AT LAST -- THE ANSWER TO THE QUIZ

The Quiz: Who is the one man most responsible for almost all the trouble in today’s troubled world? And the nominees are:

A) Osama bin Laden
B) George W. Bush, Jr., II, the younger
C) Allen Greenspan
D) Vince Lombardi
E) None of the above / All of the above

Readers were invited to vote electronically and even instructed how to submit write-in candidates – although they were also warned that any such votes would be incorrect. Still, surprisingly, not a single vote of any kind was recorded. Nevertheless, here’s the correct answer:

Vince Lombardi?

The coach who won the first Super Bowl? The guy the Super Bowl trophy is named after? The man is practically worshipped by almost every American. Truth is, he was ahead of his time but only an okay football coach (he had some good teams and some bad ones), a terrible businessman (he was fired by almost every team he coached) and, supposedly, a great leader of men. What was his secret to motivate those hard drinking, hard living and hard-headed men of his generation (please don’t forget that Richard Nixon has one of his greatest fans)? Well, Lombardi is most remembered for saying “Winning isn’t everything – It’s the only thing!” he didn’t actually say exactly that, but it was close enough.

If that lesson was only followed by athletes, all would have been alright. But sports became a billion dollar business and in short order, the lesson was taken up by businessmen (and women) and politicians all over the world. Suddenly, the ends really did justify the means. Fair play, sportsmanship and charity was what losers practiced. Profit officially became king.

It no longer mattered how you got it as long as it was yours. Gordon Gekko’s mantra of "greed" became reality. Money was more important than anything. It became “the only thing.” The customer was never right and it was stockholders who had to be appeased. George Bush never felt he had to justify his stolen 2000 "election."

And it started with Lombardi.

The world must be de-Lombardized! The sooner, the better. Unfortunately for many of my friends, right after we cleanse the greedy lawyers, politicians and businessmen, Yankee fans must be reeducated to see the errors of their ways. Monument Park has to be put back in the field of play where it belongs.