More wisdom from the gridiron! And this from someone who has a great deal of trouble keeping straight the difference between a “safety” and a “touchback.” (Don’t tell me! I don’t want to know!)
2. And, as an adjunct of the point above: Professionals fulfill their obligations, no matter what. I’m often impressed at the level of play a team will show even when there’s no way they can win. Do I show the same persistence, whether or not I’m being paid?
3. Sometimes life is just unfair, you don’t get the results you deserve, and you have to shake it off and keep going. With the proliferation of new rules, especially those that seek to reduce injuries, there’s a corresponding proliferation of ambiguous situations that have to be sorted out by the officials. If you’re like me you’ve done some yelling at the TV over some of those calls, and there’s certainly some eye-rolling and head-shaking on the field, but for the most part it’s all accepted philosophically (at least outwardly) and the game goes on. See #1 above. You can always blame calls at least obliquely if you lose (a la Tom Brady), but that doesn’t make you look very good.
4. You can’t live your life according to what other people think of you. I discuss the “What Will People Think” disease in chapter 6 of my Intentional Happiness book, and it’s very pervasive. How can the opinions of a bunch of people you don’t even know hurt you? Everyone drops a pass once in a while, or misses a tackle. Whatever.
5. And finally, at least for now: Everything on earth comes to an end eventually. On Thanksgiving evening I sat and watched the Packers/Bears game with my father-in-law (I was tired after cooking all day, but it was a nice tired). They were honoring Bret Favre (although everyone persists in calling him “Bret Farve”) as they retired his number, and as a special guest they brought 81-year-old football legend Bart Starr onto the field. He had to ride in a golf cart. Seeing him was a sharp reminder that no one escapes time.
Well, we’ll see what happens Sunday in the matchup between the Broncos and the Chargers. I’m sure I’ll be struck with yet more revelations concerning football as the game of life, but I’ll refrain from sharing any more of them with you, at least for now.
Love it! So true…