Heh. Technically, Mitchell was a Giant more recently than an Eagle.
I ran across that anecdote minutes before posting it here. On the Giants.com boards, someone mentioned that Mitchell was trash talking Luke Petitgout, saying he that when they worked out Luke could barely leg press 165 pounds. The OP of that thread had run across it on the Redskins board, and linked to that thread. One of the posters on extremeskins.com contributed the anecdote I offered above.
So either I thought that Mitchell was always an Eagle, or I subconsciously mixed up the Redskins with the Eagles. Either way, your initial reaction is a fair assessment.
I’d go for playing. I was recently in a heated debate about this with particular reference to Chelsea FC, who have players on their books who are losing their chances of an England cap by being behind some better foreigner at their club. I can’t understand how any agent could recommend the money over the chance to get out there and show what you can do.
I was thinking of Chelsea when I made the OP, actually. Even though I recently saw them draw 0-0 against a Birmingham City team that looked happy to even be allowed on the same field with them, Chelsea’s second team could probably put a whoopin’ on the starters at the bottom of the table, if not the middle of it as well. Same goes for Barcelona, although IMO La Liga is more competitive (FC Barcelona could put a whoopin’ on the middle of the EPL table, at least! ).
I play pick up roller hockey in the summer. This year we have a semi pro player who comes every now and again. Skill wise, he’s well above most of us. If he’s on your team, you win.
About a month ago, I wound up on his team. My job was to go to the front of the net while he skated the ball in, play defense on whoever had the ball for the opposing team, and occasionally skate it in when I stripped a player of the ball. His job was apparently to get in my way on defense, and to get the ball and not pass it ever. We won every game, but I wasn’t involved in very much. I basically watched him score goal after goal on breakaways.
The next week, semi pro didn’t show up. The teams were pretty even for the most part and I was much more involved in the game on both ends. This was much more enjoyable.
I would much rather play as much as I can and lose than not play and win.
That sounds like a personality issue, though. You still played just as much, right? You just got overrun by someone with no sense of team play. I’ve played with guys like that, too, though not necessarily at any higher skill level than the rest of the team!
To ME, it’s about winning a ring. It doesn’t matter what Drew Bledsoe thinks, or what Clay Bellinger thinks. Fetus wasn’t asking them.
Would it mean more to play everyday and win a ring than to be a backup or bench player? Yes, but that’s not what the OP asked. I’d much rather play sparingly and win a ring than play everyday and not win won. Because to me, winning a championship is the main reason to play.
I just loved to play the game of football. I got a little trophy for best offensive player of the season (backyard league of course), and actually lost it the same night. Wasn’t on purpose of course, but sorta telling. Today I coulnd’t care less for that or any other kind of medal, but I miss gameday – the focus, the ball, the catches, even the tackles.
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