The blog before I said "I'm not a football guy."
This blog, I'm totally full of crap on the previous two comments but will justify it with an attempt at a clever analogy.
Woke up Sunday morning in a downtown hotel and along w a couple buddies, headed over to a lot for some pregame festivities. In past seasons, this was the highlight, but so far this years Brownies have been worth tuning in for despite the 1-2 start.
2 losses as time slipped away.
The previous two games, I sat home and listened on the radio, texting Andy random thoughts and observations as to the play on the field. Both of those games, my last text was "that's why you play all 4 quarters."
Against the Steelers, had they quit at halftime, we were blown out. But we adjusted, came back and took a lead before losing as time expired.
Against the Saints, we came out strong but had many moments where we looked as though we were trying to give it away.
Same goes for yesterday. We looked so good, so strong, for so long... But it wasn't enough. Too many mistakes in the 4th quarter lost us the game. At times, we looked confused, unprepared and we just didn't get the job done when it matter most.
In football on nearly any level of any game and throughout a season, there are highs and lows. You have time on your side as a type of checking point as to know when you need to make a particular move or look to adjust. You know the season is 8 or 10 or 17 weeks. You know the quarters are 8, 10 or however long. And you know in each game, you have 4 quarters to make of happen.
There will be mistakes. There will be success. There will be things, moments, that you knew would happen, moments or plays you prepared for, and you'll either execute or you won't.
You may get a big lead one day, but then lose focus in the success and blow the lead.
You may start off rocky, losing by 21 in the fourth, but make your halftime adjustments and fight your way back into the game.
Maybe you'll win, maybe not. But you have to go hard for 4 quarters in order to absorb all the benefits... I almost wrote nutrients. Same thing. Those experiences of life, wins and losses, success and failure and all those little moments within that fill the space with intangibles, those are the nutrients for our soul.
I barely remember the games... I remember the practices. I absorbed all those nutrients for years.
So let's say, for the pictures sake, we'll live to be 80 years old. That means every 20 years is our quarter.
Where are you? Me, I'm approaching halftime pretty soon. My score... Not quite sure. I think I probably came out of the first quarter a little rocky the way most rookies do but I've made adjustments. See, I'm a good coach, I know you have to be willing to learn and adapt and evolve to win. So once I made to through the learning curve of the 1st quarter and most of the 2nd quarter, I picked up momentum and headed myself in a more fitting direction.
Am I losing at the moment? I think it's a close ball game, but I'm headed into halftime soon and see myself as a great second half team.
How about you?
What quarter are you in?
How's your momentum?
Remember, you can really suck in the first half, but if you come out of the locker room ready to play, you can come back and end the game respectable. Maybe even win it.
But sometime, some teams think they can coast and win it in the 4th and that works on their field... Not ours. We don't actually get to see the clock. We don't know when our 4th quarter starts or ends.
So play hard now, win now and you won't have to worry about the clock expiring.
Every day is that chance to score, to have success, to make positive strides forward. Don't wait.
Go back to school.
Get back on your training schedule.
Write that goal list and hit those goals.
Make your dreams become a reality.
We have one game to play.
Play to win, everyday.
