Things You Learn During Super Bowl Weekend

This weekend presented a few more transcendental nuggets upon which to ruminate.

I went on a date with my lovely wife, Lynn, last night. We saw “Gran Torino” and went to dinner afterwards. There’s a moment in the movie where Clint Eastwood is faced with a startling reality: the focus of his life has been more about death than life. It’s a profound moment where you see deep inside a character who is very obviously meant to be a reflection of the potential in all of us to lose track of Living with a capital “L”. What is the difference between living and merely existing? I suspect that answer is unique to each of us.

Mike Tomlin is the youngest head coach to ever lead a team to the Super Bowl. He is also now the youngest head coach to ever lead a team to a Super Bowl victory. My favorite quote from him: “Steelers football is 60 minutes long.” That was a pretty cool line. It’s equal parts cheesy hyperbole and organizational mission. Think about it. For Mike and his team, every minute counts. Nobody PLANS on giving up, but I still think his was a bold statement. He’ll be held accountable for that one next season.

Clint Eastwood in “Gran Torino” and Steelers’ head coach Mike Tomlin to me are both reflections of what we each carry inside of ourselves: the potential to forget how to live and the audacity to believe that we can.

I don’t know how old Clint Eastwood is, but he’s logged quite a few hours on this planet. Mike Tomlin is 36. He’s my age…for now. I’ll be older than him shortly. Therein lies the final nugget to consider: to paraphrase Master Yoda, “age matters not.” The ability and desire to learn keeps life flowing into and through us. An open mind affords us the benefit of learning from anyone who is willing to teach. Clint, Mike, my own kids…age matters not. Keep the lessons coming, and I’ll always be a student.

These are some things you learn during Super Bowl Weekend.