Blocking for the franchise industry

As a boy I read a book called Instant Replay by a football player called Jerry Kramer (see #64, left). This is an intelligent look into professional sports by an insider warrior.

Kramer was an offensive lineman with the National Football League‘s (NFL) Green Bay Packers from 1958 to 1968. He won 5 championship titles and 2 Super Bowls, was named to the All-Pro team 5 times and selected as the only guard to the NFL’s 50th Anniversary All-Time team.

This photograph shows Kramer leading fullback Jim Taylor in one of Vince Lombardi’s devastating signature plays called The Packers Sweep:

A sweep is a running play in American Football where the running back takes a pitch or handoff from the quarterback and starts running parallel to the line of scrimmage, allowing for the offensive linemen and fullback to get in front of him to block defenders before he turns upfield. Wikipedia

Until I read Kramer’s book, I did not appreciate the practice, precision, discipline and controlled violence that goes into executing this “ballet of titans”.

The analogy holds for franchising.

• Business format franchising (visibly manifested as the national trade association) advances their interests using their largely unseen teammates strengths and contributions.
• Big Franchising steamrollers over their opponents with the finesse, power and drive of a champion football team.

When the public screams get too loud, Big Franchising relies on their friends in the political process to help them. Their “behind-the-scenes” influence is on visible display in Australia and New Zealand now.

You know perfectly well how the play runs.

• Yes, the spoils accrue to the victor.
• Yes, the passing of a useless McLaw will be the result.
• Yes, this will convince some people that franchising is “safe” now.

But you can’t stuff this genie back into the bottle, folks. Too many people have had the experience, they’re learning fast in how to make the links and the internet provides the conduit for accurate risk assessment information sharing.

• History shows financial bubbles do not slowly deflate: They fly-apart with great violence and with much loss to innocent parties.