HOUSTON IS A HAVEN - A TURKEY DAY RAMBLE

Joined Friends and Family in Houston, Texas for the 2011 Thanksgiving Holidays and enjoyed myself immensely. Great company and celebration of life was the obvious highlight with nine week old Charlie the focus of the entire trip. This is a special young man with a bright future. His support mechanism starts with parents without equal and a grandmother who is always there with just the right touch and perfectly timed insight. What a joy to observe…

University of Houston mavens Dr. Linda and Dr. Don had already chosen our Thanksgiving Day venue – appropriately the certifiably green Haven Restaurant opened in December 2009 by Executive Chef Randy Evans, late the exec at Brennan’s in Houston. The highly regarded Texas Monthly magazine touts the Texas born and raised Evans as The Chef of The Future though our party would righteously argue that he is already there. In 2010 Esquire magazine acknowledged Chef Evans’ culinary skills by naming the chic, farm-to-table Haven one of the top 20 new restaurants in the U.S.

We didn’t order off the menu, rather opted for their Thanksgiving presentation which included all the traditional offerings mostly locally grown and supported by Evans’ restaurant garden that confirms his pastoral roots and commitment to fresh. Only one of our party chose the free range turkey while others opted for the Gulf flounder, shrimp/crab or even the vegan dish. Me? The Akaushi steak of Kobe fame, red skin mash potatoes all slathered with a red wine jus with mushrooms, country ham and green onions was my choice though I did look longingly at the quail with an enticing jalapeño sausage dressing and green tomato golden raisin chutney. I ultimately made the right choice that day and though only a snapshot of Haven’s potential, enjoyed what may have surprisingly been one of my top five dining-out experiences.

Dr. Linda made two outstanding wine selections that pleased everybody’s palate. Following the meal Chef Evans made our dining experience even more memorable by taking his bows and accepting the accolades of our very pleased party. Well done Chef Evans… Server Brad was equally competent.

Now, this post was never intended to be a review of Haven, but this restaurant will please all, even the most discriminating gastronome. Haven won’t hit a home run every time nor will they please everybody all the time, but in my estimation they do have the potential to please most of the people the great majority of the time. There are agenda driven whiners everywhere that seem to grasp even potential negatives and spin that top incessantly. Several reviews pounded Haven for their valet service and their open kitchen environment – ridiculous. Would that we were so lucky to have Haven in Dallas…

So how do you top Haven? Take a daytrip to the absolutely awesome world class Museum of Fine Arts Houston (MFAH) punctuated by the ultimate realization that we in Dallas will always be looking up at MFAH. The King Tut exhibition was ongoing with equal attention being paid to the current spectacular presentation of Dutch and Flemish Masterworks from the Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Collection that includes masterworks by Rembrandt, Gerrit Dou, Frans Hals, Willem Claeszoon Heda, Jacob van Ruisdael and Jan Steen. This national tour sponsored in part by the Peabody Essex Museum of Salem, MA concludes with the current exhibition at MFAH which runs through February 12, 2012 so make your plans to visit Houston, soon. Thank you Peabody Essex Museum who from August 29, 2010 to January 2, 2011 also brought to the Kimball Art Museum in Fort Worth the very important, “Fiery Pool: The Maya and the Mythic Sea.” We need to pay attention to those folks in Massachusetts who are friendly to our environs.

Having sung some of these well-deserved praises just note that Houston’s roads suck big time and instead of getting better seem to lower the bar each visit. One source described Houston’s roads as “tattered, cracked, patched and pocked washboard.” We think that source didn’t go far enough. No amount of compliments can mask the fact that this city’s transportation infrastructure seems compromised and with no checkbook to fix their city roads most of the money seems tied up in Interstate widening that is off and sometimes on and seems to go on forever resulting in frustrating, dangerous and hours long delays that will cramp the style of even the most patient and ardent.

That said, we will go back and enjoy the nectar of one of the world’s great cities and the great company we keep. It’s worth the hassles and frustrations, especially to lovingly, exuberantly and proudly celebrate the continuing saga of Charlie.

