money buying sports merchandise, I dedicate a lot of time to watching soccer, Formula 1 racing and a couple of other sports events during weekends. And I also understand that these athletes are not only supremely fit but capable of amazing feats. to get to that level of physical conditioning requires significant practice because the elite athletes are all outliers according to Malcolm Gladwell's claim.

However, one of the areas in which I am almost always disappointed is while watching or reading interviews by various sportsmen who excel in their fields. Judging from a vast majority of soccer players, they are often thoroughly incoherent and speak in very short and generic sentences. I think among the phrases that athletes have explored to death are "great", "awesome" and "fantastic play". My near conclusion has been that many soccer players in particular have all their talent on their feet alone.

But there are exceptions and one of those has been Patrick Vieira who plays soccer and the vast majority of Formula 1 drivers. I have added to that list the name of Clarence Seedorf, one of the most accomplished soccer players in Europe. In this piece in the NYT sports pages, he responds to a series of questions from readers about European football management, the incomes that accrue to players and many others. He has entered my hallowed list of brainy athletes especially in reference to his answer about the determinants of players incomes. His answer suggests some knowledge of the economics of the game. He nails is properly by alluding to the fact that the market is rewarding skills for a limited set of players and that is why they are able to have large incomes.