Winning at all costs?

As we approach another National Football League season, we are coming off a Super Bowl that showcased a clash of coaching cultures.  We had John Fox vs. Pete Carroll.  Old School NFL vs. New Thang College.  Keep your shirts tucked in vs. Let all your emotion show.  Even the teams themselves reflect the coaches, especially regarding old guard and new guard.

I see another difference;  maybe it's my age or maybe it's actually a different philosophy of football.  It seems that football, on all levels, is turning into, more and more a "look at me" sport.  Ex-college coaches have been successful for many reasons, including their ability to relate to and harness young passion and our youth culture.  Without delving into a sociological study, I think it's safe to say that, in general, this generation of players in the NFL talks more, celebrates more after a simple tackle or a first down catch, and thrives more on swagger than steadiness.

Even the Conference Championship games had a different feel between them last January.  The two AFC coaches rarely showed emotion, while the two NFC coaches rarely don't (see Jim Harbaugh going nuts after a failed reply challenge).  Coaches set the tone.  As we found out, Old School Calm and Cool lost the Super Bowl to New Thang Emotions On The Sleeve.  At the same time, we were reminded that a great defense usually beats a great offense.

This year, the same six teams are expected to be right back in the mix again at the end of the season.  No matter what style you are in favor of, my guess is that it's the TEAM you'll be rooting for, not the style.  Who cares how you do it, right?  Just get the job done, right?  What's the most important question at the end of the year?  "Whose holding the Lombardi Trophy"?  I don't think so!  I know this, because all anyone will care about tomorrow when Seattle opens up it's season against Green Bay, is who will win that game, not who won 7 months ago.

Rather, the most important question at the end of the season will be, "How did you go about your business?"  Obviously, this is the question for anybody, no matter their job, their like (or dislike) for sports, or where they live.  What matters most to everybody that played in that Super Bowl has nothing to do with the result of that Super Bowl, but with how they celebrated, recovered from, or mourned the outcome.

I am a pastor.  If I had a knee-jerk response every time something bad happened or when it didn't go my way, I would be out of a job.  Not, necessarily, because the congregation would boot me out, but because I would clearly not be qualified to lead them anymore.  So why does it seem to not matter whether a football coach loses it?  Because results matter more than personal growth in the NFL.  The irony is, though, that without a commitment to personal growth, the results will mean less and less anyway.

Life is a marathon, sports is a sprint, let's not confuse the two.