Hope you had a safe and enjoyable Thanksgiving holiday.

Aye,

GrandNed Buxton

FIT TO BE TIED - LA CRAVAT

I went through my clothes closet the other morning intent on purging outdated loose or tight fitting clothing that just didn’t make sense anymore (purpose or fashion) and once again was confronted by my neckties. I have three tie hangers that keep my neckties flat, accessible and always at the ready to appropriately adorn my person for any occasion. Even after a Goodwill run some five years ago, I still have one hundred and fourteen (114) neckties including one ascot, three formal bowties dedicated to specific cummerbunds and one bolo tie. Whilst assessing my collection I realized I still had a few favorites from my college years and several screamers from the sixties and seventies and might still be good for a nostalgic event. Yes, I have several Christmas, one St. Valentine’s Day necktie and, vexingly, no Halloween ties.

I started to wax nostalgic about the ties including a few that once belonged to iconic good Friend and Mentor though now departed Bob Swanson, three 78th Fraser Highlander regimental ties and several that hail the cardinal red (Harvard) and navy blue (Yale) of Ole Miss. Most of those ties have great meaning to me and so I will stand pat, at least for a few more years.

While assessing my collection of neckwear I contemplated the state of the noble cravat and wonder how much longer this tradition can hold out. With assurances from and the urging of notable haberdashers Jos.A Bank, Brooks Brothers and others of that ilk, the tie and traditional clothing will seemingly prevail. Howard Duvall, rest in peace…

Some versions of neckwear seem to have been around even since ancient Egyptian, Chinese and Roman times and we all remember from our history books paintings of Gentle Men and Gentle Ladies in big ruffled collars (the Elizabethan Ruff) of the mid 1500's to 1600's. Seems that so many aspects of our lives start modestly and then grow to exaggerated (Aye, foolish) caricature status. The Ruffs appeared to be poor bibs, had to be grossly uncomfortable and were a pain to maintain. Among others, we can thank England and Ireland’s King James I, a Scot, who opted for a more extravagant life style in England (“the Land of Promise”) for getting rid of this monstrosity. Perhaps it was James’ promise to parliament to curb some of his more excessive spending habits or maybe Elizabeth’s passing was enough. At any rate it was the end of an era.

Fast forward to the 1630s, where “unusual and picturesque” scarves worn by thousands of Croatian soldiers and knights, mercenaries to Louis XIII in the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) became the new fashion in France. Seems that the girlfriends or wives (maybe both) of Croat soldiers would give their beloveds a narrow scarf to wear around their necks to remind them of their love. This romantic tradition was noted by none other than French king Louis XIII who caught sight of these dashing neckerchiefs, started wearing one himself and eventually adopted them into acceptable, even preferable, French formal attire. Voila, a new fashion accessory was born. This, the cravat, ladies and gentlemen was the direct ancestor of the modern necktie and far more comfortable that the huge white starched collars and large silk maroon bowties we wore as choristers at St. Dunstan’s in Providence, RI.

Charles II brought this new neck fashion with him when he returned from exile in France to England in May of 1660. Over the next ten years, the use of the cravat spread across Europe and eventually across the pond to the American colonies. The cravat soon proved itself to be an essential part of a gentleman’s wardrobe and even to some historians, “a symbol of loyalty” to the restored English monarchy. Aye, the necktie not just as fashion but as a political statement… This neck adornment with high collars and bows like the ruff before it became more and more elaborate and impractical as members of the English court tried to outdo each other and reflect their status and wealth. These cravats soon joined the ruff on the junk heap of fashion history.

By the early 1800's, the cravat became known as a "tie" and then evolved to pretty much what we know today and was/is tied in a number of different ways/styles, according to the preference, formality and upbringing of the wearer. Options include the four-in-hand knot, the half-Windsor knot, the Windsor knot and the “reversed” Pratt knot, among others. No, we are not going to talk about colors or patterns though you may want to research the very interesting origins of regimental and club ties.

