One word
September 30, 2009 (Wednesday)
Yesterday’s blog tried to make the point that sports victories are won by dedicated teams, and not by the whistles and bells and freaky showmanship that characterizes much of what goes on in modern times.
The only trouble with the blog was my using the wrong word in the key sentence: I said, “can” instead of “cannot.” I cannot think of a worse mistake.
Why would I write, “can” instead of “cannot?” I have no earthly idea. I only know that reading it over this morning after its publication brought a shock to my system. With that one word, the entire meaning of that sentence was changed. Fortunately, if one read the entire blog, he/she would instinctively know that it was a mistake in copy and not in substance. Nevertheless, it was a dumb error that I should have caught before publication. (Don’t look for it, because I have corrected it).
Getting back to yesterday’s blog, the point was that the final score reflects what the team did during the game. I stick by that, but I also know that there are many factors that help decide how a team performs on game day, and one of those factors is the coach. It’s no accident that some teams do well year after year when they have a great coach. Here’s a list of the “winingest” pro coaches (statistically):
http://www.coldhardfootballfacts.com/Articles/7_1338_The_NFL%27s_winningest_coaches.html
The most interesting list, it seems to me, is the list of winning coaches in college football, because in college it’s all about “spirit.” Those coaches not only train the players – they inspire them. Here’s a list of those:
http://en.allexperts.com/q/College-Football-2792/Records-top-five-winningest.htm
Statistics, however, don’t tell the whole story, and some of the greatest men who were coaches do not appear on these lists. They were men of sterling character who instilled virtue in their players and prepared them for real life. We all have our favorites, but no list of these could be complete for me without the names of Grant Teaff and Tom Landry.