What's Important

There is going to be one HECK of a football game tomorrow night.  Bama vs. LSU.  #1 vs. #2.  Probably the National Championship game.  Nick Saban vs. Les Miles.  It should be a classic.

I love football.  I love the game.  I love the competition, the athleticism, and the violent conflict that is emblematic of the human experience.  I love the fans and the game day environment.  I love the rivalries and the sportsmanship that transcends the sometimes trashy stuff that exists outside the stadium.   

Back in 1995, I was in 3-7 CAV at Ft. Stewart.  I still remember that the Squadron Chaplain was an Auburn grad (but I don't remember his name).  [If you know me, you know that I respect no one as much as the Army Chaplain.  No one is more dedicated to his mission, in more difficult situations, than the Army Chaplain.  I have sought the Chaplain's council many times in my career and have always benefited from it.]  Auburn beat Alabama that year.  The Chaplain ran into me shortly after that and asked what I thought of the game.  I said something along the lines of I didn't approve of the outcome.  He said "It's a good thing that football doesn't determine our self worth".

That's my whole point.  None of us play, or have played, football for either team.  Few of you reading this  graduated from either school.  Football is a game that we all enjoy watching, but at the end of the day, nothing real has changed, regardless of who wins or loses.  Our lives go on, unchanged, regardless of the outcome.

No matter who wins or loses, I still have a wonderful wife who loves me despite my many faults.  I still have two children who amaze me every day.  The outcome of the game will not change any of that.  If Alabama loses tomorrow and the rest of the season, or if they win out all the way to the National Championship, my baby boy and little girl will still think I hang the moon.  Either way, I'm a winner as long as I hold up my responsibilities as a good daddy.

I will be rooting my heart out for the Tide.  I will have an extra spring in my step Monday if Bama wins and I will have an extra wide smile for my VT friend who calls me an SEC prim a dona.   But win or lose, the important things remain constant.  That's what matters to me.