True Players For Real

When asked about his thoughts after the Arizona Cardinals claimed the lead in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLIII, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said: “I figured that if they were going to score then that was the best time for them to do it.” Tomlin was of course referring to the time that was allotted to his team to rally and come back to win what turned out to be a pretty impressive display. The humorous thing here is that I didn’t even plan on watching it. I figured maybe I’d watch a little of the second half which by that time would probably be a one sided blow out. Much to my delight, I was wrong. I was instead able to extract yet another interesting tidbit of wisdom from one of those lucky individuals who have been blessed with the insight that comes with love of the game. I began to think to myself; Is it possible that all of the people out there who have dubbed themselves “true players for real” (with Puffy’s approval) were right? Let me explain.

In many of my conversations with sports enthusiasts and non-enthusiasts alike I have tried to explain one thing: What makes moments like Santonio Holme’s game winning catch so amazing is that such feats are unique, unscripted and will never happen again in quite the same fashion. Some would argue that men are drawn to these moments of intestinal fortitude because we are obsessed with immortality. I can’t help but think how enraptured I would be as an elderly man if I was given the opportunity to reflect upon such instance in my life.

What Tomlin’s post-game remarks made clear was that true players in the game of life spend their whole lives thinking and preparing for history. When the Cardinals scored, instead of panicking he viewed it as an opportunity to do something amazing whereas most would view it is as a crisis. Santonio Holmes probably daydreamed all through out his youth about that amazing grab that he made with 35 seconds left. It is astonishing to think about the number of individuals among us who have this same game winning mentality even when the accolades are not always as numerous; the single mother who must figure how to juggle multiple responsibilities driven by the single goal of making it to the next day; the struggling student who has multiple assignments due at the end of the semester; the president who has inherited the seemingly impossible task of leading a country out the worst financial crisis since the great depression.

All of the people mentioned here would not choose any other fate then the one which they are experiencing at this very moment in time because if they are fortunate enough to reflect back on such times they would realize that they were given the opportunity to be the best that they could be. The accolades are just icing on the cake.