BETWEEN THE LINES: In Search of Perfection
While driving home last weekend I dialed up a Houston radio sports-talk station, which at that time was interviewing NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Bart Starr. The conversation immediately brought back fond memories. I learned that Starr in his years at Alabama was an excellent punter, one year ranked second in the nation.
To most football fans, the former Green Bay Packer is known for his quarterback sneak against the Tom Landry-led Dallas Cowboys to win the 1967 NFL championship in the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field. The Hall of Fame player had changed the play at the line of scrimmage and followed the block of Jerry Kramer across the goal line for the winning touchdown with seconds remaining on the clock.
The radio hosts were interested in his thoughts regarding his coach, Vince Lombardi. The Montgomery, Ala., native first met the man who was to become synonymous with Green Bay Packer football in 1959, the coach’s first NFL head coaching job.
He was initially impressed with the simplicity of the Brooklyn native’s system, and the leadership skills he brought to the team. The coaching icon that year turned around a team that previously had won only one game and tied another into a team that went 7-5 in his inaugural season.
The following year the former offensive coordinator of the New York Giants led his Packers to the NFL Championship game only to lose a close contest to the Philadelphia Eagles. As Starr recalls, the coach congratulated the winners for a game well played, and his players for the great effort they made.
However, he closed his comments by telling his team that kind of loss would never happen again, and indeed his prediction proved true. His team went on to win five NFL Championships in the 1960s, including the first two Super Bowls.
Starr later in his career became head coach of the Packers himself. What he carried with him from those Lombardi days was his coach’s desire to strive for perfection. Today, the quarterback still remembers his coach’s famous words, “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase it we can catch excellence.”
Lombardi quips are too numerous to mention, but the coach whom many considered the greatest of all time lived his life by his beliefs.
As he once said, “The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have.” In a world where values are crumbling, leaders from all walks of life can benefit by taking a page or two out of the coach’s playbook.
There is much to learn from the man who carved out a 96-34-6 record as an NFL head coach. Starr in closing said Lombardi attended Mass faithfully. His coach’s priorities were God, family and football. Lombardi was a leader of men, and it is easy for a layman to see why he was so successful. Sadly, the Packer coach died at 57 from cancer shortly after coming out of retirement to lead the Washington Redskins to a winning record.
America is woefully short of such leadership today. Americans must realize the solution to our social, political and economic woes does not lie in passing legislation, a landmark Supreme Court decision or a presidential address or decree. The answer, instead, must come from a religious revival that will turn our country back to the Judeo-Christian values that served as the driving force behind our greatness.
Individually, we should not just aim high, but seek perfection in our daily walk. For it is in that pursuit we continue to grow and draw closer to God.
Laughlin is a Christian Libertarian. He is an economist, teacher, father, husband and most recently a grandfather. He has written a weekly column for The Tribune for 12 years. He and his wife Gina reside in Meadowlakes. To contact him, e-mail ablaughlin@nctv.com. He is an independent columnist, not a staff member, and his views do not necessarily reflect those of The Tribune or its parent company.