Ah here it is, one of the most
celebrated American holidays is once again upon us: Superbowl Sunday. Now, many athletes, especially endurance
athletes, seem to hold a bit of animosity towards the big boys who throw around
a prolate spheroid and knock each other over.
And I get it, I’m as annoyed as the next guy when I see one of our CSU
players scoot by on his stipend-funded moped to his scholarship-funded class
despite their inability to win a game while my nationally competitive teammates
and I struggle to be granted pool time.
But I digress. The truth is there
are several lessons we can learn from football.
Of course there are the obvious lessons (the importance of coaching,
offseason can determine the season, the agony of injury, comeback kids, etc),
but there are others as well. So, kick
back with some beer and wings this afternoon and be prepared for some football
wisdom.
Do
it for the love of the game
Brett Favre got a pretty bad rep
when he retired for the millionth time from the Packers only to take on a few
more seasons as a Jet and then as a (gasp) Viking. As a Wisconsinite, I get that this was
practically a mortal sin. However, I get
it. To me, it always seemed as though
Brett wasn’t playing for the fame or for the money (after all, he has that illustrious
Wrangler endorsement) but instead for the love of the game. As he got older, he simply couldn’t give up
on the game, the way many of us can’t imagine a life without multisport. As a triathlete, I try to remember that I’m
in this not for a plaque or medal but because I love it and, like Favre, I will
do whatever it takes to stay in my game.
Poor Guy didn't get a lot of love after he left
There’s
a place for all shapes and sizes
Football players come in all
shapes and sizes from Gilbert Brown at 6’2” and 340 lbs to Jim Leonhard at 5’8”
and 185 lbs. Each player offers a
specific asset based on his body. At the
starting line of a tri, it is always amazing to see the differences in
bodies. Some athletes are tall and lanky
while others are short and stacked – each offering its own specific set of
advantages. Personally, I sometimes get
down on myself because I am not as thin as the “typical” female
triathlete. However, I try to remember
that my shoulders help me swim and my big quads help me ride. As in football, we need to start seeing our
bodies for all they do for us instead of how to fit a mold.
Ian and my bike side by side (and this is the larger of my bikes)
The
game is played from start to finish
Everyone remembers that Hail Mary
touchdown or an amazing sprint finish.
But the truth is, games are often won or lost by plays in the early and
middle parts of the game (think: certain missed Bronco’s field goal in this
year’s playoffs). In a tri, it is easy
to settle in or not push in the swim or in a transition because there is still
plenty of race left. But the truth is
that every moment is a part of the race and should be treated as such.
We
can all be friends here
One of my favorite moments of a
football game is immediately after the game when players from opposing teams
greet and embrace one another. There
always appears to be friendly banter as though happy to see a friend despite
the loss of the game. In triathlon, we
develop an awesome community. Out on the
course your main objective is to beat that guy/girl but that should never stop
us from sharing post-race meals and laughs with that person no matter who
climbs the podium. I love seeing the
friendly banter between pro’s on Twitter.
Obviously, these people compete against one another but they also share
a sense of camaraderie and true friendship.
Gomez and Brownlee immediately after the 2012 Olympic race
Success
doesn’t necessarily equal respect
Yes, sometimes the bad guy does
win. However, it only takes mention of
players such as Michael Vick or Ray Lewis to realize that the athletic success
of these players does not mean we respect them.
I personally respect Packers Aaron Rodgers and Donald Driver for their
humble and respectful demeanors and would do so win or lose. In triathlon, I don’t care who crosses the
line first; I respect the athletes who play fair, who are kind and respectful
before/after the race, who are humble, who thank volunteers, and who have a
smile on their face.
Goldenboy Rodgers has bought my friends drinks and dates girls who have never heard of him while Driver has written thank-you letters to fans and the state of Wisconsin. <3
Being
a bully doesn’t pay off
Two words: Detroit Lions. This team is notorious for bully-like
behavior such as the 2011 Thanksgiving game stomping incident of Suh on
Dietrich-Smith. Yet the Lions went 4-12
this season. Ouch. In triathlon, you can do some pretty awful
things. You can mess with bikes in
transition, steal from transition, throw unnecessary elbows, purposefully
draft, cut someone off, the list goes on.
But these things don’t really make you win in the long run. The only way to the top is through hard work,
dedication, talent, and luck – so you might as well be nice while you’re at it!
Not
everyone can win – and that’s ok
Two teams play in the Superbowl
and only one of them wins. Each season,
31 teams will not be named champions.
Yet, we still love our teams. On
the morning of January 13th, I woke up still a Packer fan and my
Colorado friends and neighbors were still Bronco fans. There’s even a sect of Americans who, despite
all evidence to not be, are Miami Dolphins fans. We don’t love our respective teams based on
their record. In fact, most people can’t
even explain why we love our team; we just do.
In that respect, our friends and families love us for who we are and
will do so no matter how long it takes to cross a finish line. It is easy to place value on ourselves based
on our successes or failures but the truth is that these events are secondary all
secondary.
So there it is, lessons from
Superbowl Sunday: love the sport, love your competitor, and love yourself. And, oh yeah, GO PACK GO!
Superbowl 2011
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