The "it's still too early" narrative is reaching a fever pitch.
Screamed from the streets of London to the cut and paste soccer brigade here in America. I don't quite know how to interpret this thinking thread other than it means the people saying it haven't a clue what to make of our start.
Or they are scared to admit something that is unknown and doesn't compute in their way of thinking.
Look, there are many instances where this narrative may work, but we have done what has been asked. We have performed at very high levels, displaying some beautiful, amazing football at both ends of the pitch.
It kind of reminds of one of my favorite movies and directors, 'Pulp Fiction' by Quentin Tarantino (admiring my 3' x 5' framed poster as I write this). Back in 1994 Quentin probably made one of the most original films of our generation. The movie had an edge, violence and amazing dialogue that was too much for the Academy to truly understand and appreciate the brilliant writing, acting and unorthodox story telling.
In 1994 Robert Zemeckis made 'Forrest Gump'. A great film that starred Tom Hanks which also included a very impressive supporting cast with the likes of Robin Wright and Lt. Dan. The movie made well over $320 million at the box office during its run. The film also had the backing of one of the major studios in Hollywood, Paramount Pictures. An added bonus was that Tom Hanks was coming off his well-deserved Oscar win for his role in the movie 'Philadelphia'.
'Forest' was a safe bet to win. So you are wondering where I'm going with this narrative? 'Pulp Fiction' was in the running for best picture. It had a director who was bursting onto the scene coming off another ground breaking piece of cinema in 'Reservoir Dogs' also from the Miramax studio.
Still wondering where I'm going?
The studio had the pedigree, so did the director and the actor. So, it was no surprise that this "safe" movie won the Oscar. Consolation prize for Quentin was Best Original Screenplay, but that was more of slap in the face.
My point is that I feel - and I'm sure I'm not the only one - that 'Pulp' and Quentin weren't what the Academy deemed worthy of the Oscar. They were a tad unfamiliar, maybe even biased by the big budget blockbuster produced by the large Hollywood studio.
The real question in all of this is, was it too early for Quentin to win Best Picture or Best Director awards? I think that can be interpreted the from Academy's decision. Sadly they felt that they needed to see more versus looking at the picture that was in front of them. Removing bias and relationships and giving it what it deserved.
I just wish people had the courage to vote with a nice balance of heart, logic and bias, but then again that's what makes them people, right? I mean that's why we have the "it's too early" narrative floating around.
Is it still too early?
This week's Arsenal America Podcast welcomes Jeremy Wilson of the Telegraph, @HayleyWright the creator and host of Diary of a Season and Tim Clarke of @Arse2Mouse. We'll be talking Liverpool, BvB and looking to ManU. The show is available at www.ArsenalAmericaPodcast.com, iTunes and you can also grab the RSS Feed. Thanks for listening.
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'Stateside Gooner' Chris Toronyi is a longtime Arsenal supporter and the host of The Arsenal America podcast. You can read more of Chris' thoughts on Twitter.
The views expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect those of Arsenal Football Club or Arsenal Broadband Ltd.
Copyright 2024 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.
