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On Feb 4th 2007, the Chicago Bears and the Indianapolis Colts played in Superbowl 41 to try to win the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Both the Bears and the Colts can teach us lessons about how to achieve our own goals. Vince Lombardi, the great Green Bay Packers' coach, believed that sport teaches us about life in general. He saw the similarities between football and life clearly and frequently described the qualities that can help us all to achieve worthwhile goals in life as well as football. One of Lombardi's world famous quotes states: "Football is a great deal like life in that it teaches that work, sacrifice, perseverance, competitive drive, selflessness and respect for authority is the price that each and every one of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile." All of these six goal achieving qualities were shown in the Superbowl final and on the way there. Both the Bears and the Colts had to sacrifice by giving up a normal life to train day after day to win the greatest trophy in American Football. They had to work very hard to reach the play offs and then the final. They worked while others talked. Lombardi would probably have approved of their work ethic. He appreciated the power of the discipline which enables people to face up to the daily grind: "I've never known a man worth his salt who in the long run, deep down in his heart, didn't appreciate the grind, the discipline. There is something good in men that really yearns for discipline." Another key quality mentioned by Lombardi is perseverance. The fans of the Bears and the Colts had to show perseverance for years as they waited to see their teams in the final. The Bears had waited 21 years since their last Superbowl and the Colts had waited 36 years to reach a final. How many of us could show that kind of loyalty and perseverance? The fans also had to sacrifice money and time to get to Miami where they got a thorough soaking for their pains! Prince, at half time, sang the appropriate song 'Purple Rain'. Lovie Smith, coach of the Bears, and Tony Dungy, coach of the Colts, led by example. Both are committed Christians and the first African American coaches to take teams to the Superbowl. They taught their teams how to show respect for others and for the highest authority, God.
They also showed great respect and affection for each other. They believe that you don't have to scream and yell to be a winner. They would not tolerate bad behavior or trash talking. They wanted their players to act like professionals. After the game, the first thing Tony Dungy did was to walk over to his rival coach and give him a hug. Later he explained how he felt about winning: "I am proud to be representing African American coaches and to be the first African American to win this. It means an awful lot to our country. But again, more than anything, Lovie Smith and I are not only the first two African American coaches, we are Christian coaches showing that you can win doing it the Lord's way. I am even more proud of that." Dungy achieved his goal by showing respect for God and God's way and by relying on God's help. Most of us also need some kind of powerful help to achieve our goals. Some achieve their goals by working hard and praying to God for help. Others use their minds to attract the power of the Universe or whatever power they believe in. Others just ask for the help of other humans who may know something they don't. The Colts and Bears knew that now was their time to achieve glory. They had the competitive drive that was valued by Lombardi. In the TV coverage that I was watching you could hear a sound track of the kind of thoughts that might have been going through the minds of the players or the kinds of comments the coaches might have been making. "What about right now? Huh? Huh? It is our time. Be physical! Stay in the moment! This is why you play the game to be the best; to be the best; to be the best today." Very few of us do our best. If we did we probably would be the best since so few people make the most of their abilities. We need to be the best now and not tomorrow. Tomorrow we may be ill or dead. The game started badly for the Colts. Later, Tony Dungy explained how they dealt with the early set back as Devon Hester did a 92 yard kick return to score for the Chicago Bears. Tony said: "I am so proud of our guys. We took the hit early with Devon Hester but we talked about it and we said: 'There is going to be a storm. Sometimes the Lord does not bring you directly through. Sometimes you gotta work for it.'" Tony was right about the 'storm'. As the rain poured down, the Bears moved ahead while the Colts mishandled and missed an important kick. The Bears were in the lead and looking like winners. However, the Colts are not usually phased by early knockdowns. They again reacted in the spirit of Lombardi: "It's not whether you get knocked down; it's whether you get up." The Colts got up but the game did not go the Colts way until the second quarter when they began to dominate the game. They did this by using two outstanding running backs, a powerful defence and an effective offence.
Their quarterback, Peyton Manning, showed the kind of selflessness and teamwork that Lombardi spoke about. He would probably have loved to control the game through using his throwing arm but, instead, he gave up his natural game to allow the team to play as a team rather than a vehicle to show off his talents. Throwing long passes with a rain soaked ball was not always the best way to go. Everyone seemed to be fumbling the ball. Instead, Manning used his tireless running backs again and again. He also had to show perseverance and self-belief to overcome the critics who said he could not win the big one. Now he need not worry about comments like these for the rest of his life. He was declared MVP but gave all credit to the team. There was no arrogance from the winners. At the end of the game, Jim Irsay, the owner of the Indianapolis Colts, gave the glory of victory to God. He spoke with feeling: "Now we're world champions and so there is an awful lot of shining glory up here but were giving it all to God. because that is what got us here - sticking together and believing that we could. I know God has looked after us on this journey and bonded us to such a tight family. I am so proud of my men I love you guys so much. Love you." The Colts achieved their goal of winning the Lombardi trophy by showing the kind of virtues which were admired and promoted so much by Vince Lombardi himself. While others made excuses, they accepted the daily grind of training and showed the perseverance to come back when they were losing. They showed selflessness by working as a team rather than as one or two outstanding individuals. Running backs, offence, defense, receivers, special teams and the quarter back all played their part. They showed respect for the other team and the leaders of the Colts showed respect for God. God or the Universe are the hidden power behind the efforts of many humans. God or the Universe can turn our efforts into miracles and create the shining glory of victory which makes our lives memorable. Lombardi, too, had something to say about God and belief: "The good Lord gave you a body that can stand most anything. It's your mind you have to convince." We, too, need to convince our minds that we can do almost anything. We need to show the same spirit as the Colts. We need to stick together and believe that we can win the great prizes. We need to ask God and/or the Universe for help and we need to allow others to play their part rather than seeking to run the whole show ourselves. If we gladly give the glory to God and to others, some of it at least will usually rub off on us too! I'll finish with another brief quote from the great Lombardi himself. These words may be of some comfort to the Chicago Bears and their fans:
"In great attempts, it is glorious even to fail." If we never try, we will never fail but nor will we know the exhilaration and satisfaction of taking part and having a real go at achieving our goals. Who knows? If we try, we, too, may achieve the goals and dreams we desire most. We, too, can share in the glory of achievement.
John Watson is an award winning teacher and 5th degree blackbelt martial arts instructor. He has written several ebooks on motivation and success topics. One of these can be found at http://www.motivationtoday.com/36_laws.php You can also find motivational ebooks by authors like Stuart Goldsmith. Check out http://www.motivationtoday.com/the_midas_method.php Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or on your site but please include the resource box above
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