Chuck Roots |
Roots in Ripon
Chuck Roots
6
February 2017
Well, after Sunday’s Super
Bowl game I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to put in my two cents worth.
Wow! What a game!
In an attempt at full
disclosure, I freely admit that I love sports. In particular, football sits at
the top. My step father played football in the early 1930s at the University of
Alabama. He actually played with Bear Bryant! That’s during the era when the
players wore leather helmets!
Fortunately, I came along in the 50s and 60s when
we had transitioned to hard-shell polycarbonate helmets which also sported a
single crossbar as a facemask, but eventually expanded to provide more
protection for the face along with a rubber mouthpiece.
I would have loved to have
been a star football player. Alas! Twas not to be. I was a perennial
benchwarmer. But it wasn’t for lack of effort. I played in 9th grade
at Highland Park Junior High in Dallas, Texas, a geographic region in the
country where football is a religion! In 11th grade I played on the
JV Team at Wellesley High School in Massachusetts. In one game I really got my
bells rung! The good news is I laid a good lick on the quarterback, tackling
him for a loss. After the pile of players moved off, I stood up, weaving from
side to side. A couple of guys directed me toward the sidelines where I
promptly walked into the head coach. He grabbed me and sat me down on the
bench. I was still out of it even after the bus ride back to school. I played
again in my sophomore year at Azusa Pacific College (now University). I also
played for two of my four years in the Marine Corps. One year I played for the
squadron team at VMFA 531 at MCAS El Toro, and the next year I played with a
combined Navy/Marine team at Naval Station, Subic Bay in the Philippines. Later
as a Navy chaplain I coached the MAG 39 Marine Team at Camp Pendleton,
California for two years. All told, I had a blast in and around the game of
football. I often thought the best job in the world would be as an NFL coach.
Since I was born and raised
in New England, and my step father was from the Boston area, we rooted for all
the professional sports teams from Boston. The Red Sox, the Celtics, and of
course the Boston Patriots (later
renamed the New England Patriots). California
has pretty much been home for me since 1965, so I’ve always rooted for a local
team. I have been a San Francisco 49ers fan for the last 30 years. However,
with Colin Kaepernick’s disrespectful behavior toward our flag this past
season, I have taken a leave of absence from the Niners.
Ah, but I have always
followed the Patriots! And ever since Coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom
Brady teamed up around the turn of the century, it has been an amazing run of
victories culminating in what was their 5th Super Bowl victory on
Sunday. The game was, dare I say, one for the ages! One of the monikers
attributed to Tom Brady is “Tom Terrific”. This has been well earned because of
his ability to will his team to win when things were just not going their way.
This last Sunday’s Super Bowl was no exception.
The young, fresh, upstart
Atlanta Falcons had arrived at the Super Bowl having easily vanquished
opponents with a frightening ease, bearing a confidence that was palatable. But
this bunch had never been in a Super Bowl game before. In fact, only four
players on the Falcons had ever played in the Big Game. On the other hand, the
Patriots had 22 players who had been to the “Big Dance”. Two years ago they had
won their fourth Super Bowl in a squeaker. Now they’re back for another try.
The buildup to this clash
between these two titans of the pigskin had the adversaries trading body blows,
scoring somewhat at will, believing the team in possession of the ball in the
final minutes of the game would win.
Well, some of that
prediction was realized. But no one could have foreseen this Hollywood movie
ending. Both teams remained scoreless at the end of the first quarter, all the
while testing each other for weaknesses. The second quarter was a disaster for
the Patriots, and a boon for the Falcons. In uncharacteristic fashion, the
Patriots committed not one, but several egregious errors which the Falcons
pounced on, gaining what appeared to be an insurmountable lead of 21-3 at the
end of the first half. The tree points the Patriots managed to get was at the
very end of the half, appearing more cosmetic than surmounting any sort of
scoring threat promised in the second half. The 21-3 halftime
score was grim for New England. But this game was far from over!
The start of the second half
didn’t seem to go any better for the Patriots. Instead, the Falcons marched
down the field, easily scoring a touchdown, boosting the score to 28-3. Any
reasonable person would have said, “This game is over”. But I’ve watched Tom
Brady too many years to ever count him out. The Patriots finally scored their first
touchdown at the end of the third quarter, but missed the extra point kick.
Score: 28-9. The fourth quarter was another story altogether. The Patriots,
under Brady’s steady command, began a comeback that will be discussed,
dissected and debated for years to come. The Falcons at this point still had an
apparently insurmountable lead. But little mistakes crept into their nearly
flawless game to that point. The Patriots made them pay with touchdowns,
finally scoring the tying score with less than one minute left on the clock.
Regulation play ended in a
tie at 28 apiece. This was now the first ever overtime period in the 51-year
history of the Super Bowl. After the coin toss, the Patriots elected to receive
the ball. You could sense this was it. Tom Brady led his team down the field
with a touchdown to end the game and secure a fifth Super Bowl victory and set
all kinds of records on a career that is nothing short of amazing. The Patriots
overcame a 25-point deficit, the most in Super Bowl history.
Often during the years we
were raising our daughters, when they seemed to drift from what we had taught
them, I would say to my wife, “Don’t count the score at halftime”.
So, let me ask you, “What are you going through
at this time?” Whatever it is, “Never give up!” Because it’s never over until
God says it’s over.
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