Last night’s colossal let-down (re: the Patriots’ collapse and the victory of the team nobody thought would win) provided my three kiddos with a big life lesson on why you should never smugly assume that things will always go your way (like planning a victory parade in Boston before anyone set foot on the field) no matter what sports commentators or conventional wisdom may lead you to believe.
As two of my three kids went to bed in tears last night – The Girl wisely put herself to bed at 9:15 p.m. and received the bad news early today – I tried to hide my disappointment from the rug rats as I mulled over what I’d tell them in the morning once the reality of a perfect season eluding New England’s grasp had sunk in.
By morning, I decided to apply this lesson – it’s not over ‘til it’s over — not just to sports but to life and to politics. I used the example of the presidential race to try to illustrate this point, that regardless of what the media, quoting opinion polls, believe will happen on Super Tuesday, what really matters is what people do once they actually set foot in the voting booths, just like no one knows who’s going to win a Super Bowl until the final whistle. (After all, the pundits have done a lousy job prognosticating about what voters would do in this primary season thus far.)
Of course, none of this has dispelled my children’s sadness and remorse as they cast forlorn glances at their Tom Brady jerseys lying on their bedroom floors. Sadly, election day isn’t as exciting to them as the Super Bowl. Maybe playing our DVD of the triumphant Sox might be the right kind of salve they need as opposed to my ramblings about politics and elections. After all, Spring Training is right around the corner.
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