Hmm, just a little while back you, me and the rest of the entire civilized sports world were unceremoniously informed and browbeat with the mythological dissertation of Galileo and Nostradamus and then the vertical leaped on the back of the horizontal showing us when the moon is in the seventh house and Jupiter aligns with Mars.
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Can all of the aforementioned gibberish even remotely define a “Dream Team” or what it takes to be or become one? “I don’t think so,” as my boy “Homey the Clown” would so aptly put it. As far as the opinion of the “support” quarterback of the Philly Eagles Vince Young is concerned, the only credible dream of Mr. Young that will command my full attention is a visual of him driving through a KFC asking, no pleading for extra hot sauce.
Young was part of an optimal situation with the Tennessee Titans but would not accept the discipline of a deserved benching. He then disappeared and left his mom to deal with the “piranhas” of the press. In 2009 Young “disappeared” while awaiting results of an MRI on his sprained left knee. For hours the Titans sought police help finding the QB the team described as “emotionally down.” Young’s agent Major Adams said soon after there was no need for concern because Young was at a friend’s house watching football and eating chicken wings. Any team should be a dream team for Vince Young because in light of the decisions of his recent past, he is fortunate to be competing for any NFL team.
The Eagles were trashed by the Green Bay Packers in the 2010 NFL playoffs because starting QB Mike Vick appeared to be a close relative of “Bambi in the headlights.” Meanwhile Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers seemed to have gotten access to the water supply of the Eagles defensive backfield. It seems as if “Mr.” Rodgers played a dual role as he donned two hats for the contest. He put on the first hat acting as the pre-surgical anesthesiologist putting the Eagles to sleep before he wheeled them into surgery to carve them up. So what do the Eagles do? They go out and appear to make their secondary impenetrable, at least on paper. See, to them, that was the only glaring flaw. But on offense they have shackled Vick, putting molasses in his shoes attempting to transform him into a “pocketback.” Keeping Vick in the pocket is akin to having Lance Armstrong pedal up and down the hills of Pittsburgh in preparation to compete in the Tour de` France only to ultimately have him ride a stationary bike in your backyard. Well boys and girls before this piece concludes I will attempt to give you your comeuppance as I define the similarities and the differences to what is written and what transpires on the field.
The Eagles reacted a bit too strongly regarding their personnel because if their defensive game planning does not improve, they can have Rod Woodson on one side, Deion Sanders on the other and they will still get smashed. The Eagles will not put a system into place, believe in it and allow it to grow. They are instead reactionary, looking across the street at the new car of the neighbors, envying and coveting what they have. They have no idea that the pristine, shiny vehicle that rolls out of their driveway every day possesses hidden flaws. On top of that the folk across the way also keep a freezer full of bologna and plenty of moldy bread and Hellman’s in the pantry because their credit cards and bank accounts are for all intents and purposes tapped out.
Dream teams are not constructed on paper. Dream “players” that comprise dream “teams” are the ones with commitment and total focus. When other players are out clubbing with a glass of Moet in one hand and a fat cigar in the other, dream “players” are at home with a glass of OJ in one hand and the remote in the other, watching game film on their opponents, picking up little nuances that cannot be provided by the fellow providing valet parking or by having “serious” conversations with the most recent “shorty” that they are planning to take home. Instead of focusing on conquering those of the opposite sex, maybe some of these dream players should put more emphasis on conquering those lined up across from them. Dream “teams” visualize and conceptualize success based on what may be tangible to each individual, but you should remember that Aristotle once said, “The whole is more than the sum of its parts.” There is something metaphysical about a group of individuals that come together on all three levels, physical, mental and spiritual. The Pittsburgh Steelers have “mettle.” That my friends, cannot be purchased, drafted or taught.
(Aubrey Bruce can be reached at: abruce@newpittsburghcourier.com or 412-583-6741. Bruce is also the AFC North and NFL analyst on ‘The Odd Couple Show’ every Wednesday streaming live from 11-11:30 a.m. on Fox Sports Radio WCWA 1230 Toledo, Ohio.)
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