“And the man at the back said, ‘Everyone, attack’
And it turned into a ballroom blitz
And the girl in the corner said, ‘Boy, I wanna warn ya
I’ll turn into a ballroom blitz.’”
“The Ballroom Blitz” - The Sweet

In their heyday, Sweet was an innovator in the glam rock movement that would really take off in the Unites States in the early 1980s, led by a number of a groups from California. If you listen to The Sweet’s original version, you can be excused for thinking it is part of the music from “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” because it sounds like it could be directly from that movie! (Interestingly, the peak of the single was the same year the movie was released, so perhaps radio listeners felt the same way.)
On Jan. 27, 1973, The Sweet was performing in Scotland when a riot in the crowd drove them off the stage. That incident inspired this song about a massive brawl on a dance floor. The song’s mix of spoken word, harmonious vocals, and fast-paced guitar and drum accompaniment resonated, allowing the song to peak at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The song received new life in 1992, when actress Tia Carrere performed the song as part of the soundtrack to the movie “Wayne’s World.” That soundtrack, with her cover of the tune would be certified double-platinum.

Blitzes have been on the mind of many of late, though in very different ways.

Many people are thinking of “blitzing” because of a particular football game played last Sunday. Vic Fangio of the Philadelphia Eagles and Steve Spagnuolo of the Kansas City Chiefs were the respective defensive coordinators in the Super Bowl, and a lot of the discussion leading into the game on the defensive side of the ball centered on pressuring the quarterback. Fangio and Spagnuolo have made decades-long careers from their innovation on the defensive side of the ball, specifically with blitzing.

In football, one of the major tasks I was given as the center on the offensive line was identifying the pass rush, particularly which linebacker or defensive back would be blitzing on a particular play. The goal was to set the blocking scheme up so the quarterback had just enough time to get the ball out or to ensure that if a running play was called, we had guys positioned to create the same hole for the running back as was previously planned.

Though we ran a zone blocking scheme, the center called out line changes while the quarterback called audibles to receivers and running backs. This required the center and quarterback to be on the same page and to really understand the game plan well.

The main thing that a zone blocking scheme required in the passing game was tremendous communication - between the center and the quarterback, between the center and the rest of the offensive line, and between the quarterback and the “skill” position players. That communication was, in large part, to make sure no defender got through and disrupted the planned play.

Right now, many are considering “blitzing” not because of football, but because of the actions in Washington, D.C. According to the Federal Register, President Trump has signed 60 executive orders, through Tuesday, Feb. 11. In other words, in the first 23 days of his presidency, Trump issued an average of 2.6 executive orders per day.

At that rate, by the time he leaves office in Jan. 2029, President Trump will have issued 3,814 executive orders. Needless to say, that would more than lap the closest President in executive orders recorded, Franklin D. Roosevelt, with 2,023. No other President has signed as many as 1,000, and at this pace, Trump will surpass the four-year average of every President since Jimmy Carter within his first 100 days in office.

Beyond the flurry of executive orders, there’s also the incredibly concerning actions being taken by the unofficial Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. The department has not been created nor recognized as a government department in the manner required by law to this point, so the entire “agency” should have no authority in D.C., but the backing of Trump and the ridiculous wealth and gravitas of billionaire Elon Musk has yet to be challenged by Congress. Thankfully, multiple legal cases have already come about from the actions taken by Musk and DOGE, so the checks and balances of the government are working to some degree, but wheels of justice frequently turn slowly, especially when the defendant has the financial ability to muck up the spokes of the wheel.

So, if the goal of a blitz in football is to overwhelm the offensive line so someone sneaks through on the pass rush to get to the quarterback, what exactly is the intention of the blitz currently taking place in D.C. supposed to prevent the American people from noticing is happening?

Could it be the fact that many of the agencies that Musk and DOGE have been targeting also happened to distribute more than $1 billion in grants and other government funding to his companies since 2020? Could it be a goal to de-fund Social Security and/or Medicaid (the latter of which is on the chopping block of the proposed budget released this week by Congressional Republican leaders)? Could it be a push toward a world conflict, whether that be in Western Europe (Ukraine), the Middle East (Israel/Gaza) or Asia (India/China) - or all three?

One of the stories that has been covered by quite a few places since Sunday is that Fangio’s Eagles, despite his background in innovative use of the blitz, did not once blitz during Sunday’s dominant victory over the Chiefs. However, the reasoning behind that has often been laid at the feet of the Chiefs and seen as a result of their offensive line. I'd counter that.

Fangio’s team put together a roster overflowing with talent on the defensive line, both interior and outside. The timing of contracts among those linemen allowed for this roster to happen as likely many of those players will leave Philadelphia in free agency in the next few years, but for this moment, the Eagles were able to defeat the Chiefs’ blocking scheme not through blitzing, but through a dominant rush up front that simply brought in more extremely-talented players from the sideline every play, meaning the Chiefs’ line was facing a talented, refreshed player every single play while they were wearing down.

However, the back side of the defense also needs to be given credit as the pass coverage and gap coverage in the run game from the linebackers and defensive backs for the Eagles was nearly flawless.

That’s exactly how you can combat a blitzing team in football - by defeating their offensive efforts at every single level. Eventually, their blitzing will leave a monstrous hole in their defense, and your offense can take advantage.

Rather than counter-blitzing, the American people should call on their Congressional representatives and the Supreme Court to counter these unconstitutional - and illegal - acts by enforcing the rule of law.

A blitz doesn’t require those facing it to succumb and give up just because it’s employed. Countermeasures can and should be taken, and that is why we have a Constitution that lays out branches of government that can keep one another in check, and that process has already begun.

We just have to ensure the power remains where it should be - in the hands of the people - and pressure our Congressional delegation to uphold the Constitution they swore an oath to uphold.