What I See When I Watch the Super Bowl

Two teams compete.

Both teams know how their competitor will play. They know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. They will attempt to play their game and prevent their opponent from playing theirs. They will not try to play their competitor’s game in order to win; they don’t want to play where they are weak and their competitor is strong.

Both teams will have won and lost competitions. Both won competitions they were expected to lose, and lost competitions they were expected to win. Both will have learned as much or more from their losses than their victories. Each team will have studied and reviewed every contest immediately after its conclusion.

Both teams will field their very best players in this must win competition. It won’t be political. No one will play favorites. The decision as to who competes is based on that individual’s ability to make a difference.

Both teams will try to control the clock. Each team has an opportunity to play in a way that uses time to their advantage. The more time a team has on the playing field, the more likely they are to win. A team that is deprived of time will struggle to win.

Each of the two teams has a process. They will each run their plays in an attempt to position themselves to advance their position. These plays have been thoughtfully designed to maximize the team’s advantages. Every play is designed to score. Neither team will throw caution to the wind and wing it. They will have prepared to execute each play to perfection.

When errors are made by one team, the opposing team will attempt to capitalize on the opportunity it presents them. It’s not impossible to win the competition having made more serious errors than your competitor, but it is unlikely. The more cleanly a team executes their plays, the greater the likelihood of their winning the competition.

Each team will have coaches helping them to make decisions. In some cases, these coaches will call the plays. When they have the ability to make a difference, they will insert themselves into the game.

Both teams will play until the whistle blows. They will leave everything on the field. They know luck has a role in the contest. An error many be made. A lucky break may come their way.

At some point, the clock will run out and one of these teams will be declared the winner. The other team will have lost the contest. But that loss won’t mean that the losing team isn’t an excellent team. It will only mean that the winning team won this contest.

The season will end, and the next season will begin.