HALFTIME ADJUSTMENTS
A Cranky Opinion for
CRANKY OPINION SATURDAY
The following is the opinion of a
cranky old man with little or no expertise in the subject opined. Opposing opinions are welcome; they are
welcome but will be ignored and please, no name calling, and that means you,
you big stupid head!
All successful football
coaches have a philosophy that has served them well.
(Come back ladies this
is not really about football.)
One coach
believes in “Smash-Mouth Football” (I hate that term.) He wants to out hit, block, and tackle the
other guy. His team lines up against you
and runs right at you. His plays are
simple, but well executed from repetition.
When he is indeed bigger, more powerful, and better conditioned than the
other team his philosophy usually wins.
He recruits, coaches, and trains in a manner that generally makes his
team bigger, more powerful, and better conditioned than the other team.
Another
coach believes in trickery and a complex strategy. His players are picked for their speed and
quickness. His offense has fakes and
misdirection, short quick passes and when the other team moves to stop that
strategy, he throws the bomb.
Both of
these philosophies work when the team is prepared properly. Both coaches are successful; for a
while. Eventually other coaches will
devise a strategy to defeat both styles.
The stubborn
coach never changes his style or makes adjustments to what has always been
successful. Great coaches will make
adjustments. Hall-of-fame coaches make
adjustments at halftime. They will
substitute a few faster players from their “Smash-Mouth” starters to keep up
with the opposing team’s speedsters.
They will put in plays that take advantage of an over aggressive “Smash-Mouth”
style.
Hall-of-fame
coaches learn from other teams styles.
They adjust. They keep their
basic philosophy, but they recognize weaknesses and adapt other philosophies to
shore up those weaknesses.
Our
politicians do not adapt. Our
politicians hold onto one philosophy and beat it into the ground without ever
accepting the idea that the other guy may be on to something. They will not accept that maybe their
philosophy has some weaknesses, that perhaps it needs some halftime tweaking.
There is no
score based on results in the political arena.
If you can convince the judges that your failures are the result of the
other guy, you can still win the judges votes.
The emphasis in politics is more on selling your philosophy than on
adjusting to changes in the environment, or to accepting the ideas of your opponent
when they prove successful. This is why
successful politicians can win their game even without scoring and while offering
a porous defense.
I blame the
judges. I blame the voters. I blame us.
The voters have chosen their team and they do not waver. We refuse to boot out our leaders when they
do not see that their philosophy does not always work.
Our leaders
will never make halftime adjustments until they fear failure to do so will have
them looking for another team.
It was that
great comic strip “Pogo” which said it best,
“We have met the enemy, and he is
us!”
The preceding was the opinion of a
cranky old man and not necessarily that of management…Mrs. Cranky.
"Our politicians do not adapt. Our politicians hold onto one philosophy and beat it into the ground without ever accepting the idea that the other guy may be on to something. They will not accept that maybe their philosophy has some weaknesses, that perhaps it needs some halftime tweaking."
ReplyDeleteThis. Until politicians can actually put their party lines aside and do what's best we are screwed. I am very doubtful this will happen.
Pogo is my favorite philosopher.
ReplyDeleteBoth teams, Republicans and Democrats, should realize that they're both on the same team---TEAM USA. The game should be called COMPROMISE.
ReplyDeletewe need a tom landry in congress. a lot of them, actually. even in a sport like football, he was a class act.
ReplyDeleteYep, we are up a creek without a paddle. A mess and then some and you are right that both sides of the aisle aren't doing the right things. Finger pointing and name calling isn't going to get the job done.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day. :)
Got to go with Stephen. Both sides seem to forget the real team and just work towards beating the other side, not accomplishing a darn thing. .
ReplyDeleteBrilliant analogy. And you're right...most of our politicians couldn't be bench warmers on a high school JV team.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I think the outcome has been decided before the game is even played.
ReplyDeleteGreat analogy. And true. What sets a great leader apart is the ability to see change quickly and adapt.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I've always hated in professional sports is how the coach of a losing team is fired so quickly. It always seems short sighted. But maybe there's something to that after all - maybe it's getting rid of coaches who don't adapt.
MORE football???
ReplyDelete