THE SEPARATION IS IN THE PREPARATION

We won.  We dominated.  Vegas had Denver as 2-1/2 point favorites in the Super Bowl.  Final score:  Seattle: 43  Denver: 8.  Shocking and completely unexpected.  Denver with the best NFL offense and MVP veteran quarterback vs. Seattle with the best NFL defense and a bunch of virtual rookies and low draft picks  (our QB in only his second season with the NFL).

There will be gallons of ink (well, terabytes of data) used to break down and analyze the finer points of the game.  But I find inspiration in this quote by Seattle's coach, Pete Carroll:

"We are what we repeatedly do.  Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."

Russell Wilson, our Seahawk QB, says "the separation is in the preparation", meaning hard, tedious, continuous, unrelenting WORK gives the advantage to those who put in the time and develop the habit of seeking excellence.  The reward goes to the one who believes in their inherent gift in whatever they do and constantly seeks to learn and improve.  Wilson also believes in a higher power, recalls and honors the love and encouragement of his late father and mentor, and selflessly checks his ego at the door to let others shine.

I have been taken to task for my recent football posts. Deservedly, perhaps, for finding such pleasure in a game that can cause irreparable injury and debilitating dementia among those who have sustained serious head injuries.  I have no defense of this, only to say that I lay the blame at the feet of the NFL (and coaches and anyone else) who turns a blind eye to a culture that sacrifices players for money and a winning record.

The game itself, however, and the lessons one can learn from sport are not the villains.  Yesterday's game was played cleanly.  There were few penalties for infractions that were "violence"-related; no one was seriously hurt; the win and the loss were between two of the sport's elite teams….and the team that had developed the habit of excellence this year won.

All of us have a gift.  There are many, many ways in which we can be thwarted in life; many things beyond our control.  But I am inspired today by a bunch of guys on a football team who believed in their talent, worked hard to develop it, and then demonstrated the power of positive thinking, generosity in the spotlight, and some modicum of humility in victory.

At least, that's the view from here….©

Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks Quarterback
http://xfinity.comcast.net/video/wilson-why-not-us/135769155790/fanSports/newest/