What if you gave everything you had to give and it still wasn’t enough? What if you did the best you could to make a difference…and it really didn’t?

These are questions potentially facing Everson Walls today. Seven months ago, he became America’s best-known organ donor, when he gave his good friend and former teammate, Ron Springs, a kidney.

Walls and Springs were Dallas Cowboys teammates in the ’80s. They developed a firm and lasting friendship. Then, Springs developed adult onset Diabetes. The disease was advanced, debilitating, and potentially life-threatening. Springs needed a kidney in order to improve his quality of life and possibly extend his life expectancy. Walls volunteered to give his friend a kidney…and their story became the feel-good sports-related story of the year.

The news came down yesterday, however, that Ron Springs had fallen into a coma during an operation to have a cyst removed from his arm. As of the writing of this article, he has not awakened, and His son, Shawn, a cornerback for the Washington Redskins has taken leave from his team to be with his father.

I am not sure how it feels to be Everson Walls right now. I am sure he is hurting for his friend and his friend’s family. I feel he must be proud that he did the best he could to save his friend, to give him a chance at a more “normal” life. But one might think that perhaps he is dealing with some level of disappointment or frustration, too.

We can all identify with how it feels to do the best you can and learn that your best just wasn’t good enough. How one deals with that, I believe, is a sure sign of that individual’s character. Thinking about that made me think again about The Paradoxical Commandments written by Dr. Kent Keith…

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the
smallest men and women with the smallest minds. Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs. Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them. Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you have anyway.

I am certainly not saying that all, or even most, of these things apply to the Springs – Walls story. I am just saying, it is good to do good for the sake of doing good, regardless the outcome.

Do it anyway.

Subscribe in a reader

What do the Saturday Night Live crew and the Dallas Cowboys have in common? They are both populated with “Not-Yet-Ready-For-Primetime-Players.”

The Cowboys came into today’s marquis matchup with the formidable New England Patriots with high hopes and great expectations. They had their moments, too. Tony Romo, T.O, Jason Witten, Marion Barber, Julius Jones, Demarcus Ware, even Jason Hatcher…they had their moments. But in the end, they proved to be overmatched by Tom “Cool Daddy” Brady and his arsenal of high-powered weapons.

Belichick’s D slowed down the Cowboys just enough – which begs the question: “Why did the derelict-looking super genius feel the need to cheat?” – while Big D’s D barely slowed the Brady Bunch at all. It was an entertaining game for 3 1/2 quarters. Heck, the Pats even trailed in the second half for the FIRST time all season.

The ‘Boys have no reason to hang their heads. They did their best. They made their fans crack a few smiles. Romo even got a grin out of the ref after one TD pass. They’re good. But like the SNL crew, they just aren’t quite there. Maybe some day soon they will do like the long line of SNL alums and find themselves ready for the bigtime. They might even be there come December…or January.

But not today.

Subscribe in a reader

“Be not afraid of greatness; some are born great, some achieve greatness, and
others have greatness thrust upon them.” ~ William Shakespeare

Who are the top quarterbacks currently playing in the NFL? The beginning of that list – that is, the top two names – is easy. Peyton Manning and Tom Brady are pretty much consensus choices for 1 and 2, or 1a and 1b, or however you separate them. Along with these guys, you have to throw in Brett Favre, right? His career achievements make him a shoo-in first ballot hall of famer. After that, names like Carson Palmer, Drew Brees, Phillip Rivers, and now, Tony Romo pop up.

The road to greatness is as varied as it is difficult. Peyton Manning, the son of a legendary NFL quarterback and older brother of Eli, who seems to be emerging into at least “good QB” status, appears to have been born to greatness. Peyton has the pedigree, the numbers, and now the hardware to prove his greatness. He certainly seems to fall into the first of Shakespeare’s three categories of greatness.

Brett Favre is one who has achieved greatness. His fearless gunslinger style has catapulted him into the rare air of NFL legends. He has endured setbacks, losses, horrible decisions resulting in losses, but he has persevered and planted himself squarely in Canton. It’s just a matter of time.

But tomorrow’s game features two quarterbacks who seem to fit into category three. Tom Brady was a sixth round draft pick, the 199th player taken in the draft! Who could have envisioned what he would become? Certainly not Drew Bledsoe, the much bally-hooed first round draft choice, hand-picked by the genius himself, Bill Parcells.

