Great players make the Pro Bowl. Great
teams reach the Super Bowl.
Every year when the Pro Bowl squads are
announced there are star players who are left out. You have to be great just to
play in the NFL today. The league is chock-full of superb athletes.
But great teams are harder to find.
Coaching legend Bud Wilkinson said,
"If a team is to reach its potential, each player must be willing to
subordinate his personal goals to the good of the team."
And that can be a hard thing in such a
high-profile enterprise. Every season sees its share of gridiron gripers who
whine that they are underappreciated and don't see the ball enough. They are
frequently labeled prima donnas, defined by Merriam-Webster as "a vain or
undisciplined person who finds it difficult to work under direction or as part
of a team."
Sometimes a team will pin their hopes on
a player like this, only to find out they are a better team without him.
In my view, running backs and
quarterbacks (yes, even Newton and Manning) are overrated. I've always thought linemen should have stats
detailing how many rushing and passing yards were gained while they were
slogging it out in the trenches, opening holes for runs or holding off hordes
of pass rushers so the big-name stars could make the spotlight plays.
The 1972 Miami Dolphins managed the only
perfect season in NFL history with a group of guys known as the "No-Name
Defense." The unit was better known than the individual players.
To succeed in life, you need to play the
right position and be on a great team. While you will not likely play in the Super Bowl, the church of Jesus Christ can be your team: "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and
good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of
doing, but let us encourage one another" (Hebrews 10:24,25, NIV; see 1
Corinthians 12).
