To Sign Or Not To Sign

I delved deep into the past for this piece of work. This was actually a project for one of my high school English classes which dates it sometime between 1992-1994.

During the period that we were studying Hamlet, one of our assignments was to take Hamlet's famous 'To Be Or Not To Be' soliloquy and create our own version.

At the time, the hold-out of running back Emmitt Smith was a major sports issue to Cowboys fans. I figured Shakespeare must have had some sports in his blood, so I used his verse to create this ode to Emmitt.

To Sign Or Not To Sign

To sign, or not to sign, that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the press to refuse
The contract that would grant outrageous fortune,
Or to accept amidst a sea of talent,
And by autograph ensure. To run, to play —
Once more; and by playing to say one ends
The heartache, and the thousand and one critics
That Jones must endure. 'Tis a consumation
Devoutly to be wished — to carry, run —
To score, perchance win, verse opposition;
For in that trot of six what else may come
When the 'Boys shuffle off this mental curse
Must give us pause — there's the key
That makes calamity of the defense.

For who would bear the loss and painful hurt,
The other team's win, the proud enemy's talk,
The pangs of dropped passes, the gain's delay
The insolence of rookies, and the jabs
That patient hold-out of thee certainly takes,
When thou might make skill and speed thy name's sake,
With a bare pigskin? Who would yardage gain,
To dance and spin amidst six larger men,
In order to change something post-season,
Like undetermined standings, from which loss
No team emerge, fans' souls dampen,
And makes all ponder what might have been
Rather than celebrate the play of champs?

Yes, income does make bigheads of us all;
And thus the hue of true ability
Is forgotten in the pale cast of wealth,
And players of great talent turn to greed
With high price their agents turn awry
And lose the role of franchise. — Think you now,
The great Smith. — Emmitt, in the wagering
Keep all the truths of sport in mind.