The Bopst Show - Episode 21
September 8, 2008
Listen
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Subscribe
- iTunes: The Bopst show podcast
- Everything else: The Bopst show podcast
Download
I wait all year for football season to begin and every year I convince myself that the Washington Redskins, the single greatest sports franchise in the history of organized sports, has a legitimate shot at
winning a Super Bowl title. It is delusional thinking, I know, but who watches sports to not dream the impossible dream? I certainly don’t. Unsubstantiated belief in the seemingly impossible is what watching
sports in all about.
And considering the fact that over the last 10 years the Redskins have only won more games than perennial basement dwellers such as the Lions, Cardinals and the Browns, it requires a heroic leap of faith each new season to convince yourself that the current year is going to be any different than the last 10. After watching last Thursday’s opening day debacle against Super Bowl champions the New York Giants, I am going to have to dig mighty deep to find, cultivate and nurture that elusive optimism.
Their new coach, Jim Zorn, the former Seattle Seahawks quarterbacks coach and the team’s first ever quarterback when they entered the league in 1976, looked woefully ill-equipped in his new executive
level position. This is his first gig as the supreme head honcho and if this game is any indication of what the season holds, it is going to be long and painful campaign. Everything was pitiful. The offense
was anemic, the defense got pushed around (until righting the ship in the second half), and the coaches (Zorn especially) performed like novices. Though the final score gave the impression of a fairly even
match (16-7), the Redskins got their collective ass kicked. It was brutal to watch.
In this charged political season, the ineptitude of inexperienced head coach Jim Zorn in his first game could be a telling analogy to the importance of experience. On the other hand, first year coach of the
still Michael Vick stained Atlanta Falcons, Mike Smith, and his rookie quarterback, Matt Ryan carried their team to an improbable 34-17 win over the Detroit Lions proving that (at least for a week anyway) being new in a field of expertise doesn’t always translate into failure. Long tenured coaches such as the Seattle Seahawks Mike Holmgren and St. Louis Rams Scott Linehan got blown out despite reams of knowledge and familiarity with the pro game. The lesson is this. Nobody really knows what will happen until they play the game. No one disputes the advantages of being seasoned in your craft, but sometimes a beginner can outsmart, out hustle and out think their battle tested & proven adversary. If the outcome were always a foregone conclusion based on perceived ability, there would be no reason to play the games in the first place.
I still have hope that the Redskins can right their ship. In their post game interviews, players and coaches kept repeating the mantra that the NFL season is a marathon and not a sprint. While it is true, given the way that the team got shellacked on national television, these words of wisdom were the equivalent of applying a sweet nothing Band-Aid to the gushing head wound of my fevered fandom. Does this mean that I will stop watching and rooting on my beloved Redskins to keep fighting for old DC? No. If the sad reality of only 3 playoff appearances in last 2 plus decades hasn’t diminished my enthusiasm for the team, nothing will. I am a hopeless and eternally hopeful optimist.
Sometimes that is all that matters.
The set list for this week’s show is posted on my MySpace page.
Previous show set lists are on my blog.
The Bopst Show Request Line: 804.767.2550
Until Next Time:
Stay Clean,
BOPST
PS: Many people have commented on my, “Stay Clean” sign off. My answer
is this: You really should listen to Motorhead more often.
Previous Episodes
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20
12 Responses to “The Bopst Show - Episode 21”
1. R Day says:
Chris,
So I don’t suppose there is a new home for More On Sports?
Great BS by the way, and the v/m for Shandra, Sandra or Sarah was classic.
on September 8th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
2. bopst says:
not at this point, but I wouldn’t put it out of the realm of possibility…
on September 8th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
3. The Fan District Hub » Blog Archive » Bopst Show No. 21 says:
[...] This week at RVANews Bopst is stewing over the Redskins lackluster opening night performance and other familiar themes. The Bopst Show No. 21 is here. [...]
on September 10th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
4. Immy says:
Fact- the Redskins franchise’s owner george preston marshall fought tooth and nail not to allow black football players on the Redskins, they were the last team to integrate, and their Bop St.’s favorite team… INTERESTING
on September 11th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
5. GJ says:
What is interesting Immy, is how in the hell you are able to walk out of the door and presumably go to work without being run over every morning. The man you are citing died in 1969, and started admitting blacks to the team in 1962. Am I responsible for slavery because I am proud to be a Virginian? And what I find extremely interesting is the HUGE BLACK FANBASE of the Redskins.
on September 13th, 2008 at 11:15 am
6. bopst says:
Yes, Marshall was a horrible racist. You ain’t telling me anything I didn’t already know…
on September 13th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
7. Immy Immel says:
@ gj im not citing anyone, do you have low reading comprehension big mouth? whos your favorite KKK member, democrqatic senator robert byrd? look im just tryin to start some trouble and get alot of comments goin, is that ok, liberals are so sensitive. seems to me germany still has a hard time with the nazi history. I think orginasations history is important, remember how they recently tried to hold some companies responsible for having slaves back in the civil war days. Its complicated and i dont expect you to be able to keep up especially with your low reading comprehension level which is a strong sign of ones IQ level
on September 13th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
8. Immy Gration says:
when marshal was owner his won loss record wasnt so good, instead of judging players on ability he chose race and the skins were less competitive. losers more then winners it seems. did george marshal write the skins song “hail skins”? funny thing how could a guy with a team called redskins be a racist? isnt it honoring Indians? warrior culture? or did he not like indians either
on September 14th, 2008 at 8:52 am
9. Beaner says:
“look im just tryin to start some trouble and get alot of comments goin, is that ok,” — Immy
Oh. . . I see, you’re just being rude for the sake of having some personal fun, like a little kid stirring up the red ants versus the black ants– the very definition of a troll.
In that case– being a Yankee, I think ALL you Virginians are racist inbred hicks.
Have fun with that one, Gomer.
(For the sarcasm-impaired, I’m joking).
(PS– whenever I hear/read someone singling out “the liberals” I take it in with several pinches of salt, knowing full well that the speaker is just acting as a conduit for Limbaugh/Hannity/O’Reilly, et al. Neither the left nor the right is as homogenous as pundits like to imply, and the fact that Byrd once belonged to the KKK doesn’t mean he is still racist, any more than the fact that Guliani was once a Democrat means he is still a liberal, or because Immy acts [and types] like a ten-year-old means he is still a child.)
on September 14th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
10. The Bopst Show - Episode 29 | RVANews says:
[...] 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 22,23, 24, [...]
on November 3rd, 2008 at 10:22 am
11. The Bopst Show - Episode 31 | RVANews says:
[...] 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 22,23, 24, [...]
on December 7th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
12. The Bopst Show - Episode 32 | RVANews says:
[...] 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, [...]
on December 7th, 2008 at 9:10 pm