Dave And Tom And Bill And Robert

 Dave And Tom And Bill And Robert

This NFL story is from March 18, 2020.

I was watching the news yesterday and the anchorwoman said there was some sadness out of Boston besides the ongoing tragedy of the Coronavirus. Actually, there were two sad stories she related. The first had to do with the present health situation preempting any real St. Patrick's Day celebrations. The second was more of a shocker. After twenty seasons with the New England Patriots, and nine Super Bowls appearances, Tom Brady is leaving and going to another team, presumably Tampa Bay. There were rumors that it might happen but many could simply not conceive playing for any other franchise. But, the far fetched came to pass.

Yesterday morning, I saw the story on the Internet when it hit the wires. Brady made it official on social media and in his statement, praised his former team as well as owner Robert Kraft and coach Bill Belichick. Soon after, both the owner and coach posted their own good-byes to the quarterback with more Super Bowl rings than any other. There had been reported tension over the possibility of the divorce but you could not tell from what the main characters said. Later in the day, I caught an interview with my favorite sports announcer/columnist/personality of all time, Chris Berman. His take was awesome. Berman was reminded of the lines from from a 1977 Dave Mason hit:
There ain't no good guy, there ain't no bad guy
There's only you and me and we just disagree
One of the interviewers moaned he would have the song stuck in his head for the rest of the day! But my takeaway was that it was an extremely appropriate way to deal graciously with a pubic breakup without bitterness and rancor from anyone. We see so much animosity displayed in the public arena these days over trivial things and by public arena, I mean Facebook, Twitter, etc. I wish it were only celebrities falling into that trap but we know that's not the case. For believers, whatever happened to Blessed are the meek... or peacemakers. Can't we display the fruit of the spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control) towards those whose eyes might not line up exactly with ours? I know many sports fans despise the Patriots and are suspicious of their tactics. In no way am I condoning any skirting of rules or guidelines that the Patriots might have been involved with in the past. But, at least yesterday, I thought they carried out a flawless game plan.

To watch and listen to Dave Mason's We Just Disagree from The Midnight Special, click or copy/paste the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCJ0nVjuWK4

Applicable quote of the day:
"Respect your fellow human being, treat them fairly, disagree with them honestly, enjoy their friendship, explore your thoughts about one another candidly, work together for a common goal and help one another achieve it. No destructive lies. No ridiculous fears. No debilitating anger."
Bill Bradley

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1