There are rare moments when great figures in history collide in epic battles that will be remembered as the defining moment in their legacies. There’s Fischer vs. Spassky, Ali vs. Frazier, Bonaparte vs. Wellington. Monday, on the greatest stage imaginable-Monday Night Football-there was an addition to this impressive list: Bill Parcells vs. Joe Gibbs.
The undeniable story of this football game was the coaching matchup. (By the way, the teams are Dallas and Washington). Parcells, a miracle worker noted for inspiring his teams to overachieve, has won two Superbowl championships with the New York Giants. By putting the fear of God into his players -and the media if they ask a stupid question-Parcells has emerged as the definitive authority figure in the NFL. Having coached four pro football teams, Parcells is the league’s vagabond, succeeding wherever he goes. He’s the proverbial Bora Milutinovic of football. Universally respected and rarely challenged, the man is a walking mass of intimidation on the sidelines. He makes the massive Dorsey from Yates Field House seem like a puppy.
Joe Gibbs, on the other hand, won three titles with the Washington Redskins and led with a quiet demeanor that exuded confidence. He was a player’s coach, sensitive to his team’s concerns and needs. After a 13-season absence from football, Joe Gibbs gave up racing cars to come back to the ‘Skins. In the past ten years, D.C. fans have suffered under the reigns of Norv Turner, Marty Schottenheimer and Steve Spurrier-coaches who bring a smile and sense of inevitable victory to any gambler betting against them. So, the return of the great Joe Gibbs is an understandable moment of hope and promise for the Hogs.
As mammoth as these figures are in their profession, some will argue that this game is a relatively insignificant regular season contest. Also, the rivalry isn’t exactly Bird vs. Magic; two 60-something coaches aren’t going to transcend the sport much less be compared to Napoleon. The Serm has little to refute this claim, but at least we didn’t compare Bush and Kerry to quarterbacks Mark Brunell and Vinny Testaverde.
