Ryan! Does anyone know a Ryan? John Ryan 82d Airborne?

[Ryan, Patrick S Maj RES USAFR 439 MSG]

This post made me laugh. Gene, you have your eyes on that oft quoted but
hardly ever seen "big picture" don't you? That's like the definition of
message board irony. Just to be clear it's Ryan Nelson's contention Al will
never be an All-Star, Patrick Ryan (that would be me) thinks he'll make a
couple at least. Too many Ryans of all types and sizes round here.

 

Cutting to the root of the issue I think that's why I'm a much bigger
football fan then basketball fan (although I'm a heckuva lot better at
playing basketball then football).  Football, with its eleven men per side,
is so much more a team game to me (I'm comparing pro level to pro level
here) then the NBA and I think the results bear out that fact wherein a team
can have only one or two all-pros and be a champion while in the NBA
invariably you absolutely must have at least one if not two All-pros on your
team to even sniff the championship. And given the smaller sample size (15
men per roster vs 53) while it might seem that each team would have those
requisite all-pros it just doesn't seem that the talent level is there to
bear that out.

 

The terms "workmanlike", "lunchpail", "glue guys" - on NBA teams they are
the smallest of role players, while in the NFL they're often taking 100% of
the snaps, on the field every minute. It's that aspect - that the hard
working, not as athletically gifted players make such an impact, that draws
me just the little bit more to the NFL because in the NBA those guys are
pretty much marginalized. 

 

When we wrote yesterday about the "storied past" of the franchise - I was
reminded of this specifically because the legend is that Auerbach always won
without the "best" players - he made my argument above poppycock.  I don't
disagree - I think the game in the 40s, 50s and 60s WAS different. Those
role players were not marginalized and the game itself was taught
differently from pee-wee league through college and into the pros. I still
believe if given three years and teaching nothing but pure fundamentals to a
team of "average" NBA players that such team could challenge for a
championship, but with guaranteed contracts, power entirely in the player's
hands, and a "star" atmosphere from Stern's office all the way down to the
referees such a revolution (going BACK to Auerbach's teachings) would never
happen.

 

I got off on too many tangents here, sorry about that.  Anyway Gene - I too
hope that if Al doesn't make an All-star team it's because we have so many
All-stars that the league has to cut one or two so other teams have a
representative for the game.

 

----------------------------

Hey, what if, I wondered last night, the Celtics got lucky and drafted Oden
and he overshadowed big Al and we won championships but Al's numbers were
shared with the big guy and Al never got to be an all-star and you were
right and I was wrong, would I be happy?  Yes.  That's a scenario I would
love.  Cheers, Gene