I read a newspaper editorial this morning, the subject of which was an injured quarterback retuning to lead his team on the football field. The columnist argued that this young signal-caller would not make this struggling squad instantly competitive simply by standing under center.
I have absolutely no qualms with this argument. In fact, since the youngster has never actually been the starting quarterback in a game his NFL franchise has won, it seems that the title of the column could have been, "Reiterating Common Knowledge."
All statements of the obvious aside, the thing I found interesting in the article was the use of a certain cliche. The writer used a quote from the head coach, in which the coach stated that the quarterback would not come "riding in on a white horse."
Reading the aforementioned statement made me pause.
Was this expected of the quarterback? Had his injury rehabilitation been combined with some equestrian training?
And why the emphasis on the fact that he wouldn't ride atop a white horse? Was he establishing the fact that the quarterback is drug free? Or refuting any inane ideas that he might be the antichrist?
Since this phrase was used to support the argument that the QB would not be a difference-making player this season, does this mean that there is some sort of cause-and-effect relationship between someone's ability to ride white horses and their prowess on the gridiron?
I know newspaper editorials are meant to get people thinking... but I'm not sure these are the type of questions they're supposed to spurn. I had to find out if this saying had any merit. Did Joe Montana ever ride atop a white steed prior to a Super Bowl victory? Did John Elway use a Denver Bronco as his means of conveyance while traveling to Super Bowl XXXII?
Alas, such research proved inconclusive.
In fact, the only event I could conjure in which someone famously rode a white horse in to quell the chances of defeat was (nerd alert!) when Gandalf the White rode Shadowfax down the slope the the Battle of Helm's Deep. Saruman's troops stood no chance.
Perhaps this coach was simply attempting to vanquish any possible rumors that the quarterback is a wizard that can tame equidae previously thought unable to be tamed.
In the end, the point is somewhat moot, as the quarterback left the contest (once again, his first game back from injury) with a new injury. His luck seems to indicate that he's been littering on ancient burial grounds and spitting on the Blarney Stone... I guess the white horse is probably lucky he wasn't called for duty.
I have absolutely no qualms with this argument. In fact, since the youngster has never actually been the starting quarterback in a game his NFL franchise has won, it seems that the title of the column could have been, "Reiterating Common Knowledge."
All statements of the obvious aside, the thing I found interesting in the article was the use of a certain cliche. The writer used a quote from the head coach, in which the coach stated that the quarterback would not come "riding in on a white horse."
Reading the aforementioned statement made me pause.
Was this expected of the quarterback? Had his injury rehabilitation been combined with some equestrian training?
And why the emphasis on the fact that he wouldn't ride atop a white horse? Was he establishing the fact that the quarterback is drug free? Or refuting any inane ideas that he might be the antichrist?
Since this phrase was used to support the argument that the QB would not be a difference-making player this season, does this mean that there is some sort of cause-and-effect relationship between someone's ability to ride white horses and their prowess on the gridiron?
I know newspaper editorials are meant to get people thinking... but I'm not sure these are the type of questions they're supposed to spurn. I had to find out if this saying had any merit. Did Joe Montana ever ride atop a white steed prior to a Super Bowl victory? Did John Elway use a Denver Bronco as his means of conveyance while traveling to Super Bowl XXXII?
Alas, such research proved inconclusive.
In fact, the only event I could conjure in which someone famously rode a white horse in to quell the chances of defeat was (nerd alert!) when Gandalf the White rode Shadowfax down the slope the the Battle of Helm's Deep. Saruman's troops stood no chance.
Perhaps this coach was simply attempting to vanquish any possible rumors that the quarterback is a wizard that can tame equidae previously thought unable to be tamed.
In the end, the point is somewhat moot, as the quarterback left the contest (once again, his first game back from injury) with a new injury. His luck seems to indicate that he's been littering on ancient burial grounds and spitting on the Blarney Stone... I guess the white horse is probably lucky he wasn't called for duty.
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