Did you watch?
Of course you did. Everyone does. I still am waiting for Congress to decree that the Monday after the Super Bowl will become a new holiday. Sure would make the day easier for those who stay up late into the night.
But I have a different question for you. Does anyone out there actually believe that the losing team deserves to ALSO get a Lombardi Trophy?
Of course not, right? What a silly concept. Two teams played, someone lost, they go home to look towards next year in the hopes they can return and win. They won’t get championship rings. The T-shirts and hats that were already printed will be shipped off to a Third World country.
Why, then, do we persist to believe in something different in our country in other sectors? Why, for instance, do we assume that everyone who signs up for a college class somehow deserves to pass? I was speaking in the Northeast a few years back and during a Q&A with students, had a lovely young lady state openly “I paid for the class; I should at least pass.” That mentality is the equivalent of the losing NFL owner stating “I paid millions for this team and we made the title game, so I should at least get a trophy.”
The sooner we remember to embrace the reality that success in life is dependent largely on hard work, the better. AND, that sometimes, even after your hard work, you don’t come out on top. You lose the sale. You don’t get the girl. You don’t pass the class. Rather than assuming that life should somehow be fair, these moments give you the chance to demonstrate your depth of character within. You rise up in greatness, climb over the unfortunate event, and continue on your path of success.
No one owes you anything. The world is still a very darwinian world of survival of the fittest. Only one team got the Lombardi Trophy. Only one team deserved it. The other men can go home now and pout, or they can go home determined to work harder in an attempt to reach that pinnacle again. I know what kind of man I will be after I lose.
What about you?