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Yet another Posnanski column. Simple, effective. JMac, DD come in

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by GBNF, Dec 27, 2007.

  1. GBNF

    GBNF Well-Known Member

    http://www.kansascity.com/sports/football/v-print/story/414420.html

    What makes this so good?

    To me, it was how he so effortlessly described Gonzalez' reaction to Belichick.

    Shit, I'd give anything to be Posnanski...
     
  2. spnited

    spnited Active Member

    In case anyone has forgotten, there is further proof of what a total asshole Belichick is.
     
  3. GBNF

    GBNF Well-Known Member

    I disagree completely — he knows how to motivate people, plain and simple.

    A total asshole move would be to criticize Gonzalez after the second block.

    I love this about Belichick.
     
  4. wickedwritah

    wickedwritah Guest

    And he learned it from that disingenuous Jersey asshole, Duane Charles.
     
  5. spnited

    spnited Active Member


    Indeed he did, wicked, indeed he did.
     
  6. BYH

    BYH Active Member

    I'd have liked this story 1,000,000x more if Gonzalez just didn't give a shit what Belichick said.
     
  7. Considering that this anecdote is 180 degrees opposite from almost everything I've heard about BB's demeanor in Hawaii last year, I find it curious.
     
  8. STLIrish

    STLIrish Active Member

    Except that the people Belichick coaches, be they his own players or Tony Gonzalez, do give a shit about what he says. Because he's so successful, they want his approval. And he knows it. That's what makes his style work.

    As for the column, I think it worked because it was indeed simple and uncluttered, it told a story beginning to end, and it used a single mundane event to demonstrate a universal experience - we've all had that teacher or boss or coach who pushed us harder than we wanted to be pushed, and while we hated them for it, we eventually saw the wisdom - while not knocking us over the head with that idea. It's like an Aesop fable or something.
     
  9. Or, you could say the column unintentionally expresses another universal truth:

    The most pitiful, craven human often wins the most.

    Anyone who could fear any embarrassment off any outcome in a PRO BOWL must be pretty much a train wreck in general.
     
  10. Joe Williams

    Joe Williams Well-Known Member

    Really enjoyed the column and have no particular reason to doubt its veracity. But it is clearly a one-source piece and I'm guessing that Joe P. was not actually in attendance, and the camera crews weren't isolated on Gonzalez for the two-block sequence. (Unless BB was playing video games even in Honolulu.)

    Just saying, this could have Albom-like potential if any of it was bent to fit the Aesop fable. Maybe the second block wasn't quite a "clocking." The almost-out-of-hearing-range description is a guess, too. Again, I'm not trying to be skeptical, but when something reads like a short story from "Boys' Life" -- absolutely pat and on-the-nose -- my antenna starts to twitch.
     
  11. Boobie Miles

    Boobie Miles Active Member

    Amazing that someone in KC can capture what makes Belichick an effective coach better than ankything I've read anywhere else. Very good column, it all just played out effortlessly.
     
  12. Bullwinkle

    Bullwinkle Member

    http://www.kansascity.com/180/story/493241.html

    Anybody care for another great one from "The Best?"
     
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