Another Needless Sports Post
The NFL playoff picture has suddenly been made clear, as if the grunting thrust and crunch of 300 pound linemen made the mist dissolve before our eyes. And the Washington Redskins are in the playoffs for the first time in ... I don't know, several years. I don't know how many years because I don't really care. Which is not to say that I hope the Redskins lose - oh no! Not by a long shot. I hope they win. I hope they don't win the Super Bowl because there are much more deserving teams (coughCOLTScough) but I hope they win a couple more.
Bear with me here. My motives are entirely selfish. First, I'm happy for coach Joe Gibbs. From what I've seen, Gibbs is a real gentleman. A Hall of Fame coach and a good guy in a business that chews up good guys and spits them out. Secondly, the Redskins seem to have an effect on the psyche of the whole Washington metropolitan area. When they win, life seems better around here. The annoying Redskin uber-fans are bearable when they're happy. In a way it's like living on a college campus where football is king: joy abounds when the "W" is put up; gloom descends when an "L" is posted.
Now, for the insect in the unguent: I would be really delighted if the Redskins never win another Super Bowl because the owner, one Daniel Snyder, is a .... I was about to use intemperate language. Some people end up hugely rich and they seem to be proof that a quality man is not always the winner in the game of life. Witness Danny Boy Snyder. I'm seeing a world-class case of small man's syndrome and overweening arrogance. But I'm not rich. Maybe I'm just really, really jealous.