More Nuggets of Wonderment

Three Philosophical Points on Albert Haynesworth
1. It is an interesting fact of human existence that one action, taking place in a matter of seconds, can change the perception of a man’s identity. One action in a matter of seconds and a person can be forever associated with that one bad decision in one bad moment.

2. There is a lot of outrage among football fans over Haynesworth’s action. I find it interesting that people who watch a very violent sport for fun express such incredible outrage over a particular violent act. Obviously stomping a guy’s face with one’s cleats is different than tackling a guy hard, but the lady doth protest too much, methinks.

3. The term “political correctness” is overused and misused, but there is almost a form of political correctness going on here: if you don’t express the necessary outrage over Haynesworth’s action, some will say there is something wrong with you.

Favre Tally
With 0 TDs and 2 INTs, Favre remains 18 TDs away from Marino’s career TD pass record and 17 INTs away from Blanda’s career INT record.

Win Twins
According to Pro Football Talk, if the Twins need 5 games in their series with the As, then the Viking’s game against the Lions next week will be moved to Monday night. I will rip my hair out and scream “a pox on both your houses” if this happens. If the Twins do win the World Series (which I do hope they do, since many of my fellow Viking fans would be pleased), I will also have to learn what sort of behavior is necessary when a hometown team that you really don’t care about wins a championship.

Chance and Football
In the fiction of John Fowles, hazard plays a major role. In The Magus and The French Lieutenant’s Woman, Fowles teaches that chance is the primary factor determining our existences.

There's something we don't usually talk about in relation to football. We like to believe there is order and meaning to what occurs on and around the field. But sometimes, that isn't the case.

The fact is, often what determines who wins a particular football game, or even who wins a particular championship, is based on chance. Hazard. Randomness. ON FACTORS WELL BEYOND THE CONTROL OF A SPECIFIC TEAM.

If an opponent fumbles, an odd-shaped ball is going to bounce in any number of directions. Which way that ball bounces may determine who wins that game. And in the NFL, where every game counts, who wins that game could determine who gets home field advantage in the playoffs, which could determine the champion. And what direction that odd-shaped ball bounces is a matter of physics outside of the realm of control of the team.

When do you play a particular opponent? Do you play them early in the season, when they're still alive? Late, when they've written everything off? Right after a tough Monday night game? A week after their best player gets injured? These are the types of things that could determine whether you win a game, a division, a championship. And you have no control over the NFL scheduling.

Luck. Luck is a ridiculous factor in the NFL. Sometimes how you acquire a particular player is a matter of chance. Sometimes injuries of which there is no control occur. Sometimes the ball bounces oddly, or the referee finally clears a fumble pile at the wrong time, or an opponent makes a mistake somewhere along the way, or any number of other factors that you have nothing to do with can determine your team success. What if you're 12-4 but play in the same division with a 14-2 team? What if one particular year you have your best team ever, but you're the second best team in the league, but the year before or a year later you would have been the best team in the league?

It's hazard.