I was standing on the 30-yard line in the Rose Bowl stadium. It was the January 1980 Super Bowl between the Rams and the Steelers. I was producing television coverage of the game.
The Los Angeles Rams were not supposed to be in this position. One of the few 9-7 teams to ever play in a Super Bowl. In the playoffs, they had a stunning last-minute touchdown to beat Roger Staubach and the Cowboys in his last game. They won the Conference Championship 9-0 over Tampa Bay.
Monday evening of the Super Bowl week I had been at Ray Malvasi's home - the head coach of the Rams who was hosting a Bible study.
Jack Youngblood, the great defensive end, limped in and sat down in obvious pain. Running back Wendell Tyler, sitting to my right, said, “Hey man, you, ok?” “Yeah, I’m fine,” said Jack. He was a big, tough man; no one was going to argue with him.
Ahead at half-time, the Rams almost beat one of the greatest football teams in history, losing to Terry Bradshaw and the Steelers as the Steelers stormed back with a powerful surge of offense in the second half.
In constant pain, Jack played the entire Super Bowl. Why was Jack in such pain at the Bible study on Monday and during the game? Jack had a broken bone in his leg, the fibula. He played the entire game with a cracked fibula. Jack had grit.
Grit isn’t the product of winning or losing … it’s built by just staying in the game.
When things are broken in your life, stay in the game. A champion isn't a man who never fails; a champion is a man who never quits. The Seahawks proved that yesterday when they won a Super Bowl many never expected them to do. They just stayed in every game all season. Stay in the game.
"So don’t lose your confidence. It will bring you a great reward.
You need endurance so that after you have done what God wants you to do,
you can receive what he has promised." (Hebrews 10:35,36 GW)
Grace & Peace,
Paul Louis Cole
