At the root of last week’s epic fight…no, not THAT one…the one between the New York Yankees & Detroit Tigers—was yet another, unwritten rule held dear by one too many players! A pitcher getting in his feelings about the number of homeruns a batter has hit off of him… suddenly throwing anywhere but across home plate.….
Forget about unwritten…this rule IS written, in bold & underlined, actually there are two of them: Upgrade Your Game, quickly followed by, Strike Him Out!! The other path is cowardly, juvenile, & can be very, very dangerous. Last time I checked, Michael Morse of the San Francisco Giants, had not been on the field since banging heads with a teammate Memorial Day weekend….a direct result of a pitcher provoked brawl. There is a strong possibility Morse may never be released from concussion protocol. That’s a career coming to a hard stop, folks. This unwritten rule should have gone away with the dinosaurs……but yesterday is never too late!
Though not nearly as egregious, other unwritten rules abound:
In football, it is an absolute MUST that a quarterback not only be the leader on the field…but “have” the locker room as a whole. Lacking this skillset, seldom puts a team on the championship track……
To that point, the skill level of Jay Cutler is not questionable. He’ll be rocking the turquoise and orange of Miami this season….however, it remains to be seen whether a leopard can indeed change its spots & master the other duties as assigned aspect of the job. Jay needs to look no further than the other side of Florida for a tutorial. If Jameis Winston doesn’t do a-ny-th-ing else, he holds down a locker room!! See halftime of last year’s FSU-Ole Miss game & most recently this year’s season of Hard Knocks for references.
Let me be clear…only one quarterback is needed for this unwritten rule! Not the 27th since 1999! Geez louise Cleveland Browns powers that be…you can’t possibly see that astronomical figure and still scratch your head as to why brown paper bags long replaced face painting at First Energy Stadium!
The number of those who’ve actually played the game professionally is small. This makes the forming of a brotherhood a somewhat natural occurrence. To every rule, there is an exception though. LeSean McCoy’s statements surrounding Colin K’s talent level not being worthy of a distraction instantly reminded me of how Chip Kelly believed McCoy’s talent level was not worthy of an Eagles uniform. Ahhh opinions, everybody has one. Mine has given way to how true to life Shady really is…..
Our final unwritten rule serves as a sidebar to all sports television shows…after 5 attire should be reserved for—after 5pm. At brunch with a girlfriend Sunday afternoon our conversation took a backseat as a female network show host captured our attention. An attractive woman clad in a black, off the shoulder dress…conversely, her equally attractive male counterpart donned a suit—only visible skin being his face, a portion of his neck & his hands….
Soon thereafter…I received a text from a male friend inquiring “why is the female wearing a cocktail dress?” It is widely understood that attractiveness sell. However, if moving dress straps up 2-3 inches so that one’s attire instantly transforms from a cocktail dress to a more appropriate sheath, is a problem for the targeted audience…trust and believe, they are not listening anyway!
