The Old Man and the Sea, Junior Style

Posted by Kevin Walsh October 14, 2009 at 3:49 pm

Let’s substitute a few characters and see if we can duplicate a literary classic about Santiago, Hemingway and the prized catch the old man hauled in with his bare hands.  

Bill Belichick is the old man.  I’m not saying he’s real old, but he’s older than the rest of the characters.  I am Hemingway.  I’m not saying I write as well as him, but I try to and that’s got to count for something.  And retired, unretired, retired, unretired Patriots Lineback Junior Seau is the prized catch.

Some of the comparisons aren’t perfect, but it’s a wordplay; lighten-up.  Belichick is Santiago.  Belichick didn’t go trolling around the sea for the big marlin like Santiago did, but Bill landed the big fish with his bare hands just the same.  He picked up the phone and called Junior.   That’s sort of like casting.  How could Junior say no?  He couldn’t.  And now here he is.

The lesson of Santiago’s landing the big one can be applied here too.  When the wise man fishes he doesn’t  just throw a line in the water.  He knows where to fish and what to fish for.  You think Belichick wasn’t the eye in the sky waiting for the right opportunity to dangle the bait in front of Junior’s nose?   And in landing the big one, Belichick shows once again he is the master fisherman when it comes to reeling in a prized catch. 

The only difference is Belichick landing the big fish didn’t suck the life out of him and the fish didn’t get eaten up on the sail back.  Both are coming back to the dock with renewed energy.    That’s good news for Pats fans and bad news for the rest of the league.