He must have asked our Vice President or “Sam” here for advice and they told him, “Don’t go to any place that is confined like an arena or take Metro to the game or shake anyone’s hands.”
This is why I mostly disrespect authority. I will do the exact opposite of what our VP says. I will be at all of our games. I encourage people to take the Metro and I will shake about a thousand hands at the arena. I will breathe in all of the excitement; share in the aura; and bask in our humanity together.
I will hug people. I will kiss some folks and I promise we won’t hand out Rock the Red breathing masks as a promotion.
Don’t run for the hills. See article within. Walk or take Metro to Verizon Center with 20,000 of your best friends. Fight the power!
Hi Ted, TheJockosphere.com linked over to you.
I liked your post, and trust it was made in good humor. The debate about the dangers of this flu doesn’t belong here. I happen to like our VP, but your advice is better in this case. Sure, pay attention to the advice of experts, but follow your heart, and if the two conflict, step back and check with your doctor to gauge the risk. In this case, the joy of sharing a good game LIVE with friends, family, your kids… is worth the minuscule-to-zero risk of infection with a flu strain that can be treated. Wish I could be there for the next one, but the Atlantic is wide!
A fan in Paris
Ted, you speak like a true businessman. Obviously you don’t want the VP telling people not to go any place that is confined like an arena or take Metro to the game or shake hands…it could take money out of your pocket! (in reality, if you’ve ever been on Metro AFTER a game, it is seriously crowded!) At the time he spoke, the VP said what many were already thinking: until this thing is figured out, you should keep your loved ones and yourself safe. Just because I don’t want to sit in a confined arena or ride Metro, doesn’t make me any less of a Caps fan. I can Rock the Red from home! LET’S GO CAPS! (and how ’bout those Bears!!!!!!)
It’s easy to say that we should go about our lives as normal when it’s becoming fairly obvious that this strain of flu is not a killer for people in good health. When a more virulent strain of flu breaks out in pandemic form, and it will at some point in the future, we WILL be curtailing our activities, avoiding enclosed and crowded public places, wearing masks in volume, and avoiding close personal contact, among other preventive activities.
Although our current Vice President is known to blow things out of proportion from time to time, let’s remember that at the time he made his statement we knew a lot less than we do at this moment, and our biggest piece of early information was that 60+ people had died of the disease in Mexico. There is a good reason why the medical community around the World kicked into immediate high gear when word of this flu strain became known. They know the potential stakes.
he prob attended the Wiz game because he is an admitted basket ball fan. I just dont want to see him hopping on board the bandwagon when the Caps are parading the Cup down Constution Ave.
OK…so I went and did a little research on the Internet. Actually found an article by Wise of the Washington Post where he commented on the President attending a Wizards game….
I know I’m asking the wrong person about why the President will attend a basketball game but not a hockey game SOOOO I asked the question on the White House site.
I’ll keep you posted on the answer, if I get an answer?
LOL…yeah you don’t always get the “CHANGE” you think you are????
What if the VP says “go to a Caps game”? Then you might have a problem…
Ted, I wrote before and I will say it again. What you are doing is the essence of leadership. In the face of potential danger a leader puts themselves where they are highly visible to their people and calmly goes about his business. Courage and panic are both contagious and you are doing something that goes a long way towards winning this battle. many thanks mon capitan. A loyal STH
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Next to “Conflict if Interests,” on wikipedia, there’s your picture and a link to this post.
Mr. Leonsis your response is the essence of leadership in the face of danger. A leader gets out where his people can see him, and calmly goes about his business in a calm methodical way. Courage is much like panic in that they are both contagious. No battle was ever won by staying in your house. I’ll be there with you mon capitan’. A loyal STH
Ted, if I see you at a game, I will walk up and shake your hand gladly. That’s why God gave us an immune system.
ROCK THE RED without breathing masks!
Nothing could keep me from a Caps game! Can’t wait for 1 PM Saturday to get here!
Thank you, Ted! I totally agree with you. It is absurd to think that we should stop our lives because we may or may not get flu-like symptoms that have so far caused only 1 death in the United States. (And we don’t even know the health status of that infant prior to contracting the S.F. Maybe he was a sickly child? THAT information would make a huge difference in how the public perceives this issue.)
BTW…you rock!!
PANIC! CHAOS!
… please. It’s a nasty flu. To my knowledge it isn’t flesh eating, and it doesn’t turn people INTO swine or anything.
On the other hand… you’d get a lot of publicity on the cheap with some red surgeon’s masks…