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2009-12-01 10:17:00

Barry Sanders…REAL intimidation

Answer: As always, I’m glad you asked. This month, my article will be shorter than some, but perhaps…carry some “punch” from a different direction. We’ll see. I, like many adults, have played several sports throughout my life. In some, I wasn’t very good at all. In some, I was a little better than that. In some, I have played and continue to play that put me in a category all by myself, such as golf. The reason why I know this is because frequently, when walking off the course, I hear a comment such as, “There goes those four golfers and Charlie.” One sport I thoroughly enjoyed playing was football. I was always in the middle of most of what was going on…as a tight end on offense and a linebacker or lineman on defense. I suppose the “adrenalin rush” I seemed to get as I heard the quarterback’s cadence, knowing in just a moment, it was going to be my body and mind against another guy or two…and not knowing for sure the outcome…had a lot to do with it. A torn cartilage and ligaments in my knee ended my playing days, but I have never lost my love for the game, or have I ever forgotten that “rush.” But now, after 40 years of watching rather than playing, and at this time of the year leading into the bowl games and playoffs, I do have an observation I would like to share. In doing so, I hope you don’t make me out to be an “old stick in the mud,” but when someone does what I’m going to talk about doing…the right way…the difference it makes to the viewer is night and day. So, what am I talking about this time? I’m talking about the jumping around, “high fiving”, “excessive celebration” and diving into the end zone with no one following them, or the stands, by players of all ages…including pros…after making a catch, interception, sack or play of some kind. You see it in every game…and the more I see of it the more ridiculous it becomes…particularly when it is accompanied by a penalty on the team that has such an “intelligent” player. To some, I suppose it is humorous. To others, who are caught up in the moment and because they have seen it so much…they don’t give it a second thought. To me, my thought is, “He must be acting that way because he doesn’t think he deserves to have made such a play.” I know…I know…some of you are thinking that I am that “old stick in the mud,” but seriously…isn’t the player’s job to catch…tackle…intercept…score…etc.? Why should he act like such an idiot when all he has done – is his job? I wonder if he thinks his actions are intimidating the opponent? I don’t think so. You know what is intimidating to the opposition? When you do something and act as though it is what you are supposed to do. Here’s a guy who did it right…Barry Sanders. In my opinion, Barry Sanders was the most intimidating football player in the last 20 years…and perhaps of all time. Why? Was it his athleticism? Was it all of the records he holds? No, although he was as much of an athlete as anyone I have ever seen…and he certainly holds many records. He intimidated the opposition because he DID his job and ACTED like he was doing his job. When he was through doing his job, he handed the ball to the referee. He didn’t jump up and down or leap into the stands. He didn’t do a “Billy White Shoes Johnson” dance. He didn’t spin the ball on the ground. He didn’t do a cartwheel. He took the slaps on his back from his teammates, grinned shyly, then very professionally and courteously handed the ball to the referee. Scoring positive yards and touchdowns…catching passes…keeping the team together (which had to be most difficult during many of his years in Detroit)…was his job. He DID his job. He EXPECTED to do this job. He didn’t act any different than say…a punch press operator at Coleman, who…after doing his job, at the end of the day, saying “good-bye” to his fellow workers, getting in his truck and leaving to go home. Can you see a punch press operator who is supposed to run 100 parts per hour, doing so for his 8 hours and when finished…doing a cartwheel in the middle of the press shop? Or giving “high fives” to the Quality Control Inspector? Or jumping into the outstretched arms of the Foreman and the Lead Man? Yes, he intimated the opposition…all the while being a perfect gentleman. Can you imagine playing against him, and watching him head down the field across the goal line…after you and six of your teammates’ jockey straps are laying out on the field…as he hands the ball to the referee and trots back to the bench waiting his turn to “do his job” again? Now THAT is intimidation! Intimidation is a big part of any sports contest. Phil Mickelson (I had originally planned to use Tiger for this example but we’ll let him rest a bit) might be a plus 6 handicap (actually a pro has no handicap and plays off scratch), and I might be a -16, making for 22 shots he would give me on a medal play bet. Some (who don’t know any better) would say that would be fair. But do you think that I could come anywhere close to shooting my handicap, when playing alongside of him? No. Why? Because of the intimidation factor. Yes, Phil gets a little pumped at times but he stays in control of himself. He does his job. Most of the time, he does it very well. He knows he does it very well. He expects to do it very well. Most professional golfers are like Phil. That is one of the things that makes golf the wonderful game that it is. The manner in which they go about doing their job would intimidate the dickens out of me were I to be playing one or all of them. I would not come close to staying in the match. Now, were they to jump around and do cart wheels after they make a birdie, I might think them to be a bunch of idiots…and just maybe…my “awe” of them would wane a bit and I wouldn’t be quite so intimidated. Maybe I would come closer to competing…maybe not…but better golfers than I am could. I don’t know who it was, early in Barry’s life, that explained this to him. Maybe it was his father. Maybe it was a coach. Maybe he didn’t need anyone to explain it. Maybe his humility and his ability to keep his ego and pride under control was something he figured out as a youngster. As I say, I don’t know, but I do know…each time I see the “idiots” do it the wrong way today…I think of Barry Sanders doing it the right way…and it is a most pleasant thought.