Then, of course, we have that odd though convenient bolo or bola tie that has now become the official neckwear of Arizona, New Mexico and Texas and appears to be fast coming the new/old symbol of the American West. We suspect that like former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson before him we will see Texas Governor Rick Perry wearing some in his cross country Presidential-seeking sorties.

Bolo aside, some folks (especially my Mother) insist that there is a proper and not so proper way to tie a necktie. While Mother wouldn’t not let the three Buxton Boys (Ned, John and Seabury) venture forth to church, school or any other formal function without the proper full Windsor knot, we are not so inflexible here. If you have to wear a tie, do what you like and feels good though understand that (however preposterous it sounds) in some circles someone may be watching. The point is you/we always have the opportunity to impress – or not.

In a world dominated by “Business Casual” most of the younger generation don’t know how to tie a necktie and probably don’t care. For those folks that have no aspirations beyond digging ditches, cutting grass or plowing snow, then this advice probably won’t benefit them though they wouldn’t be reading this post anyway. Just note that we still have business, social and religious events where the wearing of a tie may be appropriate and even required.

In times where jobs are scarce (especially for recent college graduates) the job interview is the one opportunity to create that positive first impression with the interviewer who may make the final hiring decision. If you dress inappropriately, say casually for a sales job or a position with a bank or law firm, the interviewer may think that you aren’t taking the interview process seriously, aren’t motivated to pursue that position or worse yet, you don’t have the social, communication, consensus building or collaborative skills necessary to be productive in today’s workplace. The way you dress reflects who you are and can positively influence those gauging your abilities. Many times the centerpiece of correct dress is the necktie.

And that’s the conundrum we face – it’s all about perception and aside from fashion or keeping our shirt clean or wiping your nose – the tie has no real purpose, save adornment. It is a “convention in search of a reason.” At least with the bolo tie you can tie something up if need be like the now mostly ceremonial French-inspired aiguillette.

In my lifetime neckties have become shorter then longer, wider then narrower, colors and patterns bolder and then more subtle and then back again (save your old ties). Neckwear has passed through the full range of fashion, manipulated to the varigies of that industry and pursuit of the diminishing though still almighty dollar and what is in and what is not. For all that I frankly (my dear) don’t give a damn. I’ll wear what I like and what seemingly goes with what I’m wearing – or not. My advice to those otherwise mired in dismal lives - wear a tie with color and style and see what happens…

Aye,

Ned Buxton

ANDY ROONEY AND THE LAST WORD

Every Sunday for the last umpteen years I’ve always gotten up early to watch my favorite TV show CBS’s Sunday Morning. With a cup of coffee and scone I could enjoy an hour and a half of interesting and well-presented stories. Some of my mega heroes including the current host Charles Osgood along with storied traveler Charles Kuralt and occasionally my ultimate champion and king of opinion and curmudgeon, Andy Rooney, would appear. That said, Andy was mostly the indispensable fixture and last word on television's favorite newsmagazine, CBS’s 60 Minutes where he regularly ran sweep for 33 years. No football game or other event (including sleeping) could keep me away from either show when Rooney was on.

Aside from speaking for me most of the time and being the voice of and for millions of Americans, Andy, first and foremost, was a great writer. In style and technique he was everything I want to be, and more. Where I am verbose and tend to wander, Andy was always concise; making his point with brief and succinct verbiage packaged in that always believable, unpretentious natural delivery from his always cluttered office. Andy was pre-tech armed with wry opinion, the keenest wit and his manual Underwood typewriter. Though he would prefer that image, he grudgingly used a computer sometimes pointing out its foibles and faults all the while admitting to its efficiency.

Andy wasn’t afraid of anybody or anything, disdained celebrity, coveted his private life and refused to give autographs. To the end he always wondered, “What kind of an idiot wants my name on a piece of paper” and held those that did in contempt. A good Friend who met him several years ago and later was commenting on the short stature of a nearby Rooney, “He’s so little.” The mostly charming though always cantankerous Rooney acknowledged the remark, “I heard that.” Then even with apologies and assurances of no ill intent the predictable response, “Yes, you did mean it…” with Andy probably relishing that moment.

