Once again football has provided us with some incredible life lessons. Here are several this year's Big Game.
1. Pay attention to details. New England recovered a fumble inside the 10 yard line, but they had twelve men on the field rather than eleven. That allowed New York to maintain control of the football and eventually score a touchdown. That one little mistake gave the Giants 7 points.
2. Never quit. At one point in the season the Giants lost four in a row. They wound up with only nine wins, which rarely turns out well. But New York never gave up.
3. Always communicate. At the end of the game Bradshaw accidentally scored a touchdown. No one made it clear that the goal was not to score a touchdown but simply be able to run the clock down. That way the Patriots would not have time to do anything. It turned out ok, but Bradshaw never got the memo.
4. When things don't turn out avoid placing too much blame on yourself. This happens in parenting, at work, and in sports. Welker made incredible catches all year long, yet his one drop late in the game gets all his focus.
5. Win as a team, lose as a team. This was one of those games where one player was not the hero, and no one player was the goat.
6. Be careful of your criticism. Just a couple of months ago many in New York wanted the coach Tom Coughlin fired. Last night they realized that their criticism was wrong.
7. Analyze, but don't overanalyze. This game could have easily gone the other way. One play is all it would have taken. One play the other way and all the analysts would be talking way differently following the game.
8. You don't have to be perfect to win. You will make mistakes. You will have setbacks. Just keep playing.
9. Don't put too much pressure on just one person. Tom Brady is without a doubt one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. But even the great ones need other great players around them.
10. Never sell yourself short. There were a ton of players who went undrafted and went to no-name schools. But they were playing on the biggest stage ever.
11. Enjoy the journey. Both teams had ups and downs during an fascinating and enjoyable NFL season. I'm sure there were times when it was not fun. As they look back I'm sure they would admit that it goes by so quickly, they wish they had enjoyed the ride a little bit more.
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