Posted by
Luke Reed on Wednesday, October 18, 2006 10:08:43 AM
Wow! That may be my best title yet!
Anyway:
Did y'all see Denny Green's press conference after the
ARIZONA CARDINALS dropped a 1st half lead to the
CHICAGO BEARS on Monday night?
Well, it went something like this:
Press Guy: Four picks against Grossman, two fumbles--what'd you see about the Bears, to shut them down that way?
Coach Green: The Bears are what we thought they were, they're what we thought they were . . . we played them in the third game--the Bears are who we thought they were. That's why we took that d**n field! Now [SMACK--BANGING PRESS TABLE MICROPHONE] if you wanna crown them, then crown their a**! They're who we thought they were! AND WE LET THEM OFF THE HOOK!
[***If you'd like to view this, go to YouTube and type "Denny Green"--on a related note, type: "John L. Smith"--you'll thank me later!***]
OK.
I just have one point to make . . . no, two points to make.
The occasional football brawl--whether at the college level (Miami U) or at the pro level--should not surprise us for two reasons.
One, sports are a rule-bound way for guys to fight each other. This is not my brilliant idea. And I can't recall my source on it. But just know I was watching C-Span 2 and some conservative think tank guy told me this.
It makes sense. Guys have a God-given desire to do battle. It's wise for a society to create ways for guys to exercise this passion for pummeling in ways other than street warfare. Thus: sports. And sports make sense because they give a set of rules and boundaries for aggression. With this in mind, it's easy to see how this aggression sometimes overflows and spills into chaos.
Two, the behavior of some coaches--the "leaders"--after tough losses shows a disregard for boundaries.
As a team leader, a coach should understand the game as just that--a game. Coaches can be passionate without being rage-filled. They can show pride in victory, and grace in defeat.
Grace in defeat . . . it's rare. But it's out there.