Andy Rooney was a regular guy many times with tongue in cheek questioning from the trenches everything in our lives from the trivial and mundane to the most significant. He was always entertaining and like one Friend opined while paraphrasing the late Caskie Stinnett, “Andy could tell you to go to hell and you’d look forward to the trip.”

While Rooney mostly made sense to this writer he lobbed an occasional out of synch and inappropriate hand grenade that spoke to his humanity and made him even more endearing. In our sanitized politically correct world he saw his truth and to the delight of millions, offered coherent rationale for his perspectives which included a, “delicious hatred for prejudice and hypocrisy.”

Rick Cohen of the The Nonprofit Quarterly commented the other day, “Andy Rooney was idiosyncratic, argumentative, and sometimes ornery, but his grouchy commentaries were worth listening to. That we will never hear another from Rooney reminds us of the dwindling quality of public discourse in American journalism.” Would that Congress had an Andy Rooney…

Scott Pelley, CBS Evening News anchor and correspondent for 60 Minutes remarked on Andy’s passing, “The Romans had Cicero. The English had Dickens. America had Andy. He hid a philosopher’s genius behind the honest prose of Everyman. Apparently, God needed a writer.”

In his final appearance on 60 Minutes a couple of weeks ago Andy Rooney commented that he'd lived a life luckier than most and wished he "could do this forever." We do too Andy…..

Job well done.

Aye,

Ned Buxton

TEXAS RANGERS INCREDIBLE YEAR

As we used to say as kids, “close but no cigar”. That old carnival idiom seems so appropriate with the cigar being the World Series Championship. I’m a Texas Rangers Fan and however that plays with your perspectives and logic, also a Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves Fan. Mostly I’m an absolute fan of the underdog, the one who perseveres despite adversity until the victory is won. This is how legends are made and punctuates / demonstrates how teamwork is the essential ingredient of success.

The Rangers seemed to have all that going for them fighting through a tough season though ascendant at the end. The St. Louis Cardinals, however, trumped them in spades coming from a wild card position to win the ultimate pot of gold. They overcame tremendous hardship and while a few of their players stood out, a different player seemed to literally step up to the plate and deliver at the last critical nanosecond. They include Missouri local* boy and hitting phenom David Freese who hit for a .348 average (8-for-23) with one home run and seven RBIs against Texas setting the major league record for most RBIs in a single postseason (21) and pitcher Chris Carpenter who threw strikes when he had to in direct contrast to Ranger pitching.

In that thrilling though heartbreaking game six 10-9 loss to the Cardinals the Rangers on two occasions were within one strike of the World Series Championship, but they couldn’t close the door and deliver. As Ranger Manager and all around good guy Ron Washington reminded us, baseball is nine innings while football, hockey and lacrosse are a sixty minute competition – not one inning, out or minute less.

There will be no celebratory champagne (or ginger ale) and no trip to Disney World for the Rangers this year but, hopefully, accolades for a great 2011 season and with most of the Rangers returning - high expectations for next year. We won’t be meeting the Cardinals in 2012 regular season interleague play but perhaps another World Series meeting?

And for all you folks who think that, “What happened was supposed to happen”, think again. No disrespect, but that’s a cop out. We try to the best of our ability and resources and if we leave everything on the field and still lose – then the unalterable fact is the best team won. To think otherwise is to cheapen the St. Louis victory and diminish the Rangers’ incredible effort. No hocus pocus or divine providence here. God does not care who wins the World Series.

Thank You Rangers - Congratulations Cardinals.

Aye,

Ned Buxton

*David Freese was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, Aye.

