TUNNEY-SIDE-OF-THE-STREET

#48 November 28, 2005

Welcome to this week's message from the Tunney-Side-Of-The-Street. You are encouraged to share this with fellow workers, family and friends.

"Do you want fries with that?" The "quarter pounder" takes on a new meaning when it applies to hamburgers and the game of football. McDonald's Quarter Pounder is being used by national sports networks as well as our local sports/news to highlight the "hits" of the week. Far too often the negative supersedes the positive in news and in sports. "If it bleeds, it leads" as one newscaster has said.

The game of football is, by nature, a physical one. New York Jets Head Coach, Herm Edwards says in my book, It's the Will, Not the Skill, "play fast, play smart, play physical". A football game is one of physicality. It demands stamina, strength, agility and courage. Courage to block or tackle an opponent, one who is often bigger and stronger than you. That is the game of football - blocking and tackling.

Today's players have become "hummer-size" on the NFL field. When a 6'6", 350+ pounder collides with an opponent of equal size, it is, indeed, is a collision. A player knows that when he straps on the pads and helmet. However, these "hits" have come to be the dominant plays shown on the news. Whatever happened to the thrill of watching a perfect spiral pass to a receiver in the open who leaps like a ballet dancer to catch and run with the ball? Staubach to Pearson, Montana or Young to Rice, Manning to Harrison are just a few that come to mind. Or a smooth broken field run by a Payton, Smith, Tomlinson, Alexander gliding his way around a defender?

The game of football has many good qualities that are overshadowed by these hits of the week. Has the television audience become so "collision conscious" that it watches Nascar just to see a "spinout" or a car flipping over and over down the track? Do we watch slalom skiing just to see the skier flying out of control down the slope?

Perhaps "Fear Factor", "Survivor" and reality shows have jaded the television audience to watch only for the spectacular. I don't watch football to see the fierceness of a block or tackle anymore than I watch a thoroughbred horse race to see a horse "go down" should it collide with another. I watch sports for the pleasure of the athletic skills.

Will you watch games with the excitement of admiring athleticism?

Look for my new book
It's the Will, Not the Skill
Principles and philosophies of success

For more information about Jim Tunney, go to www.jimtunney.com

ARTICLE TAGLINE FOR JIM TUNNEY, Ed.D., CSP, CPAE

Copyright © 2003 Jim Tunney. All rights reserved.
You can visit Jim's website at http://www.jimtunney.com

Motivation Articles