The Thing About Armchair Quarterbacks
Photo by Sipan Hamed on Unsplash
The “Armchair Quarterback” really is a thing.
In fact, it’s alive and well in each one of us. Time and again, we’ve all taken on that role in one form or another. Whether it’s politics, business or sports, we’ve watched, listened and assessed, and then provided our own commentary on what the answer should have been.
If he’d only passed the ball to his left…
If they hadn’t raised prices by 12%...
If they had only canvassed those specific districts…
And our conviction and belief in our analysis is complete, well considered and without question. We know - in absolute terms - what should have been done.
Of course, the truth isn’t quite so absolute. We’re not the ones in the ring, we haven’t done the legwork in the field, nor have we sacrificed blood, sweat and tears to put ourselves in the position of making that decision.
So we don’t really have the context and the knowledge ‘in the moment’. We have nothing to lose, which makes it easy, then, to talk about ideal outcomes - there's nothing at stake.
Add to that, the lens through which we view the situation isn’t always crystal clear. More often than not, we view situations through our own personal experiences and interpretations of those experiences - that is, we view them through our own biases and baggage.
If we believe Big Money controls everything, then Big Money is always the problem. If we believe people are fundamentally biased, then there are no altruistic decisions. If we believe so and so is unquestionably terrible, then no good can come from them.
And so, regardless of the facts on the ground, our ‘analysis’ simply becomes a way to channel our frustrations. All the (perceived) wrongs that have been done to us are manifested right there and then through our assessment of the situation.
Which is not to suggest that our assessment isn’t the case at times, that we may not be right. We may well be, because everything isn’t always fair and people don’t always make the best decisions, even when they know the facts. (Call that being human.) But that’s not always the case.
It becomes all the more important, then, for us to pay attention, to be cognizant of our biases, to be clear about the baggage (and the lack of experience) we bring to the table, as we make our calls.
At least then, we can be honest with ourselves as to why we believe what we do.