Then it happened, the unthinkable. Bledsoe suffers an injury, the ball is handed to Brady, and he never gives it back. Three Super Bowl victories later and Brady’s name is mentioned in the same breath with the all-time greats. Moreover, many experts claim him as the single greatest draft-day steal in league history. And that is tough to argue.

Hold on, though. The hottest young QB in the league, Tony Romo, has yet to play a full sixteen-game season in the NFL, but is already called by some the third or fourth best at his position in the league. He, too, was found by Big Bill Parcells. But he wasn’t drafted by him. In fact, he wasn’t drafted by anyone. Seven times all thirty-two NFL teams picked someone else. So, The Tuna signed him as an undrafted free agent. Could Romo unseat Brady as the biggest steal ever? Time will tell.

Ironically, it was a faltering Bledsoe who gave Romo his break, too. Last year, at half time of the Giants game, Parcells pulled Bledsoe and inserted Romo into the starting lineup. Like Brady before him, the kid took the ball and didn’t give it back.

So, tomorrow’s meeting between the undefeated Cowboys and unbeaten Patriots may not feature the two best QBs in the league, but it damn sure features the two most unlikely “great” quarterbacks we have seen in awhile…maybe ever.

Peyton may have been born great, Favre may have achieved greatness, but these boys had greatness thrust upon them. Seeing them on the same field, leading their respective unbeaten teams is going to be…well, great!

Subscribe in a reader

America loves a winner. We celebrate champions and forget also-rans. We say things like, “Second place is just the first loser.” We quote people like Vince Lombardi, who declared, “Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing.” We spawn ridiculous Hollywood characters like Ricky Bobby’s daddy, who told his adolescent son, “If you aren’t in first place, you’re in last place!”

Of course, it is about winning. If it wasn’t, then why keep score? Why name champions? Why hand out trophies and rings? We all want to win. But there is something to be said for a hard-fought loss, too, isn’t there? What about that team that climbs the mountain again and again, only to be knocked down when they reach the peak?

What about the Buffalo Bills of the early 90’s? We talk about dynasties and we mention the Packers of the 60s, the Steelers of the 70s, the 49ers of the 80s, the Cowboys of the 90s, and the Patriots of this decade. These are dynasties, to be sure. But which of these played in four consecutive Super Bowls? None of them. The Bills did. The first one, they lost in a heart-breaker. Remember wide right? They were blown out in a couple, too. But they climbed that mountain. They made that incredible journey over and over. Are they losers?

What about the Cowboys of the ’70s, the most under-represented near-dynasty team in the Pro Football Hall of Fame? They were a part of an incredible run under coach Tom Landry, in which the Cowboys made the playoffs for 20 consecutive years. They made 5 Super Bowl Appearances in that 10-year period, winning two of them. Each of their losses was by less than a touchdown, and the two games against the Steelers were instant classics.

We all love – and remember – the winners. But history should also remember those who left their blood, sweat, and tears on the field of battle, who strove and fought the good fight only to be at last bested by a force greater than themselves on that particular day. Remember them, because losing doesn’t make you a loser. Quitting does.

In my library, one of my favorite books is Best-Loved Poems of the American People. In it I found this poem by George L. Scarborough:

Here’s To The Men Who Lose

Here’s to the men who lose!
What though their work be e’er so nobly planned,
And watched with zealous care,
No glorious halo crowns their efforts grand;
Contempt is failure’s share.

Here’s to the men who lose!
If Triumph’s easy smile our struggles greet,
Courage is easy then;
The King is he, who after fierce defeat,
Can up and fight again.

Here’s to the men who lose!
The ready plaudits of a fawning world
Ring sweet in victors’ ears;
The vanquished banners never are unfurled,
For them there sound no cheers.

Here’s to the men who lose!
the touchstone of true worth is not success.
There is a higher test -
Though fate may darkly frown, onward to press,
And bravely do one’s best.

Here’s to the men who lose!
It is the vanquished’s praises that I sing.
And this is the toast I choose:
“A hard-fought failure is a noble thing!
Here’s to the men who lose.”

Subscribe in a reader

Before the Cowboys – Bills Monday night game, ESPN analyst and legendary coach Bill Parcells shared the list of eleven mandates he gave to Tony Romo after signing the undrafted free agent to play for the Dallas Cowboys. It…was brilliant!

