Goodell (owners) and Smith (players) negotiate
Sports Saturday
Negotiations between the National Football League owners and the Players Association were at an impasse. The owners locking out the players seemed all but inevitable, along with suspension of the 2011 season. Then the goddess Athena stepped in. Taking the form of U.S. District Judge David Doty, she ordered the two sides to come to terms. Peace was restored.
If you’ve been following the negotiations, you’ll recognize this as a fantasy. After all, owners and players haven’t budged for months. Because of Judge Doty’s ruling last week, however, there is some hope that the fantasy could come true. I invoke Athena because, in the concluding scene of The Odyssey, she intervenes to resolve a situation that is just as bleak.
In the NFL all hope seemed lost because the owners occupied an impregnable position: the television networks would pay them for the season regardless of whether or not football was played. I won’t go into the reasons why the networks agreed to the arrangement or why Doty declared it illegal –you can read about that in this slightly out-of-date account—but his ruling came down at the 11th hour. Because the owners cannot now receive guaranteed revenues, they have more incentive to come to an agreement.
To be sure, the 2011 season could still be cancelled. But why not indulge in a little Homeric wish fulfillment? After all, The Odyssey’s happy ending is even more improbable than a new labor agreement.
Even if you haven’t read Homer’s poem recently, you probably will recall Odysseus returning to Ithaca, linking up with his son, slaying the suitors and reuniting with Penelope. You may not remember a final battle, however.
That battle is inevitable. Every one of the 108 suitors has kinsmen, and by killing them Odysseus has initiated a blood feud that could go on for generations. The families come breathing fire, Odysseus is prepared to do some more killing, and the world appears grim.
A word on blood feuds. You may have an image of them from the scene in The Godfather where we see a Sicily bereft of all its young men. In Beowulf, the figure of the blood feud is Grendel’s Mother, and even though the Geat warrior manages to slay her, we learn that King Hrothgar’s mead hall is doomed anyway. Vengeful strife will continue on after Beowulf leaves, and he predicts that attempts to patch up old wounds through a diplomatic marriage will come to naught: “But generally the spear/ is prompt to retaliate when a prince is killed,/ no matter how admirable the bride may be.”
Returning to The Odyssey, we see the body count about to rise further as Odysseus confronts the families. In fact, all hell is about to break loose. Then Athena, in the human form of the wise elder Mentor, intercedes. As you read the following passage, replace the warring parties with the owners and the players. You’ll enjoy it more if you let Odysseus and Telemachus stand in for whichever party you favor. Then indulge in the fantasy of someone—Judge Doty? President Obama? the U.S. Supreme Court?—speaking with the voice of god to get the two sides to work it out:
Odysseus and his gallant son charged straight at the front lines,
slashing away with swords, with two-edged spears and now
they would have killed them all, cut them off from home
if Athena, daughter of storming Zeus, had not cried out
in a piercing voice that stopped all fighters cold,
“Hold back, you men of Ithaca, back from brutal war!
Break off—shed no more blood—make peace at once!”
So Athena commanded. Terror blanched their faces,
they went limp with fear, weapons slipped from their hands
and strewed the ground at the goddess’ ringing voice.
They spun in flight to the city, wild to save their lives,
but loosing a savage cry, the long-enduring great Odysseus,
gathering all his force, swooped like a soaring eagle–
just as the son of Cronos [Zeus] hurled a reeking bolt
that fell at her feet, the mighty Father’s daughter,
and blazing-eyed Athena wheeled on Odysseus, crying,
“Royal son of Laertes, Odysseus, master of exploits,
hold back now! Call a halt to the great leveler, War—
don’t court the rage of Zeus who rules the world!”
So she commanded. He obeyed her, glad at heart.
And Athena handed down her pacts of peace
between both sides for all the years to come–
the daughter of Zeus whose shield is storm and thunder,
yes, but the goddess still kept Mentor’s build and voice.
Break off—shed no more blood—make peace at once! And if your side gains the upper hand, hold back rather than going in for the kill. Divine justice requires a balanced agreement.
May a pact emerge that holds for all the years to come.
The gods have spoken.