Alcorn: Go all out, or get out

Well, last week was an interesting week of consequences.

I am, of course, referring to the exodus from Denver Broncos headquarters. A number of major contributors to their Super Bowl win just a month earlier chose to seek greener pastures elsewhere. As if it gets any greener than being the defending Super Bowl Champions.

The one that is of most interest to me is the departure of Brock Osweiler. There is a great deal of speculation in the media this week about how insulted Brock was to be benched in week 17, after showing signs of real promise in his first six starts. But, the team wasn’t playing well that day, and Coach Kubiak was looking for a spark, so he turned to the veteran Peyton Manning, who came in and saved the day. And then won three playoff games while Brock never needed to wash his uniform.

Funny thing is, there has also been a lot made of the strain in the relationship between Manning and the team. Apparently, the sheriff didn’t really care for how the team treated him, either.

But it all worked, right? Whatever it was that Kubiak did to his two quarterbacks, it got the job done, because they won the Super Bowl. In other words, he did whatever was necessary to win this year, even though it may have cost him for next year.

It reminds me of a different, but analogous situation a few years ago. There is a pitcher on the Washington Nationals baseball team by the name of Stephen Strasburg. Strasburg is a phenomenon –; 100 mph fastball, great command, good secondary pitches. He is remarkable. When he came up to the majors six years ago, the team announced that they were not going to let him throw more than 200 innings that season. Teams do this so that young pitchers don’t have to pitch through fatigue, when most injuries happen.

But then the team went on a run, with the real possibility of winning the World Series. But, still, the team insisted on enforcing that 200 inning count, regardless of how the team stood in the playoffs. They ended up having a nice run, but couldn’t get the World Series win out of it. And, ironically enough, Strasburg has since spent a significant amount of time on the injured list.

Now, I understand all the arguments for protecting a young pitcher. However, I thought at the time that it was a mistake to keep him out of the playoffs: you don’t get that many chances, so you grab the ones that you have and wring from them every ounce of life that they’re willing to give you. You may not win all of them, but you have to go down knowing you gave it everything you had.

And that is not just a sports thing: In the real world, you also only get so many opportunities for greatness, regardless of your field of endeavor. Don’t you have to give them everything you can, even at the risk of some uncertainty in the future? I know in most fields, the thought of taking unusual risks for the chance to accomplish something great is just not part of the lexicon. Perhaps we have a limited definition of “great;” or, maybe, those opportunities are just so rare they’re hard to recognize. But they’re there. Academia, politics, career, family … love … I wonder how many of us really go “all in” at the rare opportunities for greatness that present themselves to us. I dare say, not many.

I think Coach Kubiak sleeps just fine at night, even if there is great uncertainty now about next season. There is no doubt that he went “all in” to get the Super Bowl, and I’m sure he’s quite content to pay the price it is extracting from the team now. I believe the gurus call that an “opportunity cost.”

Totally worth it.

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