FOOTBALL

[John Madden]

Heartbreak. That's the only word I can use to describe what Vikings fans feel today. Its a word they are far too used to hearing.

There are plenty of teams that lose a lot, and lose far too often. But the Vikings have a way of getting everyone's hopes up only to lose in, well, heartbreaking fashion, over and over. The Vikings fell down today.

We all fall down. Everyone of us does. Constantly. Over and Over. Year in and year out.

Why do we get back up again? Why not stay down so we don't have to feel the pain of hitting the ground, getting tackled again, something that's bound to happen again?

Because the clock is ticking, and we can all see the end zone on the horizon. Some of us are 1st and 10 on our own 5 yard line. Some of us are 1st and goal on the opponents one yard line. But we all have the ball in our possession, all have a chance to score.

We get back up because we must get the first down, we must get to the next point in our lives where we feel good again, get to something we know can lift us up. It's those seemingly small first downs that keep us going. Yes, we may get sacked, tackled, and god forbid intercepted and lose a down or a drive. But we can get the ball back before time expires in our lives. Players get back up after a tackle, because they want that first down, that next good feeling. Because eventually, they will get points in the game.

It's the same with us all, we all know in our souls that we must get back up to get that first down, that next pick-me-up, that next set of chances to score. Each first down, your opponent gets more and more nervous. Make your opponent scared of you, even if they just stopped you for a loss of a down. Because eventually, you'll get points on the board of life.

That's why we get up. The clock is ticking, the game will end eventually. But that endzone? The chance to put points on the board?

I promise you, with every fiber of my being:

That endzone is always there, waiting for you. Go and score.