RICK PERRY: DEER IN THE HEADLIGHTS

The Sands Convention Center at the Venetian in Las Vegas hosted a Republican presidential primary debate on October 18, 2011. This turned out to be perhaps the last gasp for Texas Governor and presidential hopeful Rick Perry. It was billed by many as his, “moment of truth” where Perry would either, “do or die.” It turned out to be his swan song and his poll numbers continue to fall following the debate. This writer had previously opined that he had done so poorly in the last two debates that by the law of averages he couldn’t help but do better this time around. Well, he didn’t and all the king’s men and all the king’s horses won’t be able to put Rick Perry back together again.

Instead of engaging in substantive policy debate Perry decided to go into attack mode and in a personal harangue assailed fellow Republican Mitt Romney on the issue that he had previously knowingly hired illegal aliens to work on his lawn. Perry kept interrupting a responsive and frustrated Romney who though coming out the better couldn’t look very presidential in that environment. Perry looked terrible with the camera catching him staring opaquely at Romney hence our “deer in the headlights” title. We note that this issue was first reported by the Boston Globe in 2006 and, needless to say, has been hashed and rehashed for almost five years. The facts are well known and it’s an old story.

So, did Romney retain the services of a landscaping company knowing that they hired illegal immigrants? I don’t know but as an old Human Resources guy I think it's the responsibility of contractors whether a lawn company, pest control, pool service or another business to comply with current immigration law. To insinuate that the customer (in this case the homeowner) should check the credentials of every person hired to work on their property is ludicrous. It appears to be nothing more than a smear job and old, regurgitated news - at best.

We wonder if Rick Perry has speculated if any illegal and/or undocumented aliens helped process the piece of chicken or vegetables he consumes or helped manufacture the carpets that cover the floors of his house. We think he never gave that a thought though those industries have been habitually guilty of hiring undocumented workers. It’s the same song though different verse.

It appeared that Perry (described as feisty by some supporters) was viscerally combative and confrontational. Because of Perry we won’t remember the positives of that debate rather just the highlights of his harangue and failure to let Romney respond to his allegations. And to what end? Perry’s strategy to counter his ever falling polling numbers was to get indignant and righteous like an angry Moses at Mount Sinai. No, there is no “burning bush” here.

Many see Rick Perry now hand in hand with Michele Bachmann striding towards the sunset… One by one they fade away in almost comical though pathetic political musical chairs to the last person standing or sitting. And then it all starts over.

Aye,

Ned Buxton

PS: Today is October 21, 2011 and the focus of Harold Camping’s latest doomsday prediction. I guess that we have until 11:59:59 PM Central Time here in Dallas, Texas, USA when the rapture (lower case) occurs but then we have that old time zone thing so actually the date has already passed in the Pacific in such locales as Guam where it is a peaceful Saturday morning, October 22, 2011. Confusingly, Catholics around the world are celebrating and memorializing Pope John Paul's 1978 inauguration as Pope on this October 22. They must be unbelievers, “out of the mainstream” but probably not… I overheard one person opining today, “It is a rapture of morons.” Gees, I meant to ask Rick how he stands on the rapture…
N

THANKS TO PETER GENT

When SMU All American and NFL/Dallas Cowboy legend Dandy Don Meredith died last December I felt a great sense of loss - a major part of my generation and all that I embraced had died with him. I hoped against hope wondering if the Millennium and Boomlet generations will bother to remember Meredith and those of his ilk. Meredith who was renowned for his easy going center-stage sense of humor and naturally entertaining behaviors in his early career sought anonymity in retirement. Even with that Dandy Don opined, "I don't know how badly I'd feel if I wasn't remembered at all." That will, hopefully, never happen so long as we appreciate his inspiring All-American story.

Don Meredith was the real reason why the Cowboys were America’s Team though many fans never really understood his relationship with a mostly aloof Coach Tom Landry who more often than not threw Meredith under the bus in defeat. But, that’s another story...

