It’s fall, and for sports enthusiasts like me, that means it’s football season. From September to January, fans everywhere glue themselves to television sets to watch their favorite team battle on the gridiron for the ultimate prize of a championship.
I choose to follow the annual journey of my ride or die crew, the New Orleans Saints (Who Dat!). This season, however, comes with significant challenges. Despite a premium caliber roster on offense and defense, the Saints are struggling, especially on the offensive side.
Outside of a stellar fourth-quarter comeback in its first game of the season against the Atlanta Falcons, the Saints’ offense has generated little production.
Some fans point to the offensive line falling to contain opposing defenses. Some say it’s due to their inability to convert on third down. Others believe it’s costly turnovers, which other teams turn into points on their next possession.
The bulk of the Saints’ turnovers has come from quarterback, Jameis Winston. As a former Tampa Bay Buccaneer, he had a season record of throwing for over 5,000 yards and 30 touchdowns. Along with that distinction, Winston also threw 30 interceptions.
In his first start as a Saint in 2021, he learned from his “sins”. Before succumbing to an ACL tear halfway through the season, he threw 14 touchdown passes and only three interceptions.
However, in the three games so far this season, Winston committed five turnovers. Saints fans fear his tendencies from his days in Tampa Bay are returning. I’m a firm believer in Winston, and that faith has strengthened since I found out he has been playing with four fractures in his back.
Despite knowing his injuries are affecting him, Winston and Saints coach, Dennis Allen, choose to stay the course. I differ. The prudent move is to play backup veteran quarterback, Andy Dalton, which can allow Jameis to heal, and benefit the offense.
The option to plow ahead in the face of career-ending danger also plagues fellow NFL squad, the Miami Dolphins. Their star quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, suffered a second major head injury playing against the Cincinnati Bengals. Five days before, the first blow affected his mobility as he stumbled backward walking back to the huddle with his teammates.
Pundits, players, and fans question whether Dolphins head coach, Mike McDaniel, should have allowed Tagovailoa to stay on the field. I speculate McDaniel decided to keep the Dolphins atop the AFC East division. Instead, the short-term move was costly. Tagovailoa is now out indefinitely.
In addition to the Miami Dolphins, another Florida-based franchise is also experiencing troubles with their passer. It’s Jameis Winston’s former team, Tampa Bay, and quarterback, Tom Brady.
At the end of the 2021 season, Brady retired after 22 years in the league only to reverse his decision several weeks after. While Brady’s about-face brought happiness to Buccaneers fans, it created tension in his marriage. His wife, Gisele Bündchen, hoped Brady would end his prestigious football career to devote time to her and his family.
Two years earlier, he won an unprecedented seventh Super Bowl championship. He reflected on the achievement in a late-night talk show interview, “It’s a big moment, obviously, it’s the culmination of a lot of months of everyone working hard. There’s so many people around us to support us. And then all of a sudden the game ends, you realize, okay, the season is over, we won the Super Bowl, they’re dropping confetti, and this year was obviously different with a lot of the protocols.”
Later in the discussion, he opened up about a pointed conversation with Bündchen on the field: “And all of a sudden I see my oldest son run over to me and he says, ‘Dad!’ I gave him a big hug. I saw my two little ones, and then I saw my wife. Just as I gave her a big hug, and just as I did it, she says, “What more do you have to prove?’”
That question is something philosophers have pondered for centuries. It stems from what Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 1:2-4 and 8, “‘Everything is meaningless,’” says the Teacher, ‘completely meaningless!’ What do people get for all their hard work under the sun? Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes. Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.”
Like Jameis Winston, Mike McDaniel, and Tom Brady, we all have an innate desire for success. I want to get “all the gusto” I can. However, when that drive to “score” penalizes my relationships with the people I love, I pray for the resolve to say, “Enough is enough.”
One nugget of wisdom I treasure is from Philippians 2:3-5 “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.”
Therefore, I ask You, Lord, to fill my mind with Your wisdom. You say, “Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do! And whatever else you do, develop good judgment (Proverbs 4:7).”
The wisest, most heads-up move I can make is to love others as much as You love me.
Sources:
Website: New Orleans Saints
Website: Atlanta Falcons
Statistics and Biography: Jameis Winston
Website: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Biography: Dennis Allen
Statistics and Biography: Andy Dalton
Website: Miami Dolphins
Statistics and Biography: Tua Tagovailoa
Website: Cincinnati Bengals
Biography: Mike McDaniel
Article: “Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa out indefinitely after second head injury” by David K. Li, published September 30, 2022
Statistics: 2022 NFL Division Standings
Statistics and Biography: Tom Brady
Biography: Gisele Bündchen
Article: “Gisele Bündchen and Tom Brady are ‘living separately’” by Chloe Melas, published September 15, 2022
Article: “Tom Brady shares what Gisele said to him after Super Bowl” by Rick Stroud, published March 3, 2021
Scripture: Ecclesiastes 1:2-4*
Scripture: Ecclesiastes 1:8*
Scripture: Philippians 2:3-5*
Scripture: Proverbs 4:7*
*Scripture references are from the New Living Translation. Their links go to bible.com, courtesy of YouVersion, makers of the Bible App available for iOS and Android devices.
