Football Training

Not long ago one of those new "richies" paid $800 million for the Washington Redskins, spent millions more to sign some aging stars and apparently convinced himself the team was Super Bowl-bound.

It wasn't. The playoffs start this weekend but you won't find the Redskins there. Despite locker room tirades by the young owner who brooked no criticism, sought no advice and fired the veteran coach, the Redskins flopped. Big time.

I have no interest in football. For me the only real sports season starts when pitchers and catchers report to spring training. But I'm no sports bigot. Some of my best friends are Redskin fans and I feel their pain.

So I hope they'll understand that as something of a deist, I find the Redskin flop reassuring. An affirmation that the natural laws usually prevail, that miracles rarely happen and that no matter how rich you are, just because you're successful at one thing doesn't mean you know everything about all things.

Nor does success at any one thing always denote wisdom. Sometimes even the best get lucky.

As the new administration assembles, thousands of bright, successful people will descend on Washington.

I don't know what their New Year's resolutions are but here's mine: To remember what the Redskins' owner forgot: that most things are more complicated than they seem to an outsider, that we often learn the most from those who have already tried what we are attempting for the first time and that no one — no matter how brilliant — has all the answers all the time.

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