Many of the War Baby and Boomer football icons are getting old and now meeting their maker with alarming frequency as calculated by this 68 year old writer. One by one they process towards those pearly gates. Some might argue that they are already occupying the other domain, but rest assured, most were good men worthy of the ultimate reward for a life well lived. If telling the truth, playing for no other reason than the love of the game, having a good time and being a good person condemns one to the everlasting fire, then I need to get my clothes fireproofed. Now I didn’t live those lives on the edge and never did drugs but like many I pondered and sometimes coveted the free-wheeling, outrageous and absolutely absurd lifestyles they embraced.

On September 30, 2011 another Dallas Cowboy bit the dust, Peter Gent of Bangor, Michigan who at 69 passed to greater glory. Gent was joined at the hip with Meredith, Buddy Dial, Dan Reeves and other Dallas Cowboy icons in a different time and place. While he enjoyed that wide open throttle with his cronies, he had a serious side which just might be his greatest legacy.

Gent may not have made the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor but he could be a footnote on either Meredith’s or Mel Renfro’s plaque. We all want to make a difference while we are on this mortal plane and Pete did it big time. Gent wrote the sorta autobiographical North Dallas Forty (ND40), along with several other significant books that exposed professional football’s unsavory side. ND40 became a dark social commentary of Texas and The South in the 1960’s where players were exploited and as commodities were property to be used and discarded and to be a minority meant you couldn’t live near the practice field in North Dallas. Yes, that’s where the name of Gent’s book came from. That offended the egalitarian and socially conscious Gent who always asked WHY and cooked his story from 1964 to the ultimate publication of ND40 in 1973 and the movie of the same name six years later.

As Gent noted later, “I kept asking why the white players put up with their Black teammates being forced to live in segregated south Dallas, a long drive to the practice field. The situation was not changed until Mel Renfro filed a fair housing suit in 1969." The antiauthoritarian Gent may have been the social conscience of the Dallas Cowboys because nobody else bothered to raise the alarm and call people out on their behaviors. Embarrassingly, no owner, player or even legendary coach Tom Landry with all their celebrity chose to address this and other discrimination issues (shame on them). Offering an insight to his writing in 2003 Pete Gent offered that, “Pro football shows you where your culture is coming apart.” Indeed it was then and is now a reflection of our society, culture and our value system. As we have pointed out in previous posts that includes not just the owners and players but the fans as well.

Gent was certainly a unique individual even to his athleticism. After an exceptional basketball career with the Bangor, Michigan Vikings and the Michigan State Spartans he was drafted by the Baltimore Bullets of the NBA. He tried out for the Dallas Cowboys in 1964 after he learned they would pay $500.00 to training camp attendees. That was a helluva lot of money in those days. And then, surprise, surprise – Gent made the team and basketball went by the wayside.

Gent was as tough as they come and the ND40 character of receiver Phil Elliott mirrored the abuse and subsequent daily pain that Gent and many other NFL players endured then and for the rest of their lives. ND40 along with other exposés like Dave Meggyesy’s 1970 Out of Their League and Jim Bouton's 1970 Ball Four helped shape current policy on injuries and treatment of athletes both at the college and professional sports levels. No, I don’t include Dan Jenkins' "semi-honest and half-funny" 1972 novel Semi-Tough in that same genre… We also need pay attention to great writers like sports columnist Bob Kravitz who likewise chronicled those darker days.

So we thank Peter for his life to include his contributions to society, for being a pretty good Father and for five passable years as a receiver with the Dallas Cowboys. We suspect and hope that Pete and Dandy Don are together again smoking cheroots, drinking Royal Crown Mists and listening to a little Willie Nelson.

Aye,

Ned Buxton

NFL INJURY FAKING CONTROVERSY

Like life, the injury faking controversy has seemingly taken on an energy and persona all its own. Our reaction to the issue is the real story. The continuing empty denials by the participants and their willingness to patently lie coupled with their teammate’s willingness to back them up despite the evidence goes well beyond having someone’s back. It is simply an issue of honesty and integrity.

The bottom line is that it’s cheating and at the very least not in the spirit of the game. Seems that many players and some fans think that anything goes, hook or by crook, to gain a victory. I’m still old enough to remember when honor and a high level code of ethics was the inspiration for life whatever the venue or activity. In an earlier post we reminded readers of that Williams College receiver who credited with a pass reception versus Amherst notified the referee that he had not caught the ball.

