Written by John Mark Adkison
So you have the ball firmly in your grip. You are running across the field with the power of a locomotive steamroller. The decked-out fans are going wild at the sight of your speed. The end zone is close ahead. The goal post stands like a beacon of light not far ahead, signaling the Valhalla of Football Victories. You are just seconds away from a touchdown. The points will be yours and so will the adoration to come.But you decide to sneak a peak. You decide to let your attention waver for just a moment. You take your eyes off the glorious goal post and the prize in store and look to the great jumbotron to the side, shining and dazzling like the sun amid the sea of cheering fans. The big screen is showing you and your epic dash to a glorious touchdown.And man, do you look good.That is, until cornerback Zack Bowman of the Chicago Bears comes up from behind and pops the ball right out of your arm just as you are about to reach the end zone triumphant. And within seconds, the glory quickly morphs into defeat.For Ahmad Bradshaw, running back for the New York Giants, this was his story during a Sunday night game against the Chicago Bears at New Meadowlands Stadium.After getting the ball and running 22 yards, Bradshaw said he took a quick look at the video screen, saw no one was immediately behind him and relaxed just a little. But that was enough to give Bowman time to speed up and cause the fumble. And Bradshaw had only 14 yards until the goal line. That one look kept him from reaching his goal.And yes, sports section faithfuls, here is where I channel my inner youth pastor and pull out my spiritual metaphor of the week. And you can probably guess what it is already: Keep your eye on the prize and never look back. While most of us are not NFL players, we all tend to find ourselves in Bradshaw’s shoes. We all have our goals, we all have our missions, and we all have that shining end zone just a few yards away, waiting for our victory dance. And then we decide to take our eyes off the goal, off our treasure, off of our paradise, and wind up on the bottom of a dog pile beneath 300-pound men in heavy padding and large amounts of sweat, with the ball in their possession and the end zone sitting empty. Even with the fumble, the Giants still had a successful game of 17-3. We all make mistakes, and we all have to brush off the 300-pound padded players, choke down our pride and keep on playing. And next time, do your best to ignore the jumbotron, no matter how good you look.
