Cowboys, Referees and What ifs
I remember the 1967 Ice Bowl in Green Bay. I was a little boy in Birmingham, Alabama. Our community league football teams were the "Packers." We wore the same uniform as the Green Bay Packers. I played through those leagues as a kid. I was number 15 - just like my favorite player, Bart Starr, quarterback of the Packers. We were huge Green Bay fans in those days. So, understandably, I was pulling for the Packers on that cold December day in 1967.
Fast forward to 2015. I have spent most of my adult life in Texas. I served my first tour of duty in the 80's and 90's while I was completing seminary and pastoring. I returned in 2001 to serve as Pastor of First Baptist Church of Arlington, Texas. That's right, Arlington -- home of the Dallas Cowboys. And, I have been converted! I'm a Cowboys' fan now. I love this team. I love Romo and Witten. So, yesterday I was cheering wildly for the Cowboys to beat those Packers.
I was watching it live when "it" happened. The "catch" or the "non-catch" as it were. Are you kidding me? It was a catch, for sure. Three steps, an elbow, a stretch for the end zone. No doubt, a catch. Dez Bryant made a circus leap for a perfectly thrown pass and hauled it in on the one yard line. No doubt the Cowboys would score and we would be set up for a classic final drive for the Packers. Could Aaron Rogers lead them down the field and maybe repeat Bart Starr's final drive against the Cowboys in the Ice Bowl? Or, would the Cowboys defense make a stop and help Dallas land in the NFC Championship game?
But, wait a minute. The miraculous catch was reviewed. By whom? Three blind mice? Three stooges? The management of the Packers? Packer fans? Actually a referee reviewed it. According to referee Gene Steratore, Dez Bryant "did not maintain possession of the ball throughout the entire process of the catch. In our judgment, he maintained possession but continued to fall and never had another act common to the game."
I'm sorry. What???? Catching, stepping and reaching -- aren't those football acts?
Now, last week I was in complete agreement when the referees picked up the flag on a late interference call on the Cowboys. That "non-call" was certainly the right call and it led to a Detroit Lions punt that allowed the Cowboys to go ahead and seal the win. So, I know these referees are capable of getting it right!
Anyway - it's over for the Cowboys. Great season. Great players. It was fun.
As I reflected last night on the events of the day, I came to several conclusions.
1. Perspective is so important. My perspective has changed since the last time the Cowboys and Packers played in a playoff game. I really am a Cowboys' fan now. Were I still a fan of the Packers, I would probably be hailing the courage of the referee to change such a pivotal call. Many people are saying today that this was a judgment call based on a challenging rule. There is a difference of opinion about what constitutes a true "catch" when a receiver seems to be falling to the ground. The ground cannot cause a fumble, but it can cause an incompletion. The referee has to make the judgment based on the "football acts" of the receiver. So -- it could have gone either way. I wanted it to go my way.
2. Somebody has to be in charge. The players can't make the rule calls in a game. There has to be somebody who is charged with keeping the rules. That is the referee's job. He, along with his team of officials, must insure the rules are kept. Sometimes, these folks make judgment calls based on the evidence before them. In the actual game, they are the final authority.
3. "What ifs" are fun, but in the end, meaningless. We don't known what would have happened if the "catch" was actually ruled a catch. We can only deal with reality.
OK - so these are actually life lessons as well. In life, perspective matters. How we view things makes all the difference in the world. It is true. My perspective shapes my feelings and judgments. And, authority matters. In life, somebody has to be in charge! From my perspective as a Christian, God is in charge. His Word is authoritative. Finally, reality matters. I can't afford to live my life in denial of reality. I don't want to be like Uncle Rico in Napoleon Dynamite. "What ifs" are fun, interesting -- but I can't live everyday in a sea of what ifs. I have to live in reality.
So - today, life goes on. Even for us Cowboy fans.
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