Ultimately for most of us who participated in organized team athletics whether it’s football, baseball, hockey, lacrosse, et al the game is surely about recreation/exercise but with an ultimate much higher purpose. Sports in all its myriad forms was for us the great metaphor for Life. The greater lesson is learning to function cooperatively as a team and within the rules of the game to honestly gain the ultimate prize – Victory. We were taught that in defeat that prize can also be ours. The Greeks gave us that lesson which has been forwarded via the modern Olympic movement.

One blogger who echoes the sentiments of this writer recently stated, “I truly believe that the sport actually DESERVES to be played competitively by men with integrity.” Then you see and hear football fans who seemingly don't mind if members of their own team cheat successfully, only objecting when their opponent cheats. That hypocrisy stinks with many of the opinion that this “victory at any cost” mantra could ultimately ruin the game.

Now having said all this we certainly understand tactical fouling when one player deliberately breaks a rule for an advantage. That would include, among many other examples, a defensive safety obviously beaten, interfering with an offensive receiver so as to prevent a touchdown. That’s part of the game where that player trades a penalty for the surety of six points. That’s part of the reward-penalty aspect of the game where the rules anticipate and account those infractions. We doubt that the blue collar workers or the Ivy League blue bloods who played the early version of the game would have feigned injury for an advantage.

Legendary football coach Vince Lombardi (photo above) did say, “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.” but he was parroting (knowingly or not) another football coach, Red Sanders of Vanderbilt and UCLA fame. For those revisionists this writer heard him say it and there is archival video as proof positive. We guess that his intent at using this was to basically motivate and inspire his players in the heat of the moment and to set the stage for his heavy handed, disciplinarian coaching style – all in a different time and place in history. Lombardi in the latter stages of his life, understanding the detrimental effect of that admonition on younger athletes bemoaned, “I sure as hell didn’t mean for people to crush human values and morality”. Lombardi died regretting that he ever said it with Friends, sportscasters and even historians trying unsuccessfully to disassociate him from that phrase.

For many that now famous quote highlights what is wrong with competitive sports in America. As Steve Overman of Jackson State University so keenly observed, sports have become our, “cultural currency.” Randy Roberts and James Olson, in Winning is the Only Thing: Sports in America Since 1945 remind us that, “Football became a lens through which Americans interpreted their country, their communities and themselves.” And that’s both the good and bad of it.

Within the context of this issue I was reminded most recently by a European footballer about the Italian coined term, furbizia, which is literally translated as the art of guile. With much of the rest of the world embracing a fair play approach to the game, they perceive Italian footballers as cheaters and the, “dirtiest footballers on the planet.” The Italians, however, see themselves as doing nothing more than tactically exploiting the soft underbelly of their opponents – winning by hook or by crook. And, yes, those strategies include “diving” and no doubt where some of our NFL players took their inspiration.

Diving is considered “classic furbizia” and according to one blogger is yet another manifestation of the, “use of guile and gamesmanship of the Italians with the referee serving as the object of total distrust and disrespect.” So for the Italians it would appear that this win at all cost attitude has trumped any sense of fair play and ethical values and therein lies the lesson for us. It would appear that we are certainly trying to catch up with the Italians.

A recent blogger challenged us all by asking, how should we participate in competitive sports and then offered we should look to, “Our higher sense of self.” Indeed, we create our own destinies and depending on our choices take either the high or low road. Those choices are: 1) Embrace those high level tenets of sportsmanship and ethics or 2) succumb to victory at any cost – even to cheating and the extent of changing the nature of the game. Copping to the lesser option then cheapens victory and those who gained it.

A great football coach summed the issue up for all of us, “Success without honor is an unseasoned dish; it will satisfy your hunger, but it won't taste good.” The Italians notwithstanding, apparently a lot of players in the NFL have lost their sense of taste…

Aye,

Ned Buxton