The Ultimate Piano Carriers

Whenever I talk or write about the make-up of a team I usually refer to the concept of teams being made up of piano players and piano carriers. The players in this concept are the skilful ones, the ones that people tend to notice, they get a lot more attention, do many more press conferences and tend to attract bigger sponsorship deals. The carriers are the ones who do all the stuff that the players do not do, the stuff that needs doing but people hardly notice it getting done. For some reason in the sporting world the players tend to be better looking and much more likely to work on screen after their careers or over and sometimes even during their careers.

In sport there are many examples of classic piano carriers. There are the cyclists who protect on lead out their sprinters, cycling for around two hundred miles with no real intention of winning the race themselves. The spend the whole race and much of their careers making sprinters look good and only proper cycling geeks know their names and even many of them would not be able to pick them out of a line-up. There are the forwards in Rugby. Often with disfigured noses, ears or faces to show they literally often put their head in places where it is not wise to do so. They make the bulk of the tackling, the runs into the heart of the defence when it is at it’s strongest and do other nitty-gritty things like chase kicks and try to block them too. All that donkey works makes it easier for the backs to swoop in and decide the game with their skills, scoring most of the tries and kicking the goals. Defensive midfielders in football make a living out of covering for everyone else, making them look good and allowing them the freedom to do the fancy stuff that will look good on the highlights package.

Doubtless all team sports could point out their piano carriers in one way or another. I believe though that there cannot be a better example of piano carriers than the offensive linemen. Plenty of fans watch for a lifetime and struggle to name many of them, I have been watching for forty years and I still do not think I would recognise any of them if they were right in front of me. I would have course notice how huge the guy was in front of me. They could have a Hall of Fame career without ever touching the ball, or being named MVP of a match. Sometimes you look at a team’s roster and wonder why they are not winning more games when you look at the talent they have in the skill positions like quarterback, running back and wide receiver. In many of those cases of a team appearing to under achieve it is because their offensive line is not good enough. The most recent Superbowl was a classic example of how much of an influence the offensive lines can have on a match, even when it is between the two best teams in the league. Whilst Mahomes was having to scramble around and run for his life to try and create some time to throw, Brady was standing comfortable in the pocket and looked as if he could of played most of the game wearing a dinner jacket and a pair of slippers. Without question Tampa dominated the line of scrimmage both in offense and defence, when that happens it is almost impossible for the other team to win. Any great offensive superstar should be eternally grateful to their offensive line, and I am sure at least most of them are.

Perhaps for some the relative anonymity might be perfect for their character. They get to play their favourite sport for a living, get financially well rewarded and do not have to put up the downsides of fame, the way a quarterback might. They might be more frequently recognised in America than I realise, but something tells me that even the best offensive lineman in the NFL can go to the local mall without being mobbed or having their picture snapped by the press.

Most of them will never get to score a touchdown. It is highly unlikely they will ever be named as league MVP or even offensive player of the year. Yet they are a vital part of the team. Indeed one of the things that I like most about American football is how it is the ultimate team game in that each position is so different and they are all an important cog in the machine. In our version of football if you could choose your favourite player of all time and clone them, that would make an exceptional team. Whilst eleven Peles or Maradonnas would not make for the best defense ever, they would still be formidably difficult to play against at they would be nearly impossible to stop scoring and it might take twenty minutes to get the ball off them. It would only be the goalkeeper position that they might noticeably struggle at, but I have heard that Pele was also an exceptional goalkeeper. By stark contrast if you made up an American Football team of eleven Tom Bradys or Jerry Rices, they would get destroyed by even the worst NFL team and probably any decent college team, because she different skill set for each position is so varied. In particular they would most likely lose the line of scrimmage battle emphatically. Also from an inclusivity point of view I like that so many different boys must look at football and think that they could play that game. Whether they are big and slow or small and fast or quite big and quite fast, there is a role that they could play. Even if they think the game and the collisions are not for them, but they can kick a ball then there is still a job they could do.

Whilst it is the way of the world that the piano players will keep getting much more attention and plaudits. In the NFL the poster boys will remain the Quarterbacks, wide receivers, running backs and maybe some defensive backs or linebackers. Their high level of skill and athleticism is certainly deserving of praise. But like I always say, I do not care how good a piano player you are, if no one picks up that piano and puts it on the stage then you cannot play your concert.