Dez Bryant’s thoughts on Roy Williams’ pads, superstardom

The Knowsbleed Section looks into the mind of Cowboys rookie wide receiver Dez Bryant.

Dez Bryant lugged his pads and equipment along the baked field at Cowboys training camp workouts early Tuesday morning, when the rookie suddenly felt like something was wrong.

Bryant turned his entire body around in his tracks, glancing behind him as teammates started to trudge towards him, many of them dripping with a combination of perspiration and ice-cold, cool-down water. He sensed a few menacing glances from his squad, and saw a couple of heads whispering amongst each other.

Why, Bryant wondered, did he seem to have so few friends on his new team? All he did was bust his tail every single day in practice, often running that extra route, putting up the extra reps in the weight room and even hanging out one-on-one with Tony Romo so that he can develop good chemistry with his quarterback.

Things had been going so well for Bryant at camp, in fact, that he had taken a leap that he was sure would propel him to good standing among the veteran ‘Boys. While other first-year players in the league had to carry pads, suitcases and pay for meals out on the town, Bryant knew he was destined for much greater things than the other neophytes. After all, Romo was already calling this No. 88 “my own Michael Irvin.”

Bryant knew people. He knew a lot of very important people. He was getting great career advice from another young sports star who had it all figured out. He knew what was right for him.

The day LRMR came beckoning was a very exciting day for Bryant. He got to meet and sit down with one of his favorite stars in all of sports — and one of the world’s biggest Cowboys fans — the NBA’s LeBron James.

It was James that initially got him thinking about his future in the game. A star that will surely go down as one of the greats to ever play his sport, James assured Bryant that in order to lift yourself to legendary status, you must lift yourself above all of your teammates, and even the entire league.

“Do you think Jerry Rice ever carried anyone’s shoulder pads at training camp? No way,” said James at a recent meeting for new clients.

Picking up pads? That’s for the second-round draft picks, not him.

Riding with the team on charter flights? Bryant didn’t think so. In order to put himself in a true class of his own, he would have to ride in style on his own. A private jet meant publicity, and publicity meant the first step towards becoming the best receiver ever.

As the sun in the Texas sky began to rise higher, Bryant’s teammates made their way to the dining hall to eat lunch. Not Bryant. He was on his way to meet James for a meal in a hotel suite near the Cowboys’ training facilities. As Bryant and James began digging in to their first course, complete with caviar and champagne, James said something that caught Bryant off-guard.

“If you want to really get people’s attention, really get them talking about you, then you should go on TV and let them know that you are not happy with your contract terms,” James said. “Rip it up and have them draft a new one. The ball is in your court when you are a superstar. Trust me.”

It was then that Bryant knew what he had to do. He had seen James’ hour-long TV show. It initially seemed a little unnecessary to him, but for the first time in his life, Bryant didn’t feel like The Man on his own team. He had to get that feeling back.

“OK, so why don’t I just go on ESPN and let everyone know that I’m…unhappy,” Bryant reticently suggested.

“Now you are seeing it,” James said, grinning ear-to-ear as he sipped bubbly from his champagne stem.

Comforted, Bryant slunk back into his chair, feeling like the power of a King was behind him.

And just like that, the transformation was done. Another one of sports’ young, promising stars had seen the light, seen that the business side of the game that drives individuals to perform makes a star truly that: an individual. Individuals build the brand. And the team is merely a vehicle to showcase their talent. Players like James — and now Bryant — just get it.

So here’s to the bright future of professional sports, and to all of us out there who call ourselves fans.