A Current State Of Affairs
Each fall my Grandfather McBride was afflicted by a disease known in our family as the “World Series Flu.” It was of indeterminate length, lasting from 4 games to 7. I will not acknowledge suffering from a similar ailment over recent weeks, but I do have considerably more football information than usual.
We are nearing the end of our football season. It is that time when even non-fans become fans. College football has used a new 12 team playoff format to determine a champion. The Super Bowl kickoff is near.
Kickoff. Have you adjusted to the new NFL kickoff rules? It still looks strange to my mind’s eye. Oh well, things change.
Things change. I have heard that most of my life. I know there is truth, a wisdom that involves acceptance of some new circumstances, a different life condition. Perhaps arbitrary rules imposed on us by someone else. The NFL. The feds. Or maybe some law of nature and age.
Conditions I do not accept I have been known to expend much time and effort attempting to change. Both the changeable and the unchangeable. I suppose the rub is I struggle to recognize what can be changed and what can not.
It is at this point that knowing how and when to compromise is a large asset. I believe we all struggle here.
Viktor Frankl suggested in his writings that it is not circumstances but rather our attitude toward the circumstances that dictate our ultimate success or failure in managing them. I have found truth here.
We only have to listen to our national news to know that we are going to have ample opportunity to test a variety of hypotheses about the management of change. I think I’ll manage my anxieties by focusing on football.
Recruiting has long been a significant part of winning college football. Coaches who were skilled evaluators of talent had a leg up.
Assessing the potential of 18 year old high school is still a part of most major programs. Today the assessment men with 2 to 4 years of college experiences is the critical variable thanks to “The Portal” might be more important. This blessing to older player is a curse to the football dreams of the high school senior.
Now, important in the recruitment of both groups is how much you can afford to pay them. I guess we have come a long way from when finding a $20 bill in your locker was a big deal. I do hope our high school athletics remain just beyond the tenacles of whatever this creature is. I believe high school athletics are the last great hope for amateur sport.
However, the Tulsa World recently ran a large article on the amount of money some high school coaches are now paid. Thoughtful.
Things change.
There is nothing so stable as change. – Bob Dylan
