It’s Easy To Be A Winner When You’re Not In The Game
by Mike Warkentin - Uptown Magazine
I wonder if Barack Obama feels like Tee Martin.
A few years ago, quarterback Tamaurice (Tee) Martin arrived in Winnipeg and practically stepped off the plane onto coats laid at his feet by ardent supporters of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. After a stellar college career in the U.S. and stints with NFL squads, Martin was a golden child of sorts - the kind of player who might guide the Bombers from the depths of ineptitude to that elusive Grey Cup.
Martin was an instant celebrity and the fans in the stands couldn’t wait to see him in action. Some wanted to anoint the former Tennessee Volunteer the starter before he had even picked up a fat old CFL football and noticed its stripes.
When starter Kevin Glenn faltered, as he often did, the armchair quarterbacks got more vocal and Canad Inns Stadium was soon filled with calls for Martin to be inserted into the game. Suddenly, a dude who had never played a down became the most popular guy in the stadium. Tee was to be the saviour - the next Ken Ploen, perhaps - and the fans were certain a new hero was holding a clipboard on the sidelines.
Of course, once Martin got in the game, he was terrible. Career numbers: 458 yards, one touchdown, four interceptions and two fumbles. And here’s your plane ticket back to Alabama, Mr. Martin.
Politics is a lot like football and the more I read about both worlds, the more I understand the late Hunter S. Thompson’s passion for both the gridiron and the political arena.
President Obama has been living the life of a backup quarterback for quite some time. He’s new, he’s fresh and he’s full of promise. He hasn’t been beaten up, slandered or abused. He hasn’t screwed up on national TV. He represents hope for the future and the best chance the Americans have of reclaiming past glories washed away by economic crises, sick citizens without health insurance and endless, expensive wars.
Hell, Obama received a Nobel Prize basically for what he might do.
And then Obama got into the game.
On Oct. 23, a Gallup poll revealed that Obama’s quarterly approval rating has slumped from 62% to 53%, which may not seem like much, except it’s the largest quarterly decline since Harry Truman lost 13 points between the second and third quarters of 1946.
The shine is most certainly off the apple.
When Obama was elected, I remember saying I hoped he was everything the American public believed him to be. I also remember saying it was high time he get to work. Now it’s October and it would appear that many Americans have lost some degree of faith in their new leader, just like Bombers fans lost faith in a fleet, strong-armed quarterback with questionable decision-making skills.
Obama is on safer footing than Martin because he’s been elected to a four-year term. Still, I’d suggest that all the expectations placed upon him mean he doesn’t have anywhere near four years to produce some big-time results. I’d suggest he’s got far less than a year and, if things get worse instead of better, I’ll bet they’ll get ugly in short order.
But I’ll say it again: I hope Obama has all the answers.
If he doesn’t, he won’t be the starting quarterback for long.
Mike Warkentin loves football.
