I was thrilled and delighted last week to have my 18 month-old grand daughter, Ada, visit us. For much of the week she was preoccupied, trying to learn a very difficult task: putting on her high-top baby shoes by herself. She tried forwards, backwards, undoing the laces, and finally just trying to jam her foot inside the shoe. Even though she did not succeed, I know she eventually will because she is learning the crucial skill of persistence. She will keep trying until she masters the task.
Evidently, the Michigan State football team has mastered the challenge of persistence already. Like a fly who refuses to go away, they have learned to keep battling, preparing, and executing, even when things do not seem to be going their way.
Now, I must admit that I am a Michigan man through and through, going back to the fifties and Ron Kramer. I definitely would have preferred to see the Wolverines finally beat the Spartans, just as they did in overtime in 2004 in the days of Braylon Edwards.
But when it was all said and done on Saturday, a red shirt freshman ran the ball across the goal line with no time remaining and the MSU squad had taught UM an important lesson about the power of persistence. Persistence pays. Never give up until it’s over. Those who keep going in the face of adversity win in the long term. Football, like life, is a game of guts.
I have three of the UM starters in one of my classes this semester. I hope they and the rest of the team (and all UM students) have learned an important life lesson, which they will never forget. No great victory comes without facing distinct difficulties and extreme challenges. The sweetest victory is the one that comes after defeat. Resilience and persistence are the true measures of success. Losing to the green hopefully will make them see red on November 28, by which time Ada will probably have mastered the art of putting on her own shoes.
Enjoy the day, do your best, and keep in touch.
Dr. Rob