Now it would seem that if one purchases a football game then they would probably find the most joy actually playing a game of football. However, to achieve the ultimate level of satisfaction one must invest in the infrastructure of the franchise to truly thrive and succeed. Every single category I listed above in regard to the program has to be addressed and examined and a strategy has to be implemented in every area. It is possible to skip over all of the elements and just get to the game but the end result would be left to chance. Having a subpar team or struggling every step of the way or losing wouldn't be fun to me. My happiness, when it comes to playing this game, hinges on winning when my team takes the field. I can't leave that to chance so I spend the necessary time in all of the other areas to give myself the best odds of winning.
The one area I want to examine in greater detail is the moment where I must decide which players are going to make my final 70 roster. This can be a difficult process. Sometimes I'm forced to keep lesser skilled players and cut pretty good ones in order to make all the pieces fit. I have to make sure I have balance on offense, defense, and special teams. I might have recruited ten amazing quarterbacks but it does me no good to keep them all. I can only play one and I need to have a couple backups in case of injury. Another dimension to consider is the age or grade level of the players. I might cut an upperclassman that is currently rated higher than a freshman because I see potential for the younger player to be better in the future, several years later. I have to have an understanding of what I'm trying to achieve this year and in future years.
I can't help but wonder what my team would be like if I had to negotiate with the GOP over this one process, cutting my roster to size. The Republican Party would refuse to ever cut any defensive players. Even if I argued factually that my team hadn't allowed more than one touchdown in the last ten seasons and we had 50 spots on the roster taken up by defensive players they would refuse to budge one inch. I then discover the GOP has an obsession with tight ends and they don't want any on the team. I attempt to explain to them that tight ends are a necessary component in our offense and we need three on the team and they counter by refusing to field the position because it has an immoral sounding name.
The fiscal cliff negotiation process provides a window into the thought process of how we address our long term strategies. We have camps that claim they want a good "offense" or a good "defense" but they have no desire to actually take the time to address the all of the fine details that make up the bigger whole. They just want to play the game and win but despise the idea of practice and weight training and recruiting. They represent only specialty players like quarterbacks and linebackers and disregard the ordinary lineman doing all the dirty work in the trenches.
I've heard a thousand times the President demands the rich people contribute more in taxes and the GOP wants to cut entitlements. Not one time have I heard these elected officials explain in detail our overall strategy and how implementing specific proposals will achieve a wanted outcome. I hear one thought, talking points over and over again. Taxes and entitlements. Taxes and entitlements.
Let's get real. We have to pay taxes. Social Security and Medicare (our something very like them) are here to stay. You can raise my taxes to 90% if you can explain to me exactly what I will get in return and I'm comfortable with that reality. The real problem is I know my tax money is wasted and I am cynical of the people in charge of allocating my hard earned cash. I have no qualms with chipping in for our elders or our citizens in need of assistance and it makes me feel good. The real problem is I know there is so much inefficiency and mishandling of the funds that I have little faith in the systems. Don't most people feel this exact same way?
The biggest disconnect I observe when it comes to politics is our role in the situation. We don't invest in any of the details but we are quick to armchair quarterback when things don't go our way. Instead of taking responsibility for not recruiting properly or not having a forward looking vision for our program, we opt to blame the controller for not working properly and making excuses for our failures. Our politicians are our controllers. From time to time one is flawed and needs to be replaced, no doubt. However, once we decide to use the controller and put it in our hands then the outcome of the game becomes our responsibility.
Reality is all around us. It is easy to observe the views people hold on an array of issues. How often do you observe a person engage in a conversation about our future vision and leave the discussion with a changed mind? How often do you observe a person even enter a conversation with the possibility of having their mind changed? How many people do you know that want to have their mind changed? How many people do you know that have "vision"? How many people do you know that will vote according to party lines regardless of the facts? Do you think any of the answers to any of these questions affects you in any way?
This isn't just a game that we show up and play every four years. This is our life and our happiness that takes place every moment. It's all connected at every level. We have to take responsibility for our role in that process. It seems such a daunting and impossible to task to change our world. However, it happens one simple step at a time.
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