Greg Olear: A "Zahltag" Moment, in a United States of "On To Cincinnati"

[Nevilledog]

https://gregolear.substack.com/p/a-zahltag-moment-in-a-united-states

The Germans have an expression: Der Zahltag rückt näher. The literal translation is “payday is getting closer,” which sounds like a welcome proposition. But the actual meaning is neither innocuous nor positive. Colloquially, Zahltag means “Day of Reckoning”—one of those rare occasions when, even in English, the two nouns demand capital letters.

For those on the wrong side of the karmic ledger, Zahltag is not a happy development. Der Zahltag rückt näher means “The Day of Reckoning is coming soon.” Or, to put it in the Godfather terms our mobster president is more familiar with, Zahltag is basically the day that Michael Corleone settles all the family business.

On September 29, 2014, the Tom Brady-led New England Patriots got blown out by the pre-Patrick Mahomes Kansas City Chiefs, 41-14, evening their record to 2-2. The team played like shit. This was not a Super Bowl contender.

Facing the press pool after the game, Coach Bill Belichick1 was asked about the humiliating loss. He answered every question with some variation of “We’re on to Cincinnati,” the Cincinnati Bengals happening to be the next opponent on the schedule: Why did the team play so badly? We’re thinking about Cincinnati. Does Tom Brady need more help? The only thing we care about now is Cincinnati. What can you tell us about the lackluster effort on defense today? On to Cincinnati. And so on, for ten more minutes.

Immediately, the phrase entered the sportswriter lexicon. “On to Cincinnati” means to forget what just happened, to never look back, and to focus all the attention on what’s coming down the pike.

*snip*