Hello, WORLD!
WORLD, I believe we’re being had! In a trend that is becoming disturbing in professional sports, I’ve seen quite a few teams “quit” on their fans. Not because they don’t want to to make big money for a few hours work (I didn’t include the countless hours of practice because I honestly don’t know if players get paid for practice or not, but I will touch upon practice later in this article), but because they are tired of their coaches. I’ve seen this up close & personal here in Chicago, first with former Chicago BULLS coach Scott Skiles back in December of 2007 and more recently, with the Lou Piniella-led Chicago CUBS earlier this year. He retired before the axe came down on his neck.
Now I know how it can get when your leader fails to inspire you. After all, the coach is as much a part of the team as the actual players are. They certainly get evaluated like the players do. And, if they are not winning games, they are on the hot seat just like and in some cases more-so than the actual players. If your team’s guiding presence (aka coach) fails to inspire, there is only one thing left to do: fire him or her. This is where things go horribly, horribly wrong. What if the coach doesn’t fail to inspire? What if it’s just a spat between, say, the coach & the star player? What if the coach is just starting out & what if that star player was on his way out too, the way most star players go out: retirement?
I am, of course talking about the Brad Childress / Brett Favre situation in Minnesota. Apparently, after this season, Favre is committed to staying retired. Good for him, albeit 1 season too late. But Childress is now being labeled as the villian in this whole soap opera. Why? Because the rest of the VIKINGS have done everything but have a swearing in ceromony for Favre as the leader of the Minnesota PACK, er, VIKINGS. So that leaves Childress as…
Then again, it could be just my imagination running wild. Right. Didn’t we just see Dallas go through almost the same situation, except in Dallas there was no 1 “Favre”, but several. Dallas was heavily favored to be in the Super Bowl this season. That is the biggest joke I’ve heard all year. It was funny at the beginning of the season. It had stayed funny until week 10’s beatdown of the NY GIANTs. Where was that tenacity all season? How did Kitna manage to turn back the clock at least 5 years? It remains to be seen but I already have my opinion.
Favre knows what feels like when teams quit on you. The PACKERS all but helped him pack his bags 3 years ago (very smart move). The JETS left him hanging too. Now he has a chance to do the same to a coach that gave him not 1 but 2 chances at another Super Bowl. Childress, like Favre, Skiles, & Pinielli, didn’t deserve this and it’s likely he’ll get fired before he hears an apology. I think the league should step in before other teams (& other leagues) get in on the act.
