So there is this guy, Nomba Tu, who I've been watching on TV a lot on weekends. Okay maybe that's not really his name, but when you see him run into a pile of bodies wearing a shirt with a big "2" on it, that sort of becomes his identity. So this isn't a post about "Taking a number two-" this post is, if you haven't guessed, about.... College football.
Because a lot of people watch it, but you don't read many posts about it. Okay, I take it back; actually you do, so I'll be fair and keep this one brief, because probably a lot of people don't want to read about college football on a Cage blog. I realize there are too many boring columns about that stuff already, but I promise I'll try and make this more unique than all the rest of them.
So anyway, Nomba Tu plays for our local college football team. In the first few games this season, Nomba Tu was nearly unstoppable. They'd give him the ball, and he'd be halfway across the field before the other team even realized what was happening, and would be at least three quarters of the way to the end zone by the time they dragged him to the ground- and he'd go down dragging at least three or four defenders with him. It was, to say the least, fun to watch; the dude was putting up video game like numbers- six touchdowns the first game (breaking a school record) and at least four per game over the next few weeks. It was like watching some guy play "Madden NFL" with full cheat codes enabled while playing against the "Easy" setting.
But then, as the season wore on, teams started figuring out that if you put all 11 defenders at the front of the line, and have them all charge at Nomba Tu at once, suddenly those plays didn't work so well. Instead of like 30 yards per carry, Nomba Tu would only gain maybe one or two (though once in a long while, he'd still break one for like twenty or thirty.) And the coaches kept getting more and more stubborn, calling the most clever play imaginable: Give the ball to Tu, have him run straight into a wall of bodies, ("Let the bodies hit the floor!") and gain a whopping one yard. "Even I coulda done that!" We'd say to each other, exasperated, while watching the game. You'd think the coaches would get creative and have Tu run to the outside on some kind of jet sweep, or have our quarterback, Numbeur Phorr, just throw passes instead, but nope; for one, Phorr really isn't a very accurate passer, and the receivers just aren't that good at catching his off-target passes. And also, well, the coaches don't seem to like running plays that go anywhere but straight into the pile of bodies.
So naturally, by now, poor Nomba Tu is pretty banged up. YOU try running into a pile of bodies over and over again and see how you feel after ten weeks of it. They say this dude might get the Heisman trophy, possibly beating out some guy from Colorado, Bydan S. Hunter or whatever that guys name is (Can't remember for sure.) And I admire Nomba Tu's willingness to sacrifice himself for it, but the problem I have is- I see him merely as a pawn being moved around the board by a less than skilled player. Or (since this is a Cage.co blog) a hapless submissive being manipulated by a careless and clueless dominant. Great coaches know how to get the best from their players, to build teams who are altogether greater than the sum of their parts- just like great chess players don't just rely on the Queen but know how to use every piece in their arsenal. Numba Tu is basically THE team right now- and as banged up as he is, without a supporting cast and a coach who knows how to use them, I fear he is doomed ultimately to disappoint his fans by running into one too many piles of bodies. So that's all I got for now.
Happy Thanksgiving, and may your favorite teams win! By the way I never understood why the Cowboys and Lions are always the designated "Thanksgiving Teams" but some football traditions defy explanation and that's how it is.