Acknowledging our flaws: If I can then you can too

As Matthew Velazquez recently pointed out in his pix box victory column, I’ve come to accept my many flaws. I’m selfish, I’m vain, I’m demanding, I complain a lot, the list goes on and on.

My casual acceptance of my flaws puzzles some people. I don’t broadcast them, but most people find that when they try and insult me or make fun of me for them, I don’t argue with them. You’re calling me high maintenance? Why, yes, I am high maintenance. Can I complain some more? Yeah, I could. You should’ve seen me when Collegeboxes made me wait eight days to get my stuff. One very pointed e-mail to the CEO and voila! Boxes delivered that day.
Here’s the thing about flaws: They’re only flaws if you let them be. See, I know that all of those things are not looked on favorably by our society. I know that. At the same time, I can tell you that usually I get what I want. And if I like you and you tell me something that you want, odds are I can get that for you, too.

So instead of trying to change all of those things about me, I’ve just come to embrace them. (With the exception of complaining, I’m really trying to work on that. Seriously.) And frankly, it’s made my life a lot easier. Some football teams have done the same, and some football teams are just making life more difficult for themselves by trying to work around their flaws.

For example, as much as it pains me, if the Dallas Cowboys would just make Miles Austin their number one receiver over Roy Williams, and really commit to Austin, their offense might not be as inconsistent as it has been over the last month. They might actually win a game in December. Imagine that.

Roy’s great, he’s my boy, and I love that he throws the hook ‘em after every touchdown, but Austin has established himself as Dallas’ biggest threat at wide receiver and the Cowboys are only starting to realize that six games after he broke the franchise’s single game receiving record against Kansas City. You can’t be worried about what it looks like to have one of the highest paid players on your team in a secondary role. Don’t try to be something you’re not.

I would never try to convince anyone that I don’t have the makings of a major diva. It’s a good thing I have absolutely no singing talent and can’t act worth a damn because I would be a major headache if I did. The errors in this column are my own because after three years of phone calls after grievous copy errors that make it into print, the editors at Spec tend to use kid gloves when changing my stories.

When it comes to my personality, I’m very up-front about things. No use beating around the bush. As Matt or any of my friends will tell you, I’m an open book. Just like Texas Tech.

Everyone knows Texas Tech is going to throw the ball. Mike Leach, that crazy pirate, knows what he is and what he isn’t. The Red Raiders do run the ball well. They run the ball decently well because on average whoever is at quarterback throws for close to 300 yards a game. At no point in the foreseeable future will Texas Tech become a run-first team. Baron Batch, the running back in Lubbock, knows this. It’s just not in the cards. And it’s not going to be in the cards because Leach has his pass happy team winning despite the fact that everyone knows they’re going to pass on first down, and second down, and third down and maybe even fourth down.

Bill Parcells and Tony Sparano down in Miami know what I’m talking about. They’re dealing with a situation where they don’t have a consistent quarterback—that might change with Chad Henne, eventually, but he’s a work in progress—so what do they do? They take the Wildcat and they make it work. In the NFL. That’s embracing some flaws, right there.

Looking over this column, it doesn’t paint my character in the best light. I do have some redeeming qualities, I promise. So do the Cleveland Browns and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Holly MacDonald is a Barnard College senior majoring in history and English. sports@columbiaspectator.com