Steal this Thread - Hoodie Knows Best Edition

By now you know the drill:

    This thread (named in dubious honor [or honour for Comedic.Sans] of a book titled Steal This Book) is a thread that was designed to be stolen.  Random thoughts, check.  Inane observations, perfectly fine.  Multiple segues, the more the merrier.  Goofy pictures, haiku, whatever.  If the thread gets unwieldy, I'll create a new sandbox for us to play in.  Feel free to jump in, the water's fine.

A couple restrictions, however.  To keep this from becoming a war, we need to steer clear of politics, and religion.

  via www.catalogs.com

That is the cast from the television show Father Knows Best.  You can tell it comes from a long time ago.  Oh, not because of the black and white picture, but because it espouses that the head of the household (held to be the Father in those days) is something more than an idiot.

It started in TV when they could laugh at the chinks in the Father's armor and see that he didn't know all.  He was, in fact, human.

via pedrobeck.files.wordpress.com

A hard working slob that did his best, but yet wasn't the image of perfection that perhaps his children thought him once to be.  There was still some level of respect, but there was also that endearing "humaness" that made Dad approachable.  Maybe even likable.

As the cheap laughs that came from Daddy's guffaws became easier and easier to come by.  Dad's became less and less respectable, and more and more flawed.

  via gingersnaps.files.wordpress.com

A little more conniving, a little more scheming, and Dad's were no longer the paragons of virtue they were once touted to be.

There were still some educated, respectable Dads, but they were fewer and farther between.

  via americanthings.files.wordpress.com

They were more likely to play than get played. 

But as time went on they became a dying breed.  Intelligence went down, reason went away, until we were left with lesser Father figures.

  via www.xwordblog.com

As television showed the decline of the Father, it also depicted the decline of the family.  Was it a mirror of society at large?  Was it an attempt at a cheap laugh?  Was it an "at least I'm not THAT bad" mentality?  Don't know.

The world seemed simpler when Dad knew everything; when he was always trying to do the right thing for his family.  It was easier to sleep knowing Father was there.

Oh, but the title of the piece is Hoodie knows best.  Interesting that I related a Coach to a father figure.  I read last year that some teams ask players about their relationships with their fathers.  It seems if they had a positive relationship, they were more likely to listen to the coach and attempt to gain his approval.  If not, they tended to be problem children on and off the field.

It makes me wonder in those teams where the owner has emasculated the coach (such as the Redskins last year), can that coach still serve as the father figure?  Can he still be the head of the team?  I doubt it. 

It makes me wonder if that's why young coaches traditionally haven't done well.  They lack that role of a father figure.  More like a drinking buddy, than the guy who gives you good advice and looks out for you.

With us, we have Hoodie.  The owner is firmly behind him, so there is no problem there.  And yes, we've seen some of his humanness.  Perhaps even some chinks in his armor.  Still, he is respectable, knowledgeable, and looks out for his guys.  I know that Vince isn't signed.  I know that football is a business, but I also think that Hoodie wants Vince to get what is coming to him.  He's in his family, he's done what Daddy has asked, and now Daddy's looking out for him. 

That's the way I see it, and it's still possible a deal doesn't get done.  If that happens, I don't think Hoodie is to blame.  Some times the kids have to go off on their own.  As we approach the turmoil of the offseason, the new Patriots family will form.  And through it all, I keep hoping that Hoodie knows best.