Just Plain Bill
The difference between being
audacious and arrogant
I love the word audacious, as it is part of
a powerful statement I first learned from Jim
Collins, the noted author and consultant: “BHAG - the bold hairy audacious
goal that mountain climbers refer to on their quest for ever grander climbs.”
That term came to
mind at the end of the latest Super Bowl, won of course by the New England Patriots
as a result of an intercepted pass from the Seattle Seahawks at the Patriots
one-yard line, with just a few seconds left.
Even though the
Seahawks had one of pro football’s best runners in their backfield and a
versatile and talented quarterback leading their offense, their coach decided
to try a pass on 2nd down…what I would initially label as a truly
audacious call.
Considering the
result of that pass intercepted by the Patriots was the sealing of their
victory as Super Bowl XXXIX champions, I’ve been rethinking my label, especially
in light of the avalanche of criticism of the coach’s call.
After the passage
of a little time, and resulting fierce reaction to the Seahawks decision to
throw a pass, I’ve come to wonder if the word arrogance would be more
appropriate. I realize that one is an adjective, while the other word is a noun;
one describes an action while the other describes a person’s character.
I’m also reminded
of what a famous football coach said when asked why he favored the run. Woody Hayes referred to his
favorite run play as “Three yards and a cloud of dust”. He was also quoted as saying,
"Only three things can happen when you pass (a completion, an
incompletion, and an interception) and two of them are bad." Well, one of the bad things occurred when the Seahawks called their
fateful pass play – an interception that resulted in them losing the Super
Bowl.
How many of you
were absolutely certain the Seahawks would pound the ball into the end zone
with a Marshawn Lynch run, or waltz it into the end zone with a Russell Wilson
bootleg?!
I’m tempted to
say that the Super Bowl is just a game, but in reality, it has been elevated to
something almost religious in the fervor of its followers – to say nothing of
the financial impact similar to the gross national product of many nations of
the world.
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