All in

          The final decisive battle/move/play, not necessarily the last battle(if talking about the war as a whole), but most likely the beginning of the end for one of the sides . Or it is the critical meeting or rallying point in the history of a conflict that turns the tide. We are surrounded by stories of these moments factual and otherwise, where it could have gone either way but something happened and a new destiny forged among the harsh wilderness of fate.

          Right off the bat at the start of chapter three we are given an example of "All in" in the story of "The Oath of the Horatii: "One of the Great Stories of Ancient Times" by Livy. There was a fight/conflict between the Albans and the Romans, At the conference, Mettius proposed that the dispute be resolved by some means other than mass bloodshed, citing the concern that the nearby Etruscans would fall upon the two Latin states if weakened by war and unable to defend themselves. It was agreed that a set of triplets from each side, three brothers Horatii and three Curiatii, would battle for the victory of the two states. Livy refers to conflict amongst his own sources as to which set of brothers represented which state, but prefers the view that the Horatii were the Romans, and the Curiatii Albans.  (I wrote this)---> The battle begins, one of the Alban's unleashes a mighty roar and charges forth!! The Horatii parries the blow, and the clash of steel can be heard across the otherwise silent battle field. The other two Horatii brothers run forward to intercept the remaining Albans lest they attack their brother whilst he is occupied. They fight for 5 minutes!! 10 Minutes!! 15 Minutes, the battle rages on,neither side giving quarter. An Alban blocks a sword thrust with his shield and almost as if in slow motion, you can see the sword waver, then shatter all across the battle field. Things look bad, one of the fragments has flown into the left eye of one of the remaining brothers, the unengaged Alban notices this and takes advantage of the weakness. He approaches from the left/rear, flanking the brother and with a stab through the heart it suddenly turns into a 3v1 match. The Albans are grateful that the duel will soon be over, they have been running(as in fighting) at 200% and can't keep the pace much longer, they are wearing more armor, their weapons are heavier, they are exhausted. Things look grim, his brothers are dead and death comes from the north, east and west for him. He does the only thing he can do, he runs, Mercury bless him, he runs. The Alban crowd screams for his blood, the Romans begin to weep, for all is lost. The Albans are in hot pursuit but begin to break ranks, the Alban that threw the first move falls behind to take a rest, and another begins to lag some 50 yards behind his fellow warrior. The remaining brother at last, stops and turns deciding he is dead anyway, he might as well death head on. But wait......What is this!?, a solitary Alban out of breath!? He realizes what has happened and takes advantage of the shift. He rushes up and beheads the Alban as he has his hands on his knees, face down gasping for air. He dons the helmet and carries the head of the fallen and jogs up the 2nd Alban, confusing him. He quickly jabs his sword from the bottom of his jaw upward into the Alban's brains. The battle wind has shifted, he still has a chance after all. The last Alban won't be a push over, he will have recuperated by now, but god's willing he would hold his ground, for the Horatii, for Rome.
            Eventually down the line Alba Longa ceases to exist as its citizenry is added to the Roman collective. Did it really happen this way or is this just legend? Either way it makes for a pretty badass, patriotic story of valor,luck and heroism.

          Then we have "Hannibal is at the gates" also by Livy. It provides another example of "All in", but this time in the rallying type example. Hannibal is the worst enemy the Romans had ever faced, he being the only person to ever bring Rome in her prime to her knees. He scared the bejeebers/bejeezus out of the Romans, so much so that their allies deserted, citizens left and even those of patrician blood wanted to "call it" and find refuge in a foreign country.  Destiny chose Scipio because everyone else was too scared or full of despair to be bothered. He gave a very dramatic speech and appearance type deal which was enough to impress everyone to eventually follow him. While he probably was not thinking this at the time, "fortune favors the bold" , it held true for him and it often holds true, throw something together, anything. Putting together any kind of defense is better than the alternative of death. There comes a time when you have to look death in the eye and laugh at it in the face, because it will have you eventually anyways. They freed (6:20) slaves (paragraph 5), conscripted anyone they could and put everyone else together to make armaments and anything else that could be useful. I remember seeing a history channel on this, they even had a blind guy sorting out things by touch. I was reminded of life in the U.S.A.  (scroll through posters) during WW2. Every scrap was saved and everyone did their part to fight against the Axis powers, even children recycled their toys so the materials could be re used. What would the world be like if we had given into despair after Pearl Harbor? The British were fortunate to have a similar man in Winston Churchill during WW2 ,the power of the "All in Rallying cry" is amazing and brings tears to eyes. He held onto European front until Pearl Harbor scared the USA into action.

Iwo Jima, declaring All in

it's just not happenin

           The All in is prevalent throughout all literature, television/movies and video games. Some examples include the movie Patriot,(video clip) when Mel Gibson sees the deciding moment and specific area of the battle that will determine their fate and calls for the line to be held. Or in the Bible when Shedrach, Messach and Abednego refuse to bow to the Idol. It is also found in video games, such as the last mission starcraft 2 wings of liberty which is called all in,(:50,4:12,6:50) which is where I get the name of today's blog.  Even found in the sports world via its sister the "Hail Mary" not just in foot ball but in any sport, when someone defeats the odds it is referred to as a Hail Mary.  I could go on and on and give examples that I have read or seen, but I'm sure you can think of plenty on your own. The whole "All in" concept ties in very closely to the concept of hope, the unwillingness to surrender or accept defeat, it is the very life force that keeps mankind going on despite the disasters that happen or dangers they may face indeed the All in has shaped the entire history of humanity. Whenever you find yourself at that deciding moment in life, and make the decision to win despite the odds or danger or risks or simply because it is the last option left to you, you have just performed or entered the "All in".

All in

Why have you come? You will find naught but death here.

All in concept in Christianity, Jesus barring the way to heaven