Part of the Game
PASTOR DAVE’S MUSINGS FROM THE HEARTLAND
September 20, 2023
PART OF THE GAME
The talk on all the sports shows Monday morning, April 8, was the missed traveling call at the end of the Auburn/Virginia came. With about four seconds left in the game and Auburn leading 62-60 Virginia player Ty Jerome dribbled the ball off his foot causing him to grab it with two hands and then continue dribbling. Everyone agrees that the referees should have called double-dribbling. Auburn should have been awarded the ball. Instead Virginia continued with the possession and won the game on three free throws by Kyle Guy.
In commenting on the missed called and its consequences for the game reference was made to the playoff game between the New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Rams. In the closing moments of the game Rams player Nikell Robey-Coleman obliterated Saints’ wide receiver Tommy Lee Lewis. The referees should have call pass interference giving the Saints a first down. They then could have run out the clock. No call was made and the Saints were forced to punt. The Rams went on to win the game.
In response to the missed call the NFL changed their rules adding a missed interference call as one of the things that a coach might challenge. During the final two minutes of each half the challenge has to come from the replay booth. One wonders how many other things might be added to what might be challenged.
Many rules, regulations, and laws have been enacted in response to a specific incident. Over time they can grow to a considerable body of legislation. Sometimes the cause of the original incident no longer is relevant. The rules, regulations, and laws can have unintended consequences and can cause undue hardships.
In the 23rd chapter of Matthew Jesus criticizes the scribes and the Pharisees. He says, “They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them.” (Mat. 23:4) The multitude of rules, regulations, and laws which get passed in response to isolated incidents can have similar impact. How many hoops do all of us have to jump through because of something that happened in the past?
Bruce Pearl, the Auburn basketball coach, was interviewed on the ESPN program “Get Up.” He said that human error is just a part of the game. Players, coaches, and referees all make them. They are a part of the game. They can happen to anyone. When they do happen, one needs to just move on. Matt Painter, the Purdue basketball coach, said following his team’s loss to Texas Tech that “This game things did not go our way, the last game they did.”
Human error is a part of life. There is no way we can legislate it out of existence. In fact new rules, regulations, and laws can make things work. There is an old saying “Don’t cry over spilled milk.” The persons who succeed in life factor in human error as just part of doing business. It happens to all of us. There is no use dwelling upon it. What is important is the next play, the next challenge, the next task.
(This article was originally published April 14, 2019. Comments may be sent to davidh15503@embarqmail.com.)