By The Unknown CandidateIt suddenly struck me. As I screamed and swore at Lovie Smith's poker face during Sunday's Bears-Vikings game, loudly urging him to bench Rex Grossman, I had a realization: Lovie Smith is 'The Decider.'
For the last month, Chicago Bears fans have watched with dismay as Rex Grossman has thrown countless interceptions, fumbled countless balls, and made countless bad decisions on the field, only to be saved -- over and over again -- by the Bears defense, whose considerable talent has led the team to win the Division title.
Every post-game interview is like listening to another Bush press conference: the talking points get tedious. Grossman says he made mistakes, he knows he can do the job -- he just has to do it. Smith, angry at press suggestions that he should even consider another quarterback, snarls, game after game, "Rex is our quarterback."
In other words, "We're staying the course."
But here's the difference. The Bears fans are mad as hell. They're had enough. They're hooting and hollering and demanding a change. They're booing Grossman and vocalizing their displeasure and frustration in no uncertain terms.
Can the same be said of our collective reaction to the disastrous calls made by our Bully in Chief? Hardly.
Oh sure, we made it pretty clear in the midterm elections that we wanted change. But since then? Have we been demanding investigations into BushCo corruption and abuse of power? Have we been marching and shouting in the streets that Bush redeploy our troops? Have we been knocking on neighbors doors, circulating petitions or lobbying Nancy Pelosi's office to retract her "no impeachment" promise?
Isn't it strange that we seem to care more about a coach continuing to back a weak quarterback on a winning team than we do about a President continuing to back a weak strategy in a war we are losing? Not to mention, an ill-conceived war of aggression that has resulted in thousands of deaths and catastrophic injuries?
Football is just a game. It's entertainment. No one dies if the Bears lose. Yet we don't hesitate to make our displeasure with Lovie Smith and Rex Grossman known to anyone who will listen.
George Bush's war is all to real. His assault on the Constitution and our freedom is no game. Corruption in his government is hardly entertaining. Yet we hold back our protests. We don't rush to the streets. We don't lobby our congressmen and women.
Sadly, every moment that we hesitate, every day that we do nothing, someone dies.
How do we explain that to the family of the next soldier who comes home in a wooden box?
Photo Credit: Lovie Smith. (BearReport.com)
Technorati tags: Football, War, Iraq, Bush, Lovie Smith, Rex Grossman, Bears, Vikings, Chicago, sports, politics, non-violent protest, civic action, news, commentary, op ed
2 comments:
Yeah, but all QBs that are just getting started fuck up. Even Ben Roethlisberger, who looked like a genius last year, is fucking up this year. It's not even surprising that Grossman is fucking up. Fucking up is predictable.
Granted, it would have been better for Bears fans if the Packers would have benched Favre when he started fucking up. In 1993, the first year that Favre started all 16 games, he threw 24 interceptions against 19 touchdowns and had a passer rating that's practically identical to Rex's right now. God I wished they would have benched him and sent him packing to some AFC town.
Sometimes staying the course makes sense. Other times it's the moronic outgrowth of offended hubris. Wisdom is the ability to tell the difference.
The difference is that when Favre was playing badly, the Packers were not close to being Super Bowl material. He was part of a team that was in the building stages.
As for the Bears -- this is their year. Everything is working and the team is ready -- except for Grossman.
Is it fair to put the entire team's chance for a Super Bowl title in jeopardy because Grossman isn't ready?
I think not. Especially when Brian Griese proved himself to be the superior quarterback in the pre-season. He should have earned the right -- based on Smith's belief that the best players should be the ones on the field -- to start as quarterback.
Frankly, I don't think think Grossman has the talent or ability to ever reach the greatness of a Favre. But that's just my opinion. Whether I'm right or not isn't the point; the fact is that he is not up to the level of the rest of the team now, when they need him,and he is jeopardizing their ability to win.
Next year, who knows what the Bears will look like. Their time is now. Football is about winning ... and it's time Smith started thinking about the best way to help his team do that.
All of that said, you, um, obviously missed the point of my original post ... which, ironically, makes the point that much stronger.
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