Off the top Rope

That was my favorite wrestling move...anything off the top rope. I'm talking 80's so Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, Randy "Macho Man" Savage and other high fliers. You remember how tension would mount at the end of those classic WWF (pre WWE) matches as the hero or villain slowly ascended the turnbuckle to take flight and finish the vulnerable opponent who lay on the canvas. This was the culminating gesture mostly for the fan's delight but every now and then, the possum on the mat moved and the high flier proved fool hearty. He shouldn't have wasted time climbing the rope when he could have pinned his wounded victim and gotten the thing over with. On these occasions my crew of wrestling devotees watched in horror as our icon writhed in pain from hitting the mat instead of his enemy. Proof positive that if you toy with victory...well.

There's been a lot of talk in Lakerdom about the Purple and Gold blowing leads. Up by 20 in the 3rd quarter then struggling to beat teams by five points. Bloggers say that Kobe and friends have a defensive problem and need professional help. Others say it's the bench coming in and squandering the leads. There's a lot of sports being played at any moment of any day around the globe and I'm thinking the Lakers aren't the only one's guilty of "top-rope pride" which begs the question Why? What's in our nature that causes us to let up or assume that the "opponent" is done fighting?

There's a show I watch called "The Unit". They have a saying on the show that "a distracted solider is a dead solider". Morbid huh? Anyway, maybe CBS is on to something. Respectively we're all soldiers in some sense and distraction usually causes an undersirable outcome. At least I've found it to be true. If a win is a win, there's no need for top-rope theatrics. Maybe we're too showy - ostentacious gluttons for attention. I still have a little glutton in me but he's banned from the top rope.