1. Press or t.v., agents or advisors, family or wives, friends or relatives, fans or hangers on, ignore them on matters of football, they don’t know what’s happening here.

2. Don’t forget to have fun, but don’t be the class clown. Clowns and leaders don’t mix. Clowns can’t run a huddle.

3. A quarterback throws with his legs more than his arms. Squat and run. Fat quarterbacks can’t avoid the rush.

4. Know your job cold. This is not a game without errors. Keep yours to a minimum. Study.

5. Know your own players. Who’s fast? Who can catch? Who needs encouragement? Be precise. Know your opponent.

6. Be the same guy everyday. In condition, preparing to lead, studying your plan. A coach can’t prepare you for every eventuality. Prepare yourself and remember, impulse decisions usually equal mistakes.

7. Throwing the ball away is a good play. Sacks, interceptions, and fumbles are bad plays..Protect against those.

8. You must learn to manage the game. Personnel, play call, motions, ball handling, proper reads, accurate throws, play fakes. Clock, clock, clock, don’t you ever lose track of the clock.

9. Passing stats and td passes are not how you’re gonna be judged. Your job is to get your team in the endzone and that’s how you’re gonna be judged.

10. When all around you is in chaos, you must be the hand that steers the ship. If you have a panic button, so will everyone else. Our ship can’t have panic buttons.

11. Don’t be a celebrity quarterback. We don’t need any of those. We need battlefield commanders that are willing to fight it out everyday, every week, and every season, and lead their team to win after win after win.

I am no Parcells fan, as I have documented. I think he is arrogant, self-important, and determined to keep the spotlight on himself. He wants all the credit for success and none of the blame for failure, and he proved it in news conference after news conference while in Dallas. BUT, he is a coach, a brilliant man, and a unique leader. So this is me giving the Devil his due.

Subscribe in a reader

The latest Vegas line has the Pats as 5 1/2 point favorites. But the ‘Boys will win the game, and here’s why:

1. Kharma. The Patriots were caught cheating, red-handed. What have they suffered as a result? The loss of a little discretionary spending money and a first-round draft pick that doesn’t hurt nearly so bad, since they had two of them anyway. Belicheater wasn’t suspended like Cowboys’ coach Wade Wilson was (and Wilson’s transgression took place while he was on the Bears’ staff, so the Cowboys were unjustly penalized by the whole affair.) The Football gods have to rise up and smite the dirty bastards, since Goodell won’t.
2. Romojo. It’s magic, baby. If Monday night didn’t teach us anything else, it taught us that. NOBODY throws five interceptions and rises from the ashes to win. Don’t look him in the eyes, boys. Behind that peat-seed eating, boyish grin he hides a hypnotic power.
3. God is watching. That hole in the roof of Texas stadium is there for a reason. You don’t think they will dismiss church early in Heaven for this one? The Cowboys aren’t just America’s team, ya know.
4. The cowboys have been punished enough for not drafting Randy Moss. The statute of limitations has run out.
5. The Cowboys aren’t just playing for records and Super Bowls and stuff. They are playing to keep the Dallas Metroplex economy flourishing. When the Cowboys lose, North Texas spins into a mini-recession. You want your Patriots to win; we need our Cowboys to win.

These are scientific facts, and they are indisputable.

Final score: Cowboys 38, Randy Moss 35 (the rest of the Pats team is shutout)

Subscribe in a reader

The only thing I hate about football is that there is more to life. At least, that is what I am told…or have been told many times by an exasperated wife.

I don’t hear it as much lately as I once did. I suppose twenty-seven years of planning family trips, weekends, holidays, and meals out around the football schedule have finally taken their toll. I don’t know exactly when she waved the white flag of surrender. I just feel certain she has. Maybe she thinks it best, if I am to have a mistress, that she be oblong, leather-skinned, and hard to hang onto.

