If you were a Patriots fan this week, you probably were thinking it would have been better to bury your head in a cereal bowl than in the super bowl.
It certainly seemed like a frustrating series of mishaps to witness. Now -sure with a cereal bowl- sometimes there are also disasters. The milk spills over. The cereal gets strewn all over the place. But no one sets out to make this happen. There isn’t a team of fellow breakfast eaters trying to battle you to the floor or knock your breakfast out of your hands.
On the football field, it’s a conscious all-out attack. The quarterback is sacked, the football is intercepted, the players are continuously being wrestled to the ground.
Early in the game the patriots were down 2 touchdowns. Right then one of the announcers, clearly put a damper on anyone’s optimism. He shared the fact that no team had ever come back from being 2 touchdowns behind in a super bowl game. So, as the Falcons racked up 2 more touch downs and the Patriots missed touchdown after touchdown and flubbed even field goals, it appeared it was probably – inertia, more than anything else, that kept fans and mere observers alike, pinned to their seats.
It was a painful series of events that finally gave the Patriots some respite as they trudged off to the locker room for a needed halftime break.
Interestingly, there was a potentially hidden message in the halftime extravaganza. It was a spirit-lifting, upbeat show. But I want you to take note of something- the performer was someone who calls herself “GaGa”. A name pretty much associated with immature or babyish speech. Yet – she came out and demonstrated her ability to wow a crowd, not with babyish gibberish, but with a sophisticated medley of songs. (so-this could have been hinting to a change in what one might expect would follow.) And then came the second half….
After ‘half time’ the Patriots came out on the field with an instruction from their coaches to forget the first half experience and to just start anew. Yet, they were struggling along in the second half once again. Like a baby learning to talk -“Ga ga ga” …. the attempts and failures were continuously a struggle. Every attempted touchdown was thwarted. There seemed to be little hope of any kind of success. In fact, it appeared the only reason for the underdog to keep on trying was to diminish the level of embarrassment as to the magnitude of their defeat.
And then voila they broke out in a “medley of song”!! (For those of you who might not know that means they turned things around late in the game, and won!)
So what lesson do we learn? In life you certainly can stick with your bowl of cereal but it has limited upside – a quick carb boost. But, also limited down side- the worst a messy spill.
Or you can really get in to, and more importantly stay in, the game. No matter what challenges it may present, without letting anyone or anything, not history, or another’s experience, or your fears, deter you. And then like a baby who starts out struggling to express them self -“Ga Ga”-ing, if you keep at it, you can find out you’ve got the ability to perform in unlimited ways.
And such is the lesson of this year’s super bowl. Don’t give up! When you go for a bowl – go big!
Rivki Rosenwald is a certified relationship counselor, and career and life coach. She can be contacted at 917-705-2004 or rivki@rosenwalds.com<mailto:rivki@rosenwalds.com