Post Pattern: ‘Why I Love Football’

Blogging the National Football League, Blogging the NFL

When my CE asked me to write a post about why I love football, I said to myself, “Self, this will be easy.” I’ve answered this question more times than I can remember.

On this first Monday without Monday Night Football in I don’t know how long (a long time), I wax sentimental about what the game means to me. I know football means something different to everyone, but to me, football mirrors life. The game of football is exactly the same as the game of life. And the lessons it teaches you can be applied to your life every day. Of course, I don’t want to forget this is a game. I’m not trying to make something complicated out of something simple. I enjoy football at its most basic existence, as pure entertainment. I enjoy it for the great players and the great plays. I enjoy the strategy, the game-planning and the preparation. I enjoy it as a career. I’ll never get over being paid to watch a football game and to talk with NFL players (and if I do it’s time to do something else), but that is my fortunate reality. Where it goes deeper, though, can be summed up by one of the greatest football players of all-time. From his autobiography, the late Walter Payton said:

“Never die easy. Why run out of bounds and die easy? Make that linebacker pay. It carries into all facets of your life. It’s ok to lose, to die, but don’t die without trying, without giving it your best.”

Football means a lot of things to me. I could go into great detail about my comparisons of all aspects of the game of football and the game of life. But I’ll spare you. More than anything, football has taught me to never give up. It has taught me to play all four quarters. It has taught me that I will get knocked down, but that I am victorious in getting back up to play again. The victories are great. But the strength gained in learning from the losses is even greater. Legendary Green Bay Packers head football coach Vince Lombardi said:

“The greatest accomplishment is not in never falling, but in rising again after you fall.”

Isn’t that what football and life are all about?