SHEsaysWITHaSMILE.blogspot.com

don't those photographers love to do close-ups on your expressions when you miss a kick; i know!  and honey, i could see it on your face..  how frustrated and disappointed when you missed that first extra point kick

but that literally does happen to the best of the best throughout the teams and seasons.  not too unusual.

then another close-up when you missed the second extra point kick.   -more unusual, to miss two in a row.  and again, i could see your frustration and disappointment.

when it happened the third time..  i glanced at my husband  -that ever happen before?  three missed kicks in a row?   and he assured me that was very unusual; especially because these were extra point kicks; not long field goal kicks.

well, i sure felt for you Brett;  how awful to miss three in a row; how hard, how disappointing; frustrating; and add on that this is happening during a playoff game and you are on a national stage. and i've never been an NFL super star; but my empathy for failing and understanding how it feels to disappoint yourself and others; that, was at an all time high

i considered calling my daughter..   she has sports psychology knowledge  "honey.. see if you can get a hold of brett maher..."

and i don't have it locked in my memory perfectly, but.. was it on your 4th opportunity for an extra point that your kicked was blocked?

"No way!"  i was shouting to the T.V., my husband and heaven..   "Come on!  -Give this kid a break already!"

and now, it is worth pointing out write about here, that the fact that you had all these opportunities in a row for extra point kicks means that, on the whole, Dallas was getting the touchdowns..

and, like i mentioned earlier, i am relatively new to NFL fanship, understanding football, but i did pretty much already and completely understand that when and if your team is fourth and 4

that's when you call in the kicker

and Brett, when they decided to run that play, instead of calling you in   -when they so consciously did not use you

i was having the imaginary conversation with my daughter on the phone  "we are going to have to talk this young man off the ledge!  this is awful!"

and then my husband..  and then, even the sportscasters, they started sharing and announcing how "no other player in league history has ever missed...."

-talk about from bad to worse..

and then, both my husband and i,  -and i'm sure you, and your family and loved ones, and your friends, and who knows how many fans..   i think even many of your opponents wanted to see you be redeemed!  and in that very game.. not a future one

and so,  -how rare that the fourth and 4, results in a highly exciting touchdown, and that very against the odds touchdown gives you the opportunity for another extra point kick!

who was not holding their breath-

and hallelujah & amen!   -because you did it!    Praise God!  and we are so happy for you!

but it was bouncing around in my heart and mind...    during that game; watching you miss..  

my mind started hunting for inspiring words, phrases..     and then

!

it came incrementally to me...     fall seven times...

fall seven times..

fall seven times  -get back up eight?   and so i did a google search, and ...

well, i've written before about how, after reading a million self-help books, and reading the Bible, that i came to the conclusion that the Bible is one of the most   -appropriated? plagiarized? 

or perhaps, wise people from around the globe, are arriving at the same conclusions without the same reference sources

i don't pretend to know, but..   if you google it, and you let that information serve as accurate and true

well then,  fall down seven times, stand up eight, is a japanese proverb.

but if you read the Bible, you will learn, that either King Solomon, or one of his anonymous Japanese scribe friends, wrote:  

...; for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again,  but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.

****

No football player wants the record for most missed extra point kicks in NFL history.   But by staying in the game, despite those misses, and actually successfully getting that last extra point kick..  You now serve as an icon for this proverb.   And the amount of human beings who will get it wrong; (it being quite a variable) multiple times in a row;  -before they get it write again; that's a much larger number than your fan base.  You've evolved into a true inspiration for the masses. 

And, on the following days, the sportscasters mentioned the word 'yips'  -which i have also very briefly researched; it happens across all sports..  in fact, across all professions in general.   -what a mysterious and curious thing...

and how glorious to conquer.

In Jesus Name,  -hallelujah & amen

******

p.s.   i loved what i heard the coach say during an interview after the referenced game.  he said, "there is no one play that wins or loses a game."   -that rings true for any and all team sports games i've watched my entire life; from my children's little league games to professional games in the NBA or NFL.   there are many plays/players which get highlighted as exclusively winning or losing a game; but that is always false.  -if you competitively earn a healthy win margin as a team  -then you do not set up one individual to either be 'the' hero or 'the' reason for losing.  you are a TEAM; you win as a TEAM or lose as a TEAM; the rest is just short-sightedness and media hype.