MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan (AFPN) -- On a recent Sunday, my 6-year-old son said to me, “Dad, you spend too much time watching football on TV.”
I was caught off-guard and busy (watching the game) but managed to mutter something like, “Son, someday you will understand” -- but I quickly realized I’d have to drum up a better response … or possibly be shamed into watching less football.
So, from an Air Force and career military perspective -- and to justify my football addiction -- here goes…
American-style football is about as distinctly American as you can get. Maybe more than any other sport, it emphasizes qualities especially important in military life, including courage, teamwork and a fighting spirit.
When you think about it, football is a lot like a military operation. It has elements of strategy, offense, defense, collisions, speed, agility, power, grace and results on every play. Also there are blitzes, trenches and bombs. How could we not love it?
It is no coincidence that one of the longest rivalries in college football is the annual Army-Navy game which dates back more than 100 years. We have even named some of our tactics after football, such as the “Hail Mary Maneuver” in the Gulf War and “Operation Linebacker” in Vietnam.
Football is based on tactics of maneuver and concentration of forces in order to penetrate the enemy’s lines and cut off their lines of communication. Football has specialty positions and strategies that combine speed, power, surprise and science all coming together for a successful game plan. Football is a game of intensity -- but also one with strict rules of engagement.
But most of all football -- like our military -- emphasizes team work and a fighting spirit.
“Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing” is the most famous quote attributed to the legendary Green Bay Packer coach Vince Lombardi. Consider some of his other quotes and imagine what a military mentor he would make:
“Winning is not a sometime thing: it's an all-the-time thing. You don't win once in a while; you don't do the right thing once in a while; you do them right all the time…”
“Football is a great deal like life in that it teaches that work, sacrifice, perseverance, competitive drive, selflessness and respect for authority is the price each and every one of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile."
“It is essential to understand that battles are primarily won in the hearts of men."
And finally…
"The spirit, the will to win, and the will to excel are the things that endure. These qualities are so much more important than the events that occur."
Other things may come and go but what must endure (in addition to football), what we must cultivate and what elevates us is a fighting team spirit that can never wane. I imagine Coach Lombardi would have surely been a “Fly, Fight and Win” Air Force fan!
Well, that’s justification enough for me. Back to watching football -- and teaching my son that it’s more than just a game.