While growing up, Sundays were reserved for God and football. After all, I did grow up in the South. By watching several football games every Sunday for the last 20 years, I began to realize that this game has taught me a great deal about life.

The importance of goals

Within a football team, there is a common goal of winning. The team becomes united to strive for that common goal. This has taught me that it is important to set goals for myself so that I have something to strive for. There are football teams, both professional and college, that have suffered a great tragedy whether it is losing a game or the death of a team member, they always seem to bounce back and come back the next week better than before. This has shown that when you are truly focused on your goal, nothing can get in your way.

Practice

A common phrase within football is “There is always something that needs to be practiced.” No football team has accomplished a perfect game, although there have been some close ones, this shows that even though you have won every game so far, you still need practice. So, while I believe myself to be above average when it comes to certain activities, I still need practice. There is always room to approve.

Trust

The players must have trust that the others are going to catch that pass or block the other team, they also must trust the coaches with the plays he chose and the way they run practice. The trust that football players must have is transferred into my daily life. I had to learn to trust my parents, my bosses, my teachers, and most other people. If football players can trust their livelihood in the hands of others, then I can learn to trust others too.

Sacrifice

Within the football world, you hear those stories of athletes who gave up everything to become a football great. I know several athletes that wanted a football scholarship so much that they gave up their mornings, their weekends, their holidays for individual workouts. They knew that if they wanted to stand out then they need to get as much practice as they could, whether that was with the team or by themselves. Through seeing this first hand, it showed me that there are points in my life where I need to evaluate my options and chose the one that benefits me the most, even if I am sacrificing something else. You always need to have the big picture in your head.

The art of football teaches players and fans that when you have your focus on a goal, through trust, practice, and, sometimes, even sacrifice, you can always reach your goal.