Your Reigning, Defending Super Bowl Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers are 6-2 and coming off a bye week. They find themselves in 1st place in the division and tied for the lead in their conference,
For many Tampa Bay fans, it is an uncomfortable position on many levels. Being in the hunt is scary for fans because the future is not known. Is the offense going to continue being good or get even better? When will they become that well-oiled machine that wears down their opponents? Is the defense going to find last year’s form? Where they were the wolves that ruled the wild and hunted as a pack. You don’t know if the team is growing in those directions and not knowing is uncomfortable. There is discomfort during a game, even though you are watching for enjoyment. As a fan, you are in the game via the emotional but not the physical. If you are a fan you are in the fight without being in the fight. You are on the sidelines hoping, praying, and watching. You cannot block, catch or pass. You cannot defend, pressure or tackle. Yet you are emotionally in every play. Then there is the anxiety of watching the players. Living through their up and downs. Their great plays and their bad plays. Their bruises and their injuries. Those are just three, but I am sure there are more.
But how about if we enjoy the uncomfortable. Because it means the team IS in the hunt. They are competitive. They are playing better than most and winning more than losing. How about we take it even further. There is a pattern of success we are observing that we can apply to our own lives. Being competitive does not always mean we will win. But by being competitive we will be in the hunt for OUR goals. It will take the determination of our goals. Then pursuing them through objections and obstacles. It will take the balancing of our offense and defense. Seizing upon the positives and blocking out the negatives. Challenging ourselves to become better at what we do. Finding camaraderie, growth, and happiness in the journey. So that even if we are not in the game on the field. We are growing in the game of life. Becoming comfortable with the uncomfortable while going forth in hope and prayer. Isn’t that what you have been doing when it comes to sports. Let it now be also for you.
GO BUCs