The Chip Kelly Weekend
Being from Oregon, I'm a huge Ducks fan. One of my first major trials of living in Ohio was, in fact, when Ohio State played Oregon in the Rose Bowl a few years ago. It felt like me verses the entire state of Ohio. Probably because it was. Oregon lost, which was a huge blow, but even worse was enduring the taunts from Ohio State fans who really do think their team is invincible. Fans who the following year when Oregon made it to the national championship game felt---having been the last team to beat Oregon---that Ohio State was still the better team. (What kind of logic is this?) Fans who are sure Ohio State would be winning the championship this year had they been bowl game eligible.
I've lived in Cleveland for almost five years, and while the Ducks are close to my heart, I've never developed much (read: any) affection for the Browns. And hearing rumors of Chip Kelly taking the head coaching job here had me stressed out the majority of the weekend. Surely Chip has created a winning culture in Oregon that could be preserved on some level, but he himself has been a big part of why they continually win, and I, selfishly, would prefer that Oregon keep on winning. Most people in Cleveland were pretty excited about the prospect of Kelly with the Browns, and the mood this morning is a bit dreary, and I've heard more than one person comment on being baffled as to why he wouldn't want to make the jump to the NFL.
I can't speak for Chip, nor am I about to, but this whole idea of lingering in a place or position where you are happy and successful gets more flack than it deserves. I see this a lot in the corporate world as well, where it's sort of assumed that you should want to take that next promotion, move onto bigger and better things, ascend the ladder as quickly as possible. But it takes all kinds, people. Not everyone aspires to hurry to the next step, not everyone aspires to a next step at all. And while I wouldn't be surprised to see Chip move to the NFL someday, I'm also not surprised to see him stay where he is known, loved, clearly at the top of his game, and where there is no sales tax or snow to worry about. Atta boy, Chip. Looking forward to next season.
(And just so you don't think I've given up on writing altogether, I wrote 1000 words this weekend. Not a lot, but it's 1000 words more than I usually get written in a busy weekend.)