The NFL Network features a documentary series
entitled, A Football Life. Developed by NFL Films, it highlights not
just leadership skills and athletic ability but the real life situation of the
NFL stars. Each episode gives the audience a glimpse behind the public image of
these football heroes; a glimpse that the public was not privy to in the past.
If truth be told, many coaches and football players that have long been admired
by football fans had real human shortcomings like the rest of us; some worse
than others. Take for instance, Vince Lombardi and Walter Payton. These are two men I always looked up to. As for Lombardi, he was the coach of the Green Bay Packers from 1959 to 1967. He achieved something no other NFL coaches achieved: three consecutive NFL championships. His work ethic was unparalleled. He once said, “The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.” He was committed to excellence as a NFL coach and it paid off. For this reason Lombardi, for decades, has been deemed a football “god” to those who love the game.
Walter Payton, former running back for the
Chicago Bears (1975-1987), merited for himself a glorious public image as well;
and justly so. What he did on the football field amazed even those spectators
who weren’t big fans of the game. Moreover, he was an all-time rusher for
several years. Payton’s work ethic, like Lombardi, was superb. When it came to
the game of football, he never took the easy way out. He once said, “Never die
easy. Why run out of bounds and die easy? Make that linebacker pay. It carries
into all facets of your life. It's okay to lose, to die, but don't die without
trying, without giving it your best.”
I grew up admiring the leadership skills of
Vince Lombardi and the athletic ability of Walter Payton. As a leader and
coach, Vince Lombardi had a way of getting the very best out of his players.
And if he had to be tough on them, he would let them know at the end of the day
how good they could become. Payton was no less rigorous as a running back.
Having submitted himself to a demanding training regiment, he was able to break
the NFL record for the most rushing yards in one game while he had the flu. But
after watching A Football Life, featuring both of these men respectively, my
admiration was put into context.
Men have the amazing ability to
compartmentalize. Like a Navy Seal, he can zero in on a given mission while
deliberately blocking out danger, pain and even his environment. This no doubt,
is one man’s greatest strengths; but it is also his greatest weakness. The
problem is that there is a great divide running through his very being which
separates two worlds from within. On one hand, he is a husband and a father- this the domestic world of his family. On the other hand, he is
constantly seeking to impress his personality upon the outside world through his work. He wants
to make a difference. In fact, his identity is virtually inseparable from his
work or his career. But if these two worlds from within are not reconciled,
chances are his family life will suffer neglect in the pursuit of professional
excellence.
Like many men, Lombardi and Payton excelled in
their profession. But they struggled in their respective family obligations.
There was a great tension between their two inner worlds . Lombardi, for one,
was so consumed with his NFL coaching career that his marriage and fatherly
responsibilities were compromised. Lombardi’s wife, Marie, turned to alcohol in
his absence. And Vince Jr. had claimed that even though his father was
physically present, he was not there mentally. As for Walter Payton, throughout
much of his marriage he struggled with marital fidelity. Indeed, he struggled
to be faithful in what mattered most. And after his last game on January 11,
1988, the remaining eleven years of his life were spent trying to fill a void
in his heart that football temporarily had filled during his twelve years in
the NFL.
Fair or unfair, the documentary, A Football
Life, gave the impression that once Vince Lombardi’s and Walter Payton’s
career ended, both men were depressed and at a loss. They seemed to have put
all of their eggs in one basket. But when that basket was gone, they didn’t
know what to do with their eggs. Again, man can so identify himself with his
work that when his work is suspended or when it ends, he suffers decline. In
worst case scenarios, a man will kill others or himself over a job, whereas
women rarely, if at all, are known to do this.
Yet, the Gospel teaches us that real success-
the one that carries over into eternity –is all dependent upon how we love God
and family. A man can be successful and even admired by millions for his
success, but it doesn’t count for much on his deathbed if he wasn’t first a
successful husband and father. Without this most fundamental of successes, man
is failure in life. I think Payton learned this lesson when he died of a liver
disease. After all, it was his wife Connie and his two children that took care
of him in his last days. I believe it was then that he learned the true value
of what a family is.
In sum, the prophet Malachi foretold that the
coming of the Messiah would make men better fathers. In other words, the Christ will come to “turn
the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to
their fathers…” (Malachi 3:24) When the angel Gabriel appeared to St. Zachariah
in the Temple, he repeated the prophet Malachi’s words. And in doing so, he
pointed to a time when God would pour out the Holy Spirit upon men, giving them
natural hearts and making them fathers again. With this outpouring, men would
better withstand being consumed by his work at the expense of his family.
Knowing the Christian standard by which God is
the first priority, family is the second and work is the third is one thing;
but living it is another. Even with Christian men, this God-given priority is a
challenge to live up to. After all, Vince Lombardi attended daily Mass.
However, with a constant turning towards Christ in prayer and daily examination
of conscience, this Christian standard is attainable.
_______________________
The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own
and
not necessarily reflective of
any organization I works for.
