It’s Sunday.
I can almost hear the game on..
There are games you play to pass the time. And then there are games designed to shape people. American football was created to do the latter.
Long before billion-dollar television contracts, fantasy leagues and packed stadiums, football emerged in the late 1800s as a response to a question that still matters today:
How do you build strong men and women capable of leading in a difficult world?
America was changing rapidly. The Industrial Revolution was pulling young men out of farms and into factories, classrooms and cities. Many educators and politicians feared the next generation was becoming physically weaker, mentally softer and less prepared for hardship. They believed comfort was producing fragility.
Football became one answer.
Walter Camp, often called the “Father of American Football,” didn’t simply create rules for a new game. He helped create a system that demanded discipline, courage, teamwork and sacrifice. Football required something that few other sports demanded at the same level:
Eleven individuals becoming one. No one player could succeed alone. The quarterback depended on the offensive line. The receiver depended on the quarterback. The defense depended on trust. Every assignment mattered. Every person mattered. The game became a laboratory for physical fitness, intestinal fortitude, grit, tactics, strategy, leadership and yes, violence.
Football also taught something deeper – – – Life is rarely predictable. Plans fail. People get hurt. Conditions change. Players and teams under AND over achieve. Great teams don’t panic. They adjust. Every snap is a new problem to solve under pressure. It is a game of inches. Literally. Every play asks the same question:
Can you remain disciplined when everything around you is moving fast? That sounds remarkably like life. Does it not?
One of the beautiful realities of football is that it exposes character. You cannot fake effort. You cannot hide selfishness for long. You can NOT be somewhere else when you are a defensive back and you must take on that monster off a pulling guard who has you in his sights…You cannot consistently win without belief, preparation, sacrifice, accountability and trust. Pressure reveals what practice has built. In many ways, football is simply compressed life. It rewards consistency over excuses. Preparation over talent. Team over ego. Service over self.
Lawrence Taylor (LT) is my favorite football player of all time. Why? The easy answer is because he was the greatest defensive player to ever step on a football field. The real answer runs much deeper.
LT wasn’t just a linebacker.
He was a force of nature.
He didn’t wait for the game to happen to him – – – he imposed his will on it. Every offense knew exactly where he was and struggled to stop him anyway. Entire game plans were built around slowing down one man. That kind of presence has always fascinated me.
As a Special Forces leader, I learned that the battlefield belongs to those who seize the initiative. Hesitation kills. The enemy must be forced to react to you – – – not the other way around. LT played football exactly that way. He attacked. He disrupted. He dictated the terms of the battle.
I love that.
I love the pure violence he brought to the game; the gladiator type way he played each snap. He was “all-in”. When you lined up against LT you’d better have your mouthpiece in and your helmet snapped because he was coming for your head.
; BUT there is another reason.
Football is an incredible team sport and LT never stood alone. His greatness elevated everyone around him. He was terrifying as an individual but his purpose was always to help his team win. Individual excellence in service of something bigger than yourself – – – that is leadership.
There is also a cautionary lesson in his life.
Like many extraordinary humans, LT wrestled with demons off the field. His story reminds me that raw power, intensity and aggression are incredible gifts – – – BUT terrible masters. Strength without character eventually consumes itself.
That lesson has become deeply, deeply personal.
Today, I admire LT for the warrior he was. But I no longer aspire merely to be a warrior. I aspire to be a disciple who still possesses the heart of a warrior. A man whose strength is governed by love. Whose courage is directed by wisdom. Whose aggression is submitted to purpose. Whose identity is found not in domination but in Jesus.
LT taught me what it looks like to play without fear.
BTL is teaching me what it means to live without it.
TOGETHER.
Bill Belichick: Don’t Compare Khalil Mack — Or Anybody — To Lawrence Taylor
PS My favorite football coach of all-time? Bill Parcells. And that is because he influenced AND inspired LT.
PSS I want to be clear. The New York Giants suck. Only two teams I dislike more than them. The Washington whatever their name is team and the Philadelphia Eagles. I am a Dallas Cowboy fan! Have been my whole life.
BUILT TO LEAD 