It’s a shame, really. If life were football, think how it would uncomplicate things…

1. First, you would know exactly who to blame for all your misfortunes. They wear prison-style pin stripes, blow whistles and throw yellow flags.
2. You would know who your enemies are, too. No more looking over your shoulder at work or at your neighbor with a suspicious eye. The enemy is clearly marked. He wears a uniform with a logo on his helmet and his name and number emblazoned on his back.
3. Moreover, You would know just how people feel about you. You could hear their wild cheers when they are loving you and their vehement cursing and booing when they wanted you dead.
4. You would know where you belong, what your role is, and that the pursuit of your own success is in keeping with the greater good. There would be a common goal that is large enough to absorb each individual’s goals into itself.
5. You would know at the end of the day exactly where you stood. Just look at the scoreboard. You won. You lost. No gray areas. No ambiguity.
6. Finally, you would know that no matter how good or bad this day turns out, the next day will present a clean slate. The score will be even again. Losers might become winners. Winners might be made into losers. Or you might just become a dynasty.

But there’s more to life than football.

Right?

Subscribe in a reader

The only thing I hate about football is that there is more to life. At least, that is what I am told…or have been told many times by an exasperated wife.

I don’t hear it as much lately as I once did. I suppose twenty-seven years of planning family trips, weekends, holidays, and meals out around the football schedule have finally taken their toll. I don’t know exactly when she waved the white flag of surrender. I just feel certain she has. Maybe she thinks it best, if I am to have a mistress, that she be oblong, leather-skinned, and hard to hang onto.

It’s a shame, really. If life were football, think how it would uncomplicate things…

1. First, you would know exactly who to blame for all your misfortunes. They wear prison-style pin stripes, blow whistles and throw yellow flags.
2. You would know who your enemies are, too. No more looking over your shoulder at work or at your neighbor with a suspicious eye. The enemy is clearly marked. He wears a uniform with a logo on his helmet and his name and number emblazoned on his back.
3. Moreover, You would know just how people feel about you. You could hear their wild cheers when they are loving you and their vehement cursing and booing when they wanted you dead.
4. You would know where you belong, what your role is, and that the pursuit of your own success is in keeping with the greater good. There would be a common goal that is large enough to absorb each individual’s goals into itself.
5. You would know at the end of the day exactly where you stood. Just look at the scoreboard. You won. You lost. No gray areas. No ambiguity.
6. Finally, you would know that no matter how good or bad this day turns out, the next day will present a clean slate. The score will be even again. Losers might become winners. Winners might be made into losers. Or you might just become a dynasty.

But there’s more to life than football.

Right?

Subscribe in a reader

When asked if his team was outplayed by the Buffalo Bills on Monday night, Tony Romo answered, “I don’t think our team was outplayed by the Bills, but I sure was.” He went on to credit his teammates for picking him up on an off night. He made no excuses for his bad play, nor did he attempt to sugar coat it or play it down.

Any athlete – or person, for that matter – can flourish in prosperity. It is easy to comport oneself properly when one’s endeavors are successful. It is in the tough times, the times when everything you do is wrong, when every effort results in apparent failure that a real man is measured.

Tony Romo threw four interceptions in the first half. Of the Bills’ 24 points, he was directly responsible for fourteen of them, throwing two picks that were returned for touchdowns. He also was responsible for taking points off the board for the Cowboys by throwing an interception in the end zone, as they were attempting to go in for the score.

But an absolutely horrendous night was salvaged because the kid refused to quit fighting. He hung his head for a bit, but he didn’t implode or self-destruct. Nor did he try to pass the buck. He just got up and went back to work.

Romo was not the first Cowboys’ quarterback to throw five picks in a game. Troy Aikman did it. So did Danny White, Steve Pelleur, and Eddie LeBaron. Romo is the first Cowboys’ quarterback, however, to throw that many interceptions in a game and still win it.

He credited his teammates for picking him up: “I put the team in a hole early in the game, and our team dug me out,” he said. Tight end Jason Witten, however, made a brilliant observation when he said, “If there was any doubt (about Tony), they need to believe now. I was trying to stay in his ear and support him, but he doesn’t need it.” That is high praise from a teammate on a night when you have done everything in your power to lose a game your team should have won handily.

Watching Romo struggle in that game and then pick himself up and guide his team to an unlikely victory, I couldn’t help but think of the marvelous poem by Rudyard Kipling:

IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming
it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make
allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by
waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t
give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream – and not make dreams your master;
If you can think
- and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the
truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch
the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with
worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And
risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your
beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force
your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says
to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,’
Or walk with Kings – nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor
loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of
distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And -
which is more – you’ll be a Man, my son! That, my friend, is the measure of a
man.

Tony Romo may not always be the man, but if he continues to develop like this, he will certainly be a man among men.

Subscribe in a reader