Teamwork and the Crimson Tide
Of all the football games I watched this year I would have to say that the National Championship game between Alabama and LSU was probably the one I most enjoyed, and not just because Alabama beat LSU, who I can’t stand.
Before I watched the game I thought of when they’d played earlier in the season. I thought of what Alabama would have to do to win. Victory would require excellent defense on every down. They would need to avoid costly mistakes. They would have to play consistently well on offense, find a passing attack, and prevent any big plays on special teams. Winning was a good possibility — Alabama had outplayed LSU in the previous game, after all, even though they ended up losing in overtime — but dominating the game would require near-perfection.
Near-perfection is exactly what Alabama delivered. It was truly inspiring to watch. They played a complete team game, excellence in every single position, every player executing their own job to perfection. The result was a group that together exceeded the sum of its parts. As a team they did everything that needed to be done to achieve total victory. Egos were left behind as players abdicated personal achievements for the good of what they could accomplish together. It was one of the most complete and awe-inspiring football performances I’ve ever seen.
I’ve thought since about that type of a team performance. How does an individual get a group of people to each put aside their selfish desires and execute in their role for the betterment of the group? Most of us have seen what can happen when a group of individuals truly make a team, and many of us have even experienced it. Yet we resist putting ourself aside for the good of the group — at work, in our community, in our church or neighborhood, or even in our families, instead preferring to wait for others to step up and make the sacrifice first. While we wait, we know not only on what we are missing out, we also know that if everyone waits, the team will never truly form.
