December 16th 2007 11:52 pm
Another stupid editorial.
Continuing my trend in noticing stupid editorials, ESPN.com’s Ivan Maisel has a doozy regarding the latest college football coach departing his current job:
Rodriguez’s decision to leave is justifiable because there’s a difference between saying, “I will never leave,” and “I will not be the next coach at _____.”
The former might be heartfelt, but it also might be mere claptrap to keep players focused and recruits interested. It has the advantage of being open-ended, and all of us make open-ended promises that, although we intend to keep them, we might not. If you’ve stood before a table of caloric heaven at a Christmas party this week, you understand.
The suggested moral equivalence between breaking a to yourself to not overeat at the company Christmas party and breaking a public promise to not leave your job, only to break that promise in less than a month is weaker than a twine and plywood bridge.
My belief in the word of any college head coach is as strong as the aforementioned bridge.
Maisel’s article reads like an apologists attempt to explain away a misdeed, with two invocations of “justifiable” in the opening 7 paragraphs, of which two are quotes, one is a notation of a non-comment and one more is a factual recitation of Rodriguez’s of his time as the Mountaineers’ coach. He later strokes the egos of all the fans of Michigan and the other Football Factory schools, making their coaching jobs seem like a call to serve something beyond the ordinary:
But no matter how many Missouris and West Virginias threaten to stage a coup d’etat in this sport, there will always be royalty. Think of the schools whose tradition is immediately recognizable across the nation: USC, Texas, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Michigan, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, et al.
Maybe, as an extremely casual spectator of the sport, I can’t see the Inherent Glory And Majesty in having one of those elite head coaching jobs. Maybe such jobs come with special powers, maybe the jobs make you more attractive to potential mates, maybe they make the hair on your back repopulate the bald spots on your head, maybe they Save Your Soul. I doubt it.
I do know that for all the past glory of the Oakland Raiders, Miami Dolphins, New York Giants and even my beloved Chicago Bears, that becoming the head coach of one of those teams confers on you as much glory and prestige as being the Fruit Punch Czar.
Royalty’s a sham.
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