A Football Analogy

Apparently there is some simmering doubt and resentment over the "Spygate" scandal involving the New England Patriots' videotaping of opposing teams in inappropriate ways. Some people are even maintaining that this proves that the NFL is rigged in the Pats' favor.

In order to clean house, to bring about the change that is needed in pro football, and to shake things up, I recommend that the Patriots fire Bill Belichek. In his place, they should hire the head football coach of the Duxbury High School football team. Let's face it, a high school football coach has just as much responsibility for winning as an NFL coach. He has meaningful, valuable experience, as well as small town values. Football is football, right? And Duxbury is pretty close to Foxborough, so that obviously helps.

Of course, you can't get rid of the entire coaching staff. So the offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator would have to stay, even though they and the rest of the coaching staff benefitted from the results of the taping. After all, somebody has to make sure that the new coach knows where to go, how things work, and above all, how to deal with the media. It's a high-pressure situation, dealing with Boston media, so the new coach might need a little media training.

But with the small town values, the executive experience, sufficient media training, and, you know, the guy looks pretty good in a suit...shouldn't be any problem for the Patriots OR their fans, especially the season ticket holders...right? I mean, the fans oughta LOVE the change...right?

Sure they would. If my kids' future somehow depended on the results of the Pats' season, I'd be perfectly comfortable with that situation.

Uh huh.

Face it, there would be rioting in the streets of Foxborough and Boston if that happened. Putting the Patriots' future in the hands of someone charming, attractive, with small town values, but a ridiculously small amount of experience in the things that matter, would not be accepted warmly by sports fans.

Now change the team to the Dallas Cowboys. Or the Denver Broncos. Or the Pittsburgh Steelers, or the Cleveland Browns. ( Ok, maybe it wouldn't matter with the Browns.) The BUCKEYES! What if it happened with the Buckeyes? Forget it, the people responsible in these states would be hanged in effigy.

And yet, some of these same people are enthralled by Sarah Palin, she who governed a state that is arguably the wealthiest in the nation. How wealthy? She sent every man, woman, and child a check for $1200 from the proceeds of royalties and taxes on the oil industry. That is in addition to the $3000 annually that every man, woman, and child receives in Alaska from the state, also from the oil industry revenue.

As one wag put it, she sends out checks for a total of $4200 annually to everybody in the state...and she only has an 80% approval rating??? How bad do you have to be to pull that off?

It's the American Idol-ization of politics. And the fact that it's FOX's show makes me wonder...

VOTER SUPPRESSION

If you want a quick read on the latest Republican voter suppression tactics, go to www.jackandjillpolitics.com. They are cataloging the attempts in each state. Good reading there too.