Interesting analogy using the Corps as a metaphor for this years team. As a former jarhead, your piece took me back to my bootcamp days when we were taught hand to hand combat. A DI was up on the stage and did a very impressive karate/kung fu demonstration and we all watched with our mouths agape dreaming of learning all these wonderful techniques! After the demonstration our instructor gave us the real lesson which I’ve never forgotten; in war when fighting hand to hand there is no fair. Bite him, tear his eyes out, find a cavity and rip, become enraged. War isn’t humanistic.
But I digress. Think of Wooden’s 1963-64 first NCAA championship team. Tallest player was a Kansan by the name of Fred Slaughter who was 6’5"". They were known as the “Bruin Blitzes” led by Gail Goodrich and Walt Hazzard. They played Duke in the finals who had two guys over 6’10’’ and out rebounded the Blue Devils in the championship game. Yes, tall is a mind set and once this team finds it’s own identity as a blue collar fight to the death mindset, we’ll enjoy a satisfying season.
