Dressing the Part
by James R. Miller
One
of the oft-overlooked keys to success in any field of endeavor
is dressing the part of the winner. It is a sad but true reflection
on the superficiality of much of human interaction that the
competitor who has the look of a champion will often be treated
like one--even if he lacks the accompanying abilities
that make a true champion. By the same token, the competitor
with a losing appearance will be treated with less respect
by his fellow competitors, a situation with the potential
to become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
With
that in mind, it is at the very least heartening that the
Buffalo Bills have chosen to introduce new uniforms at this
time. The old uniforms had come to be associated not with
the four straight trips to the Super Bowl back in the franchise's
glory years, but rather with the four straight losses in those
games--and even worse, with the team's gradual decline
thereafter into the lower realms of the NFL power structures.
As was
hinted in last issue's column, the arrival here in Buffalo
of a rejuvenated Drew Bledsoe at quarterback makes this an
opportune time to change other aspects of the team's fortunes,
and the uniforms would certainly fall into that category.
Of course, with the NFL's strict guidelines, the new uniforms
were in the works long before the Bledsoe trade was even a
dot on the radar. Even so, the timing must be viewed as a
fortuitous coincidence: an extremely successful off-season
(not only owing to the Bledsoe trade) has given the team the
renewed confidence of a winner. The right uniforms could possibly
give them the confidence of a champion.
But we
mustn't get ahead of ourselves here. Note that I said "right"
uniforms. For if history has taught us anything, there is
a right and wrong way to change. Whereas the freewheeling
liberal changes haphazardly, often simply following whatever
is the latest fad, the pragmatic conservative changes naturally--that
is, gradually and logically, in just the same way that our
planet and all life upon it have been evolving over these
many eons.
It is
this self-evident knowledge that causes me some degree of
concern when I consider the Bills' new uniforms. On the one
hand, the new home uniforms do seem to reflect the sensible
path of pragmatic conservative change referred to above. The
overall look remains the same, with the changes being subtle
ones that have a sound logical basis (such as the more fearsome
deep blue color chosen for the jerseys' primary color). Overall,
they recall the past without dwelling unnecessarily on it
and seem to represent a more efficient and modern costume
suited to performing on the modern field of battle.
The same
cannot be said, however, of the new away uniforms, which it
pains me to say reflect a certain base element of pandering
to the latest fads. As has been much commented on in the media,
these new uniforms are reminiscent of the Tennessee Titans'
uniforms, the team from which Head Coach Gregg Williams arrived
here in Buffalo. Coach Williams achieved a great deal as a
coordinator in Nashville, they say, so it is only natural
that he should wish to bring certain elements of that winning
tradition with him here.
But what
I have not heard commented on is the fact that the Titans'
championship run two years ago came up just a bit short. In
fact, just like the Bills back in the their first Super Bowl,
Tennessee came up just a yard short (a yard right in the Bills'
case, of course) on the game's final play against the NFC
opponent.
It is
a universally held view in the world of business--and
indeed, in all competitive fields--that when copying
one's competitors, one should emulate those who have achieved
the greatest successes. Thus, it does concern me somewhat
that the Bills appear to be following in the footsteps of
a team whose near-triumph mirrors its own. Furthermore, the
Titans' decline following that Super Bowl heartbreak has been
far more swift than the Bills' a decade earlier. Thus, as
the season approaches, we should take pains to remain rational
and not succumb to overly optimistic giddiness.
But that
does not mean that we cannot still revel somewhat in what
is certainly an exciting time in Buffalo sports history. After
all, it is not as if we are fans of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Unlike that woeful franchise, ours is a team that--despite
its many setbacks--I believe still possesses the heart
of a champion.
Soccer:
The "Other" Football?
What
with the mild case of soccer fever that is now sweeping the
country in conjunction with the American team's unprecedented
success in the current World Cup tournament, I think this
would be a good time to say a few words about that piteous
sport that dares to share a name throughout much of the world
with our beloved American game.
Why,
even some of my self-proclaimed "conservative" colleagues
have of late taken an inappropriate interest in soccer. In
their defense, they argue that it makes good conservative
sense for a dedicated football fan to learn to enjoy the game
from which our American football derived. This is pure nonsense,
of course. Far from representing a conservative approach,
this fashionable obsession with soccer stinks of the worst
kind of reactionaryism. And certainly the tumultuous events
of the 20th century have clearly demonstrated the hell to
which that kind of reactionary mindset leads. Those who now
find themselves indulging their atavistic interest in a game
forbidding the use of the hands would do just as well to cease
walking upright and return to the miserable level of dumb
beasts.
The civilized
majority, on the other hand, will be attending to personal
matters and waiting patiently for that glorious day when the
football season begins anew.
Born and raised in Hamburg, James R. Miller is currently completing
post-doctoral work at London School of Economics.
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