Growing up is confusing enough, but it’s even more of a clusterfuck when you get contradictory advice. We often rely on folksy sayings, time proven proverbs and maxims especially when one doesn’t have a dad [like me]. You can probably finish these:
“Bird in the hand…”, “Devil finds work…”, “A penny saved…”All work and no play…”
“Measure twice cut once” – Lincoln.
One of my faves.
But sometimes you get conflicting proverbs:
“He who hesitates loses.”
“Look before you leap.”
OK. So which is it? Well, both are in/correct aren’t they? Plenty of evidence for either cases. One learns in life that, unlike football, no playbook exists, so you gotta decide, often in a split second, which to roll with.
Aristotle said as much. “You can’t make someone wise.” Seems like the last case a philosopher should write, but that’s essentially what he expressed. He advocated The Golden Mean: Making the right decision involves acting at the right time, towards the right people, for the right purpose, and in the right way.
Student, “Follow up question, Prof A… how do we discern that?”
Aristotle, “Ultimately, that’s up to YOU.”
In other words, “You can lead a horse to water…”
In literature [and now films] the ‘hero’ is often presented with a choice:
1. Stay home. Think about your family, safety and happiness. A woman usually presents this case [think Adrian in “Rocky IV” – “You can’t win!”].
2. Take a chance. Set off! Sometimes an elderly ‘wise’ man spurs this on like Obi Wan to Luke or guides the neophyte [up to a point] like Virgil in Dante’s “Paradise Lost”.
“Call to adventure“. It’s a Jungian trope that is in nearly every movie.
What the hell are you babbling on about, Butch? Gimme football!
Well young grass-hoppa, this IS about football, the Bears and Poles.
See, Poles thus far has acted prudently. He hasn’t splurged like the Raiders or leveraged the Bears’ future, but he also hasn’t been completely frigid in FA like the Puke during the Rodgers-Favre era.
Poles has taken the middle road. When his Nissan broke down, he didn’t hit the German dealership. He took a bus to his local Carmax and purchased a newer Camry.
Now, that could work. Maybe he’s saving his pennies for some secret target we’re not privy to. Or maybe Booker suddenly turns into Richard Dent, or Benedet’s arms grow 2 inches, or Motivated Dayo Mack-Attacks the league…I suppose anything’s possible. It certainly appears Poles is banking on prior bets to finally pay.
This all leaves us sorta…meh, right?
Maybe lit and flicks have conditioned us so thoroughly that we no longer can sit on our hands; spectators get fidgety . We WANT Achilles to go to Troy. We WANT Rocky to fight Drago. We WANT Luke to fly to the stars.
We WANT a Crosby, Garrett, or Hendrickson.
Now, going bold doesn’t always work out. If “Grinder” represents the extreme of caution, “Worm” represents the other spectrum of recklessness.
Jerry “Glitchy” Angelo went bold and signed Cutler.
Ryan Pace went bold and gave up the kitchen sink for Mack.
We all remember the Herschel Walker Trade and the Ditka-Ricky Williams marriage. Heck, The Commandos’ MO basically the last 40 years has been to Albert Haynesworth it.
Still, at SOME point, you gotta take your shot.
A GM certainly can’t be “Worm”, but being “Grinder” is death by a thousand papercuts.
Whether it’s literature, movies, or life, a person rarely achieves anything staying on the couch.
“Well-behaved women seldom make history.” – Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
Perhaps the most frustrating part for fans is that we MUST trust Poles’ to ‘decide on the right player, in the right way, at the right time.’ Like lowly peasants, we have no choice but to back whatever king is on the throne, whether he be just, dumb or mad. Still, that’s a TALL ask given Poles’ history. Patience is thinning especially for one who believes this team can truly push for a SB.
So, remember, Poles.
“Fortune favors the bold.”