I did not pay a single moment of attention to the Super Bowl…
Maybe because I cared little for either team. Perhaps the half-time entertainment attention was never something I would be interested about. Even yet, it’s probably more related to the idea that it is Sunday and there was nothing there to attract my attention…
The church service was a great time and lunch with the kids afterward was time well spent. Then, there was the snow…
But still, at 4 am this morning I’m awake and previewing the news about the weather. Wet snow over the past 20 hours or so has made it a little treacherous this morning. Hopefully, my wife’s company will call a snow day and we have the time to ourselves.
While perusing the news, USA Today online posted story after story about the Super Bowl. I selected one to catch up on the headlines so I would have something to talk about when night turns to light. It was toward the end of the 3rd quarter. New England Patriots – 3. Atlanta Falcons – 28. It looked to be a runaway by the Falcons. Except. Tom Brady looks back toward his team, holds up his hands, and shrugs to the ceiling, as if to say, “I don’t understand. What gives?”
Have you ever felt this way? Things should be going according to plan…but they’re not. Life should be happening a certain way…but it’s not. The church service should be done according to the plan…but its not…there is a surprise to the day that changes everything.
What happens? Shrug your shoulders, and do I as have said a million times. “Drop 10 and punt!” Go with the flow. Find your path. Make the best of what seems to be a downer.
What happened to Tom Brady and the Patriots?
The team bounces back!
From some internal reaction to the shrug? Perhaps. Sometimes all it takes is for someone to shrug their shoulders! From a deficit, into an overtime, they end up socking it to the Falcons, scoring the only 31 points of the second half. Winning 34-28.
What happened? It may be hard to put a finger on the button of change, but consider this: They were at the end of their rope. Only a field goal score on their board. Half-time has come and gone. It looked to be one of the worst defeats on record.
Something happened. Something triggered. Something changed.
Maybe their opponent choked. Maybe the oxygen level in the stadium changed. Maybe the caffeine kicked in! Maybe, finally, they start playing like the team they knew they could be. Maybe all it takes is feeling like there’s no way to go but up? Maybe…maybe…maybe…
We seldom understand the 'maybe's' of life. What turns things around? Maybe it's simply my perspective! Click To Tweet
Sometimes things change and the tide starts rolling your way. Lady Luck smiles. (Lady Luck is simply “Chance personified as a controlling power in human affairs”.) Chance. The flip of a coin. Roll of the dice.
Get a simple win. A first down. A good reception to a pass. Someone dodges the defender and gains a first down. The crowd gets into the game with you and before you know it a new pace is defined. Thinks start clicking into place. A winning attitude saturates the team.
Maybe it’s simply you reach the point that you have to prove your mettle. You are more than what the last 30 minutes have shown you to be. You dig deep into your emotional bank and pull out all the stops, and give it one last tremendous effort.
It could even be that you’ve simply felt, “Enough is enough.” You come to your senses and ability and start being the person you were meant to be, everything you’ve practiced for, proving the naysayers back into their corners.
The turning point from a loser perspective to a winners triumph is different for every person and unique for every situation. Click To Tweet
We seem to love the “come from behind” story and the effort that shows a “can do” attitude. The team that has the ability but faces tragic news of their star player who faces inevitable odds, and all wonder if they will pull through anyway. Here’s one I like about Freddie Steinmark. When the odds are stacked up against you, then be like Bum Phillips (Houston Oilers Coach from the 70′). Knock on the door (politely), then beat on the door, and finally you start “kickin’ the door down“… Something on the inside starts rattling the cages of something on the outside…
You stop being defined by what you cannot do,
and start functioning with what you could always do.
You get up and start participating with that intestinal fortitude that comes from knowing you have the ability, drive and persevering spirit to make it successfully to those closing seconds. You dig deep and give it your all. Hold nothing back. Push. Drive. Go. Don’t give an inch.
My hats off to the Falcons for playing a good game. But what happened to you? Not one score in the second half? You had it won at half-time, but something happened. To you. And to the Patriots. There’s not figuring out the “maybe’s” and “what if’s”… but the better team won. Congrats Patriots!