Time passes…

October 29, 2007 by wilmington.

Well, several papers and presentations later, and even I believe it’s time to shift the Wonder Pets pictures down the page and write something new…

Here are two backlogged items - more to come.

1) Let’s see…random and unsupported musical pronouncements:
“Coltrane Plays the Blues” is one of the greatest albums of all time.

“Entertaining Thoughts” on the new Over The Rhine album (The Trumpet Child) is, as I told my remote broadcast engineer Myles Werntz, pure pop perfection on the order of The Beatles. The live version of “Changes Come” (on Vol.2 of the live albums of the same name) is jaw-dropping - an apocalyptic soundscape that pulses out in waves around Karin’s “maranatha.”
Or something.

There should be a congressional investigation to discover and prevent whatever happened to change the Stevie Wonder of “As,” I Wish,” “Pastime Paradise,” “You Haven’t Done Nothin’,” “Bird of Beauty,” etc. etc. into the Stevie Wonder of “Part Time Lover,” and “I Just Called..”
It’s just wrong.

2) How funny that I randomly chose to put Hope Solo’s photo up for my last note about the Women’s World Cup! The saga of Coach Greg Ryan choosing to bench the starting (and undefeated) keeper for the semi-final, Solo’s comments afterward, Ryan’s comments, Hope being ostracized by the team, the 3rd place game, yadda. It was almost as ugly as the soccer Ryan had the team playing, and it has become THE story of the World Cup.

Below are some comments I posted on the ESPN Soccernet discussion boards during the
whole debacle. Now that Ryan is OUT as coach, it’s all moot. But I’d like to think that the reasoning US Soccer used to give Ryan the boot was similar to my own harsh criticism of him as coach:

For everyone criticizing Hope Solo as unprofessional or for breaking some kind of rule:

Imagine that after Solo clarified/apologized following her comments on the Brazil game and everything blew up, Greg Ryan comes out and says:

“As the coach, I take full responsibility for my decisions, and I still think I made the right decision based on my read of the challenge against Brazil. As coach, I also realize that I have intentionally cultivated a competitive atmosphere within the team because it makes us better. I knew that my decision to start Bri after Hope had performed so well would raise questions and would be tough for Hope to deal with.

“If it wasn’t hard as hell for her to sit on the bench against Brazil, she would have no business being on this team. I don’t blame her for being angry; I don’t blame her for criticizing me or for saying things that seemed to criticize Bri in the heat of the moment because, as a fierce competitor, she *has* to feel that she could always make the difference. That’s why we’re all playing at this level. She has apologized and nobody doubts that she wants Team USA to be the best it can be. We’re dealing with this now as a team and we will be ready for the next challenge.”

INSTEAD - Ryan came out and gave his “We’re going with 20 players who supported each other…” - clearly labeling Hope as unsupportive. To frame it in terms of “support” is a complete dodge. He continues to shift the attention onto Hope, tries to cast himself as “taking the high road,” and implies that she is selfishly seeking her own glory rather than the team’s success.

Hope’s frustration and hasty reaction was obviously due to wanting the team to win, and her comments about her abilities were made while thinking about how she could’ve helped the team win.

Greg Ryan reacted as if he were just a self-righteous fellow player. He did not step into the mode of leadership required of a coach at this level. His comments should make certain - if there were any doubt left - that his tenure as coach will end soon.

——————-

Good, experienced, and above all, wise coaches know how to make everything play out to help the team. If he had said something like I suggested (yes, I know 20/20 hindsight, but he’s supposed to be experienced by this point), he would simultaneoulsy have defused the hype, protected Solo from charges of selfishness, and borne the burden himself. Instead, he encouraged accusations of selfishness, made snarky digs at Solo, and did nothing to settle the bad team chemistry that is even now getting worse.

Anyway, the point of this thread (nicely echoed in Canales’ article on soccernet) is that this should be entirely about Greg Ryan right now. He failed in several key ways:

He failed to give convincing support for his initial decision. He failed to take responsibility for the *full* consequences of his decision (beyond the typical boilerplate post-loss coach-speak). He failed to act like a coach when he had the chance to show real leadership in reacting to Solo’s remarks and clarification. He failed to act in a way that would repair the long term damage (all of which was instigated by his poor decision).

He’s not a disgrace, he’s not evil. He’s just not good enough - or mature or wise enough - to do what needed to be done.

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