You Gotta Have Heart

It's been a while for one of these but it's time to get back into the old "blog" swing and, after yesterday, it's time. I will warn you that a sports analogy is coming but there will be a point for everyone...sports enthusiast or not.
Last night, I had the opportunity to witness two sporting events - one in person and one on TV. After taking in the results of each, I was able to see the relation between the two.
I had the fortune of seeing one of the best high school football games I ever witnessed, in person, last night. A game where the lead changed 7 times in the 4th quarter alone! I saw the home team (my team, by the way) fall behind with less than a minute to go and, then, I watched as a bunch of players became a team. They closed ranks, with just 40 seconds left and 80 yards to go to score, pulled it all together to come back and win. They looked to each other and used each other to lift the team to a higher level.
My second sporting event was viewed from the comfort of my "man room" couch as my Philadelphia Phillies (if you don't know by now....I'm a Philly native and a HUGE fan!)were trying to stave off being eliminated from the National League playoffs. They were a preseason pick....and a during-season pick, to win the whole thing. This was a team made up of some of the best in the business and they were fortified this year by more of that type of player. In the other dugout, a team that was doing all they could to get IN the playoffs, let alone STAY in the playoffs. One team - the Phils - had a 10 and a half game lead when they clinched their playoff place. The other team - the St. Louis Cardinals - were 10 and a half games OUT OF the playoffs when that happened. They had lots of ground to make up in a short period of time. Well, you know the result. What I saw last night was one group of players waiting for the next guy to step up against another TEAM who closed ranks and decided to do it TOGETHER!!! You know who won?.....the TEAM, of course!!!!
The common thread from both of these events - other than the fact that two TEAMS won? Both winners showed the love they had for each other as teammates and put away and all personal ambitions for the sake of the TEAM. They performed with their hearts instead of their heads. Give me a TEAM like that every time and talent doesn't matter. There IS strength in unity.
Out jogging this morning, I thought about the parallels to my life and to others I know. I can't do it alone....with my job.....with my family......with my life. I, YOU, need a TEAM to make it happen every day with your job, your family....your life!!! You GOTTA have heart!! That brain part is secondary!