Butch Jones as a Leader of Men

#52
#52
Volosaurus rex said:
And, in a few hundred years, if the caliber of intellectual discourse on VolNation is any indication, we, as a species, will have degenerated to narcissistic "dudes" incapable of symbolic thought, an attribute which anthropologists have long considered to distinguish our species from other primates.
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That, and we are not as hairy:)
 
#54
#54
REX-"Old Dinosaur"-I am old enough to be your daddy. Believe you are 51. Follow you regularly. For brevity's sake, the best definition of leadership came from a Marine I knew-"You can't push a rope". Think he is teaching them to be winners in all facets of life.
 
#55
#55
Old Vol, how far back do your memories go as a Tennessee fan? I've been a faithful member of the Big Orange Nation for 46 years.
 
#56
#56
Since I was old enough to listen to a radio.:) 1950's. In person, the first game I saw was U.T. v Chattanooga or UTC now. One hell of a fight after the game as UTC won. As it is USCe week-I watched "The Old Ball Coach" play basketball in high school. Great jump shot.
 
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#57
#57
Volosaurus rex said:
It is comforting to know that we now live in a society where incessant sarcasm is the literary weapon of choice, metaphorical thinking is passé, and we have become incapable of drawing historical or crosscultural parallels.
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To be fair, you started this thread off by demonstrating your own inability to draw historical or crosscultural parallels.
 
#58
#58
You may disagree with the applicability of the parallels that I drew; others have done so and that is their prerogative. I used a historical account as a metaphor for principles of leadership physically manifested through human behavior and the subsequent response of Alexander's men to that behavior. I am an anthropologist by training, with specialization in ethnohistory, so I assure that I am quite capable of drawing historical and crosscultural parallels. For the record, a number of other contributors to this thread found the analogy to possess merit and saw the connections to what Butch is attempting to accomplish.
 
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#60
#60
Volosaurus rex said:
And, in a few hundred years, if the caliber of intellectual discourse on VolNation is any indication, we, as a species, will have degenerated to narcissistic "dudes" incapable of symbolic thought, an attribute which anthropologists have long considered to distinguish our species from other primates.
Click to expand...

Or, we could liken a situation in whic a king eschewed potentially life saving water in showing solidarity with his soldiers / subjects to our coach inviting people to dinner.

It'll be stupid as all hell, but maybe someone will grasp the ridiculous metaphor as symbolic of something other than wild grasping at straws devoid of anything resembling legitimate comparison.

The flowery prose to hide the absurdity only highlighted the level of douchebaggery it too to defend the silliness.
 
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#61
#61
Volosaurus rex said:
You may disagree with the applicability of the parallels that I drew; others have done so and that is their prerogative. I used a historical account as a metaphor for principles of leadership physically manifested through human behavior and the subsequent response of Alexander's men to that behavior. I am an anthropologist by training, with specialization in ethnohistory, so I assure that I am quite capable of drawing historical and crosscultural parallels. For the record, a number of other contributors to this thread found the analogy to possess merit and saw the connections to what Butch is attempting to accomplish.
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Shared misery from those on high has nothing to with what happened. Your training doesn't make an absurd parallel any less perpindicular.

The principles of leadership on display couldn't be more disparate in the scenarios.
 
#62
#62
Volosaurus rex said:
In the months that Butch Jones has been our head coach, I have observed that there is tactical purpose behind everything that he does. Having stated that, I do not question his sincerity or motivations in the slightest. In another thread, I learned tonight that “UT coach Butch Jones invited the seniors to his house for dinner Thursday night. It was the first time the seniors had dinner with a head coach.” I was strangely reminded of an incident which occurred over 2300 years ago and, to me, has always represented the quintessence of leadership. In 329 BC, Alexander the Great was leading his troops back from India. They were in the process of crossing the brutal Gedrosian Desert, an area which straddles the border of modern Iran and Pakistan, and “was the poorest and least hospitable of all the provinces of the Persian Empire.

Toward the end of the march, when officers and men alike had all but given up hope of escaping the desert alive, some scouts found a small spring with only enough water to fill a single helmet. The patrol was so thankful that they had found even this that they brought it before Alexander, who was as thirsty as anyone. As wretched as his own state was, however, he knew his men were suffering even more. Therefore, . . Alexander refused to drink when his army could not. He took the helmet of precious water and poured it on the ground in full view of his army. To the parched men, for the king to share in their suffering in this way meant more than the water soaking into the sand. They were so heartened, says Arrian, it was as if they had each drunk every drop that he poured on the ground” (Alexander the Great by Phillip Freeman, pp. 292-294).

Now, I can hear the cynics in Vol Nation saying that there is no comparison whatsoever between what Alexander and his men experienced and the week-to-week, year-to-year tribulations of a football program. In large measure, I agree. However, this account, which was recorded by the ancient Greek historian Arrian, distills the essence of leadership. A leader of men asks no more of his men than he is willing to give of himself. The measure of a great leader is the degree to which he can inspire men to achieve more than they believe themselves capable. In Butch Jones we have found a superb leader!!
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I was told there would be no history on this board...
 
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#63
#63
BigPapaVol said:
Or, we could liken a situation in whic a king eschewed potentially life saving water in showing solidarity with his soldiers / subjects to our coach inviting people to dinner.

It'll be stupid as all hell, but maybe someone will grasp the ridiculous metaphor as symbolic of something other than wild grasping at straws devoid of anything resembling legitimate comparison.

The flowery prose to hide the absurdity only highlighted the level of douchebaggery it too to defend the silliness.
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Bingo!
 
#64
#64
BigPapaVol said:
Or, we could liken a situation in whic a king eschewed potentially life saving water in showing solidarity with his soldiers / subjects to our coach inviting people to dinner.

It'll be stupid as all hell, but maybe someone will grasp the ridiculous metaphor as symbolic of something other than wild grasping at straws devoid of anything resembling legitimate comparison.

The flowery prose to hide the absurdity only highlighted the level of douchebaggery it too to defend the silliness.
Click to expand...

He shoots......He scores!
Or in the words of the great John Ward, "Bottom!"
 
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