Maureen Dowd, "Pigskin Pride and Prejudice": How Do RGIII and the Redskins Stack Up Against Obama's Offensive Team

I am, and always will be, a Chicago Bears fan, but regretably I don't see Da Bears making it into the playoffs this season. As I get older, I begin to wonder whether I will again be blessed in this lifetime with another magical championship season as occurred in 1985. Meanwhile, my orange Bears shirt has grown old and is full of holes, and my wife has asked me to toss it into the garbage. No way!

In her latest New York Times op-ed entitled "Pigskin Pride and Prejudice" (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/27/opinion/dowd-pigskin-pride-and-prejudice.html?_r=0), Maureen Dowd focuses on the flagging fortunes of the Washington Redskins, mired in a losing season. Dowd writes of Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III:

"He went from being cheered as a magical quarterback and magnetic leader to being belittled as a college-level player and blame-shifter. The Washington Post’s Sally Jenkins upbraided RGIII, once hailed as “Cool Hand Luke,” for acting like “an unteachable know-it-all.” Wide receiver Santana Moss suggested that RGIII, and other teammates, have to not blame others, “have to, at some point, stand up and say ‘me’ or ‘I.’ ”"

Care to play a game? Replace "RGIII" in the preceding paragraph with "Barack Obama." Does it ring true?

Of course, Obama doesn't blame others for his administration's failures. In the Obama administration, no one, including Kathleen Sebelius, is to blame. Rather, Obama has taken to excusing himself by explaining, "I didn't know."

Well, RGIII and the Redskins, if they continue to play by this name, could still recover next season.

Obama and his offensive (pun intended) team - Kerry, Hagel, Sebelius, Power, Carey and Jarrett, just to name a few - are finished.

[Meanwhile, Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei is busy making a fool out of President Obama. Notwithstanding the "agreement" to the contrary that Obama negotiated with Khamenei in Oman, Iran has today announced that it will continue with its construction of the Arak nuclear reactor, which, when operational, will produce enough plutonium for two atomic bombs each year (see: http://www.jpost.com/Iranian-Threat/News/Iran-Construction-will-continue-at-Arak-nuclear-site-333166). Pursuant to the deal, components for the facility can also continue to be built off-site. Only Obama and his team of naifs could possibly have expected otherwise.]

Maureen Dowd, "He Who Knew Not": Seeking Wisdom in the Wrong Locale

I don't know how it works today, but back some 50 years ago, our locker room was decorated with a poster informing us that "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going!" I learned the tough way that when you tear a ligament in your knee, and your knee balloons to twice its ordinary size, there is simply no going.

In her latest New York Times op-ed entitled "He Who Knew Not" (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/09/opinion/dowd-he-who-knew-not.html?_r=0), Maureen Dowd complains about the injuries sustained by Robert Griffin III in the Redskins loss to the Seahawks:

"It was dumb football not to switch to the talented backup quarterback, Kirk Cousins, so the other players would have a chance to move forward and RGIII would not end up in the fourth quarter writhing on the ground, his leg bizarrely twisted, helpless to reach for a low snap at the 5-yard line."

Heck, Maureen, weren't you ever told "No Pain, No Gain!"

Dowd concludes:

"If I want to see self-serving behavior, warped decision-making, dangerous rationalizations and chuckleheads mortgaging the future, I can go back to watching Congress."

Yeah, there is little pleasure to be had watching the antics of the federal government, but if you're expecting wisdom from the NFL - I admit to being an avid, albeit frustrated, Bears fan - you've come to the wrong place. Crippling orthopedic injuries, concussions and steroid abuse have hobbled the heroes of my past.